Think Dynasty set in locations like Singapore and Kuala Lumpur … but BIGGER … and you’ve got Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians – a funny, dramatic, glamorous, yet culturally informative story of family and romance. Kwan uses his rich (literally and figuratively) cast of characters and their intersecting stories to explore the complicated relationships between immigrant parents and their American-born children, as well as different Asian cultures with each other. Inevitable dollar signs and drama ensues.
The plot revolves around families – the Young’s, the Leong’s, and the Cheng’s – and their American born children. Nick Young, one of New York City’s most handsome and eligible bachelors, is in love with his girlfriend Rachel Chu. When he’s invited to his hometown in Singapore for his best friend’s wedding, he naturally invites her to meet his unnaturally wealthy family. Calling their home luxurious is an understatement – it’s more like a “world” – a world that Rachel doesn’t understand and isn’t welcomed into.
Nick’s cousin is Astrid Leong, a Singaporean society-gal known as “The Goddess,” is astonishing to look at and wonder about for us “regular” people. From her endless closet of couture dresses to her stunning good looks and well-off family, she’s the “it” girl who has it all … until she discovers that her handsome hunk of an ex-army husband is cheating on her. We get to follow Astrid’s investigation into who’s and why’s of his possible mistress, all while keeping up the performance she must give to her family and the public eye.
Poor Eddie Cheng – Nick and Astrid’s cousin – cares so much about his looks and appearance of wealth, but can’t seem to catch a break. He comically fails to impress time and time again, constantly met with opposition from his spoiled wife and children. To top it all off, his brother, Alistair, is dating (my favorite character) soap opera actress, Kitty Pong. She claims to also come from money, but turns out her story is as real as her double-D breasts. Between her and Alistair’s embarrassingly public displays of affection and her over-the-top luxuriating (think fur coats and matching Cartier collars with her Doberman dogs), Kwan paints a hilarious picture at just how wealth puts the “crazy” in Crazy Rich Asians.
