Release date: June 11, 2013
Publisher: Doubleday
Pages: 527
Reading level: Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Book 1
Source: Purchased
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
When New Yorker Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home and quality time with the man she hopes to marry. But Nick has failed to give his girlfriend a few key details. One, that his childhood home looks like a palace; two, that he grew up riding in more private planes than cars; and three, that he just happens to be the country’s most eligible bachelor.
On Nick’s arm, Rachel may as well have a target on her back the second she steps off the plane, and soon, her relaxed vacation turns into an obstacle course of old money, new money, nosy relatives, and scheming social climbers.
Review:
I admit I wasn't too interested in reading this before I saw the awesome trailer for the upcoming movie. I am so excited to see it! Since I always like to read the book first, I quickly ordered this online and devoured it in only a couple of days. CRAZY RICH ASIANS was a delightfully fun read with a meaningful heart. Rachel and her boyfriend Nick live in New York and are comfortable with their normal routine. Rachel is surprised, but excited, when Nick invites her to a wedding in Singapore where she can finally meet his family. Little does she know is that Nick is one of the most eligible bachelors among Singapore's rich and famous.
Some people might be embarrassed about their guilty pleasures, but I will readily admit to loving the Kardashians, the Bachelor, and Gossip Girl. All of the drama, gossip, and romance makes these kinds of shows and books easy to consume. The only aspect of CRAZY RICH ASIANS that made this a little more of a complicated read was all of the different characters and their alternating chapters. While I enjoyed getting to see things from these varying perspectives, it did confuse me a bit at first. Lots of new people to keep up with and I had no idea who was related to who and who hated who. There was a family tree at the front but I usually forgot to reference it. I'm not sure how the author could have introduced all of the other characters and built-up their various backgrounds without the alternating chapters, though. There was also the added mystery of Nick's mother investigating Rachel's background.
Surprisingly, I literally knew nothing about Singapore. While I can't say I know too much more about it after reading this book, I did like the inclusions of descriptions of the native food and use of non-English words. Kevin Kwan relied heavily on footnotes so be prepared to have to look down fairly often. He did his best to make them humorous, but I did find myself skimming over them or skipping them entirely.
The ending was interesting and a lot of surprises were revealed about several characters. I am not particularly eager to rush off and buy the next book, but I will probably pick it up eventually. What I am most excited about is seeing this crazy world brought to life on the big screen. I can only begin to imagine the intricate fashion, huge mansions, and elaborate gatherings that filled the pages of CRAZY RICH ASIANS so it will be a ton of fun to watch this all come to life. Rachel was a very realistic and endearing heroine and this book was not all fluff. There were a lot of serious incidences and Rachel has to deal with a lot while in Singapore as she learns about her boyfriend and herself.
I admit I wasn't too interested in reading this before I saw the awesome trailer for the upcoming movie. I am so excited to see it! Since I always like to read the book first, I quickly ordered this online and devoured it in only a couple of days. CRAZY RICH ASIANS was a delightfully fun read with a meaningful heart. Rachel and her boyfriend Nick live in New York and are comfortable with their normal routine. Rachel is surprised, but excited, when Nick invites her to a wedding in Singapore where she can finally meet his family. Little does she know is that Nick is one of the most eligible bachelors among Singapore's rich and famous.
Some people might be embarrassed about their guilty pleasures, but I will readily admit to loving the Kardashians, the Bachelor, and Gossip Girl. All of the drama, gossip, and romance makes these kinds of shows and books easy to consume. The only aspect of CRAZY RICH ASIANS that made this a little more of a complicated read was all of the different characters and their alternating chapters. While I enjoyed getting to see things from these varying perspectives, it did confuse me a bit at first. Lots of new people to keep up with and I had no idea who was related to who and who hated who. There was a family tree at the front but I usually forgot to reference it. I'm not sure how the author could have introduced all of the other characters and built-up their various backgrounds without the alternating chapters, though. There was also the added mystery of Nick's mother investigating Rachel's background.
Surprisingly, I literally knew nothing about Singapore. While I can't say I know too much more about it after reading this book, I did like the inclusions of descriptions of the native food and use of non-English words. Kevin Kwan relied heavily on footnotes so be prepared to have to look down fairly often. He did his best to make them humorous, but I did find myself skimming over them or skipping them entirely.
The ending was interesting and a lot of surprises were revealed about several characters. I am not particularly eager to rush off and buy the next book, but I will probably pick it up eventually. What I am most excited about is seeing this crazy world brought to life on the big screen. I can only begin to imagine the intricate fashion, huge mansions, and elaborate gatherings that filled the pages of CRAZY RICH ASIANS so it will be a ton of fun to watch this all come to life. Rachel was a very realistic and endearing heroine and this book was not all fluff. There were a lot of serious incidences and Rachel has to deal with a lot while in Singapore as she learns about her boyfriend and herself.
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