Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan

3 reviews

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I picked this up because I loved Kwan’s debut work, Crazy Rich Asians, as well as the sequels. I was pulled in right away and read this pretty quickly because it’s a lighthearted, modern homage to A Room With a View! I haven’t read Room With a View yet but it’s high on my classics TBR.

In Sex and Vanity we go from Capri, Italy in part 1 of the novel and then jump 5 years later to NYC for part 2. I enjoyed Capri a lot more, but the NYC chapters grew on me after a few chapters.

For the most part, I liked the characters! They were all well written and complex, although some of them (Lucie) annoyed me at times 😅 But I did love how outrageous some of the characters were and it made for an entertaining read!

The one thing that really bugged me was with each new character introduced, Kwan writes out EVERY school they went to from Pre K to college 🙃 it got annoying very quickly, like all the labels and pop culture references could be a bit much at times and unfortunately will end up dating the book in years to come. The name dropping/brand insertions were numerous and felt like Kwan was trying to reach the word count for an essay 🙈

Kwan also adds footnotes (just like in Crazy Rich Asians), but this time I didn’t enjoy them as much. Sometimes they were contradictions or clarifications for something a character said, instead of informational, and meant to be funny-which felt forced/unnecessary and didn’t hit the same way they did in CRA (or like I think Kwan expected).

The ending was really well done! It left things sort of open ended but also wrapped up in a sense, it was a satisfying ending for the novel. It’s a fun, quick read that I enjoyed but I think Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians trilogy is still his best work 💗

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Sexual content

Moderate: Death of parent and Grief

Minor: Infidelity and Antisemitism

lateromantic's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Very fun, very frothy in the best way, fabulously knowledgable about fabulous things like art and fashion and interior design. Plot was meh and very not the point of this kind of read, but I'd have liked to see it longer and have some of the plot beats be described in as much detail as the luscious moments.
I loved how it ended with one character -

Cecil, and everyone's attitudes towards him in the end - he wasn't portrayed as a villain or a buffoon, just the wrong man

Equally, I didn't love the ending for another character -

Charlotte. It seemed to come out of nowhere that she's nice now, and then to be dating the nicest character in the book? nah this bit was very pure fiction happy-ending.

I also loved how Kwan handled the theme of

racism - both internalised and from external sources. He really made it seem realistic what the character felt for herself and how she was interpreting others' actions, and he leaves it up to us to decide how far it was true or a problem that the characters can overcome. Perfect for this kind of frothy read - places you in a realistic world and gives an understanding of serious issues, somehow without detracting from the lightness of his book? Masterful.

My favourite part was the footnotes - charming and informative. I wish more chick lit told me about arty Chinese cinema and European trends in porcelain.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Infidelity, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Racism, and Sexual content

I also want to put a trigger for revenge porn? I think it's the most appropriate way to describe what happens (detail:

being filmed in a sexual act then trying to hide it

) - it's a (the?) major plot point, but it's not explicit, and

nothing bad happens as a consequence.

womanwill's review against another edition

funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Infidelity and Sexual content

Minor: Death of parent and Antisemitism