Glamour magazine said it best in their review, “It’s impossible not to get sucked into this satirical novel.” Crazy Rich Asians is simply fun entertainment. I can totally see why they made a movie based on this book – the fashion, the architecture, the opulence, OH MY! Now, I can’t wait to see it. Also, when I started the book, I assumed it was a stand-alone novel. I had no idea it was the first in a trilogy. As soon as I ended on a juicy, romantic cliff-hanger, I immediately logged onto order books two and three.
When Rachel Chu agrees to go to Singapore for the summer with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she has no idea what she is getting herself into. Nicholas is a beloved member of the Young, T’sien, and Shang family, the holders of generations-old fortunes and wealth. Rachel’s reputation as a lowly ABC (American-Born Chinese) precedes her. Tradition and pride are the name of the game, and the family (and a few jealous ex-girlfriends) will stop at nothing to ensure that the two don’t leave Singapore as a couple.
The number of characters in Crazy Rich Asians makes the story hard, at times, to follow. Thankfully, there is a family tree at the beginning of the book, which I had to flip back to throughout. The chapters are told from different character’s perspectives, and toward the last third, there were some characters’ stories I would have preferred to breeze through in order to get back to “the main show.” With that being said, the author wove the stories together beautifully leaving a handful of jumping off points for the next book, and I am excited to dive back into the story when China Rich Girlfriend hits my mailbox.