When I first heard about Crazy Rich Asians, I had come across it in passing through several different news outlets praising Kevin Kwan's debut novel. At the time, I just shrugged and even at one point had mistaken it for Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom. Then about a year ago, I found out they were adapting it into a movie when I saw Constance Wu and Henry Golding on the cover of Entertainment Weekly. I read the featured article and found the premise to be interesting.
The story follows Asian-American NYU professor Rachel Chu, who agrees to accompany her boyfriend of two years, Nick Young, to his hometown of Singapore for his best friend's wedding. What she had originally imagined to be a quaint summer in Asia meeting boyfriend's humble family turns into the culture shock of her life, when it turns out Nick actually comes from not just a reputable background - but from a crazy rich family! Surrounded by the opulent world of private jets, secluded mansions, and endless riches, along with an exclusive group of characters from Nick's eccentric family and friends to his domineering mother, Eleanor, who believes Rachel is not suitable for her son, Rachel must not only navigate her place in Nick's world but also decide if she wants to be a part of it.
Right off the bat, I loved everything about this book. As an Asian-American myself, I found myself relating to the culture and family dynamics. The gossipy relatives humorously reminded me of some of the Filipino women I've encountered growing up. And the high respect to elders and their blessing was also something familiar. However, whichever background you are from, anyone can relate to the story and its array of characters.
Rachel is like many of us meeting our boyfriend's parents, let alone his whole family, for the first time. There's a sense of anxiety and a bit of a culture shock (whether they are wealthy or not), similar to how many of us have felt during our own "meeting the family." I found her genuine and natural, and even insecure, which is actually what I love about her. She's honest and real. So, it did get on my nerves when Nick's family and jealous ex-girlfriends accused her of being a gold-digger. Then again, when someone is adamantly questioning your character and how you landed someone as great as Nick, maybe they too are insecure despite how much money they have. They just handle it differently unfortunately.
To all the female readers out there, Nick is honestly the best modern literary boyfriend we have today. Putting aside his wealth, I found him sincere, caring, and completely in love with Rachel. He doesn't care about her money or where she came from - he loves her just as she is. He is also a good friend as shown through his friendship with his childhood best friend, Colin Khoo. Even though they live miles apart, it's as if nothing has changed when they are reunited again for his wedding. There's a couple of things we learn about Colin and his emotional imbalance, and I like how Nick knows his friend well enough to support and be there for him. It's also the same vice versa. Colin is aware of Nick's reputation, but he doesn't put that above him. He sees him as a brother and supports him and his relationship with Rachel.
In between Rachel and Nick's happiness is his disapproving mother, Eleanor. While Eleanor could be seen as the "villain" in the story, I never really saw her that way. Eleanor is strictly traditional and believes in certain mores, such as the importance of marrying someone substantial background and how a name like Young comes with such high regard. She came from a pretty significant background, but it wasn't enough when she married Nick's father, Philip Young, because amongst his family she was still seen as an outsider. So, it's disappointing that she is treating Rachel the same as her in-laws treated her. I think Eleanor though cannot compare herself to Rachel because they live such very different lives. Also, she is blinded by her overprotectiveness as a mother that she doesn't see how alike she and Rachel are. It is interesting though to see how for someone who is still considered an outsider amongst her peers, is actually regarded as leader of the pact - a fearful one as well.
There is a sub story in the book involving Nick's cousin, Astrid, that I curiously wondering why was heavily detailed alongside Nick and Rachel's story. Until I realized that there was a connection or a parallel between the two. *Spoiler alert begins*
Astrid Leong has been happily married to Michael Teo, whom she has a beautiful son with named Cassian. However, she is thrown in for a loop when she finds a flirtatious text message for Michael causing her to panic and believe that he is cheating on her. She also later learns that he was spotted with a little boy (that wasn't Cassian) in Hong Kong. Her ex-boyfriend, Charlie Wu, also gets involved in helping her track down her husband when he decides to leave after Astrid confronts him about his affair. What Astrid discovers though is that Michael had set the whole thing up. He was never having an affair, he only wanted an easy way out of his marriage to Astrid because he felt inadequate to her and her affluent family.
Up until that point, I had been wondering why Kwan had devoted much of his chapters to Astrid and Michael. I realized then that their relationship is a parallel comparison to Nick and Rachel's relationship.
Whereas we follow Rachel's initial meeting with Nick's family and questioning her place with them, we find out that Michael, who was once Rachel's position before, still feels like an outsider since marrying Astrid. The only difference between Astrid and Michael and Nick and Rachel however, is that Nick and Rachel's relationship was built on substance where they got to know each other away from his life in Singapore. Astrid and Michael's relationship started merely on attraction and lust, with Michael having to deal with his overbearing in-laws since the beginning. I can see Kwan was giving readers an insight into one possible outcome for Nick and Rachel if they decide to marry. However, he also establishes that these two couples are very different people under similar and different circumstances. On a quick side note, I like how Charlie chose not to pursue Astrid after everything. I was sensing that it was going that route with Charlie and Astrid ending up together, but he did the right thing by putting her need first and seeing how she truly loves Michael. *End of spoiler*
Based on the film's trailer, it looks like the movie will focus on Eleanor's disapproval of Rachel. The book also covers how she feels about her and goes further to show what lengths she will go through to get rid of her. There's actually a rather big unexpected turn that I thought was extreme in terms of what we know about our characters, but was strangely interesting. I feel though that the film version will eliminate this part and probably save it for the sequel if there is one.
Speaking of sequels, I actually thought this book was perfect as a standalone until it makes that big reveal towards the end. It kind of feels like while Kwan was finishing his story, he realized he had more to say about these characters and had a burst of inspiration that could lead into a second book because the reveal does seem shocking if not sudden. *Spoiler alert* Whereas it seems like the movie will resolve Eleanor and Rachel's tension, the book ends it on a cliffhanger with both women still at odds. *End of spoiler* It does make me wonder what the film will be like and if it will possibly have everything tied up neatly or lead up to a sequel (crossing my fingers that we get to see China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems on the big screen!).
Overall, I loved Crazy Rich Asians. It's a familiar story told in an unconventional but very intriguing setting. We need more stories like these and with Asian leads both in books and in movies.
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