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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
lighthearted
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
way better than the movie
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Crazy Rich Asians” was a very fun read!
The absolute extravagance of all these “crazy rich” families we follow makes for a dramatic tale of romance, familial expectations and societal expectations as well. I do think that with so much focus on so many characters that there were a lot of under baked plot and character threads, and I wouldn’t lie if I mentioned that I felt it maybe ended a bit too open ended. But the problem here is that I was spoiled by the relatively concrete ending of the movie. This is a three book series after all so I’m assuming most of the resolution I’m looking for takes place in those other books.
A lot of the characters stories are compelling and some of the side characters stories even maybe overshadow Rachel and Nicks(our main couple) for me. Again I definitely had a great time indulging in the richer than god characters and their catty/bitchy dynamics but this definitely felt like a Part One to a whole story rather than a complete package so ultimately the pacing felt a little off to me.
The absolute extravagance of all these “crazy rich” families we follow makes for a dramatic tale of romance, familial expectations and societal expectations as well. I do think that with so much focus on so many characters that there were a lot of under baked plot and character threads, and I wouldn’t lie if I mentioned that I felt it maybe ended a bit too open ended. But the problem here is that I was spoiled by the relatively concrete ending of the movie. This is a three book series after all so I’m assuming most of the resolution I’m looking for takes place in those other books.
A lot of the characters stories are compelling and some of the side characters stories even maybe overshadow Rachel and Nicks(our main couple) for me. Again I definitely had a great time indulging in the richer than god characters and their catty/bitchy dynamics but this definitely felt like a Part One to a whole story rather than a complete package so ultimately the pacing felt a little off to me.
4.5 ✨
This book. This book is intense in a way that I wasn’t expecting. It delves into all of the ways the wealthy can manipulate whatever they want, however they want. But it’s deeper than that, nothing is as appears on the surface.
The reason for my deduction is that it took me what felt like forever to read it, so I had to switch to audiobook halfway through to get more in to it
This book. This book is intense in a way that I wasn’t expecting. It delves into all of the ways the wealthy can manipulate whatever they want, however they want. But it’s deeper than that, nothing is as appears on the surface.
The reason for my deduction is that it took me what felt like forever to read it, so I had to switch to audiobook halfway through to get more in to it
I actually saw [b:China Rich Girlfriend|22674105|China Rich Girlfriend (Crazy Rich Asians #2)|Kevin Kwan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1419179404s/22674105.jpg|42179165] on the library shelf before I ever heard about Crazy Rich Asians. This book wasn't really on my radar until after promotion for the film started popping up, and then it was impossible to get my hands on at the library. Fortunately, my cousin lent me a copy so I was able to read it without waiting for the 30 people ahead of me in the hold line, LOL.
First of all, it felt surreal to read this. I can definitely see what people mean about representation of Asians/Asian-Americans in literature/film/media. Of course, you read other books and you can identify with the protagonist in one way or another. It's another thing to have small details from your life pop in in a book you're reading. Mentioning your hometown, your alma mater, some bit of your life that is paralleled, even just seeing the word makan a few times, which is literally the only Indonesian word I know (apparently the same meaning in Malay). You don't realize how little people "like you" are represented until you read something that represents you this closely, I guess?
That being said, the book was, meh okay. It was fun and quick, kind of a good "summer read" so to speak. But it wasn't like, amazing crazy my new favorite or anything like that. It wasn't even that "romantic"? And from the few trailers I've seen for the movie, they either changed several things or they incorporated bits of storyline from Kwan's other two books (although I've heard more movies are to follow so not sure they would choose to mix the plots of the books).
First of all, it felt surreal to read this. I can definitely see what people mean about representation of Asians/Asian-Americans in literature/film/media. Of course, you read other books and you can identify with the protagonist in one way or another. It's another thing to have small details from your life pop in in a book you're reading. Mentioning your hometown, your alma mater, some bit of your life that is paralleled, even just seeing the word makan a few times, which is literally the only Indonesian word I know (apparently the same meaning in Malay). You don't realize how little people "like you" are represented until you read something that represents you this closely, I guess?
That being said, the book was, meh okay. It was fun and quick, kind of a good "summer read" so to speak. But it wasn't like, amazing crazy my new favorite or anything like that. It wasn't even that "romantic"? And from the few trailers I've seen for the movie, they either changed several things or they incorporated bits of storyline from Kwan's other two books (although I've heard more movies are to follow so not sure they would choose to mix the plots of the books).
Super inappropriate and not very well written, found typos.
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Honestly, props to Kevin Kwan. This book is probably the closest I’d get to enjoying the story of shamefully rich assholes. The book had a fair bit of humor clearly meant to poke fun or, at least, illuminate a certain culture that most of us plebs will never know. In fact, he did such a good job of creating such deplorable humans that I honestly had my fill after a few chapters. Unfortunately, I was bored with Rachel and Nick’s story and found myself looking forward to only Astrid’s point of view. I was surprised to learn that this was the first book in a series, and while I enjoyed the book, I certainly don’t feel the need to continue reading more.
PS: Besides the fun shade from aunties, one of the most enjoyable parts were Kwan’s descriptions of food. No plate or snack would go by without him spending a paragraph detailing the aromas and textures of a street dish. Sometimes it felt like he just wanted to write a cook book— and I didn’t hate it. I love how much it reveals about how the culture views food.
PS: Besides the fun shade from aunties, one of the most enjoyable parts were Kwan’s descriptions of food. No plate or snack would go by without him spending a paragraph detailing the aromas and textures of a street dish. Sometimes it felt like he just wanted to write a cook book— and I didn’t hate it. I love how much it reveals about how the culture views food.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes