Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan

13 reviews

gkaltam's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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lekutches's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The broad set of characters felt challenging to keep up with at times. Overall, it was mindless and enjoyable, with a hint of pop-culture. 

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bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

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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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mishaps's review against another edition

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lighthearted slow-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

2.0


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maggies's review against another edition

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

3.0

This is my second Kevin Kwan book (I think?) and I just don’t think the style is for me. Too much gossip and focus on fancy clothes and rich-people-things. Doesn’t float my boat, and I should probably stop trying to force it. That said, this story was fine. A taste of Pride and Prejudice, even! Just not enough to really satisfy me.

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nouveau's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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mikaelaandherbooks's review against another edition

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This style just wasn’t for me. Between the pacing of the story, the overemphasis on how rich everyone is and the way the perspectives were shown, I just wasn’t hooked or interested in what happened.

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literarydumpling's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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colleenf's review against another edition

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funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Anti-Asian racism is a major theme of the book, which was largely absent from the author's Crazy Rich Asians series. The book also explores antisemitism, but the Jewish and Asian characters do no find solidarity with each other and often compete for a place in a White dominated society. Some readers might think of this as antisemitic, it isn't my place to say.

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the_literarylinguist's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0


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