Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - Crazy Rich Asians

Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

11 reviews

shirarweiss's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

2.5

I did not like this book. The characters (other than a select few- Nick, Rachel, and a few smaller roles) were insufferable. The book could have been at least 100 pages shorter. It was very hard to keep track of all of the characters and dynamics. I know it was supposed to be a satire but I wasn’t sure when it was real and I honestly didn’t find it very funny. I imagine this makes a much better movie and I am excited to watch it- I think the richness will be much more interesting to see visually and I will be able to keep track of the characters more with seeing faces.

honestly, the best part of the book was the very end, with the focus on just Nick and Rachel’s relationship and the other couples - I thought that was interesting and compelling, I was really rooting for Nick and Rachel, and it was interesting to directly contrast the different couples. Also, what the heck was the thing with Michael faking a mistress? That was bizarre.

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kiwichill's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

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seventhswan's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.25

I remember enjoying the film version of this story, so to tell the truth I was a little disappointed in the book! A lot of the humour felt dated and a bit sexist, but beyond that, I just couldn't get that invested in the plot. As main characters, I didn't care that much for Nick or Rachel, and was far more interested in Astrid's storyline, as she felt more fully fleshed out as a character. I'd recommend Tiffany Tsao's The Majesties over this book as a story centred around ultra-wealthy Asian societies - I've seen them compared before, and think Tsao's work has a lot more depth, better dialogue, and a more coherently paced main plot.

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cdoubet's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.75

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theuncannydani's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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emilywemily6's review against another edition

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funny tense slow-paced

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

3.5

This book was a mixed bag, but overall I enjoyed it and look forward to reading the rest of the series. First of all, this book is really vulgar- not just in language and the use of racial slurs, but also in descriptions of debauchery. I feel like few of these things added to the story, and the author could have gotten the same points across by writing in a different way. This book touched on so many characters and I feel like I missed out on getting to know the characters more deeply since the story was spread between so many perspectives and storylines. This book read like a soap opera which I think was intentional but also very different than what I am used to reading. The culture of the crazy rich Asians portrayed in the book was so fascinating and I just couldn’t stop reading (like a soap opera lol). It makes me wonder how much of those types of people actually exist and want to do some research. The ending was so unexpected and I enjoyed it, but this book felt like it ended really abruptly. I also felt like a ton of names were dropped that I had no concept of, which makes me wonder if those people are real or not and whether the name dropping was just a literary device the author used to paint a picture of this culture of Asian oligarchy. This is so different than what I usually read, which was refreshing and intriguing and captivating, but definitely a superficial book with some flaws or creative choices that may or may not contribute to the book as a whole.

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