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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
adventurous
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An entertaining read but a bit repetitive and predictable. The antics of the über rich got old after awhile and the author’s attempt to inject some moralizing made it taste even worse (why include one character’s little soliloquy about how no one else could imagine such wealth and immigrants support the wealthy’s lifestyle in 437 pages?). I honestly preferred Arabella and Rosina, who felt honest, to Rufus and the others who felt fake and had a very “White Lotus” level of self-awareness with their moralizing - but not intentionally. Also, if they got on one more plane I was gonna lose it - they spent most of the book flying from one place to another, with no mention of the environmental impact. There was also a bit too much name dropping of various brands I’ve never heard of. Some of the writing style was creative and at other points it just felt like he was writing a screenplay for another hit movie.
Entertaining and I love all the descriptions of places. The book falls down at the dialogue, it feels weirdly simplistic. Also all the name dropping is going to feel outdated in about two years, it sort of jumped out of the page as trying too hard. The argument could be made that the point is that it’s obvious and trying too hard because it reflects the people who do it, but the way it came across didn’t flow right for me.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Kwan is a hoot as ever, especially in the footnotes. Is it still a trashy read if you learn a lot from it? He’s just in a class of his own, with his encyclopedia knowledge of fashion, art, history, society, and status. I hope other readers appreciate the small reference to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (a minor Swiss character named Emil Schauffhausen).
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated