Crazy Rich Asians
| Author | Kevin Kwan |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
|
Publication date
|
2013 |
| Media type | |
| ISBN | 978-0-385-53697-4 |
| Followed by | 'China Rich Girlfriend' |
'Crazy Rich Asians' is a 2013 novel by Kevin Kwan. The novel became a best seller and was followed by the sequel China Rich Girlfriend in 2015.
Kwan stated that his intention in writing the novel was to "introduce a contemporary Asia to a North American audience."[1] He claimed the novel was loosely based on his own childhood in Singapore.[2]
Plot
Nick Young, the heir apparent of an extremely wealthy old-money Singapore family living in New York and working as a professor goes home for the first time in years to attend his friend's wedding. He decides to bring his girlfriend, Rachel Chu, who has no idea about the extremity of his wealth, with him.
Characters
- Rachel Chu: A Stanford-educated ABC (American Born Chinese) economist who is a professor in NYC.
- Kerry Chu: Rachel's single mother who had a dark past involving Rachel's birth.
- Nicholas "Nick" Young: Rachel's boyfriend who actually comes from an extremely wealthy Singaporean old-money family.
- Eleanor Young: Nick's controlling mother who disapproves of Rachel.
- Astrid Teo (née Leong): Nick's fashionable cousin who is referred to as "the goddess" and is known for her impeccable fashion sense. Her old-money family, the Leongs, are implied to be even richer than the Youngs.
- Goh Peik Lin: Rachel's kind and shopaholic old friend from Stanford who comes from a rich Singaporean family who owns a property development and construction company.
- Colin Khoo: Nick's best friend, whose family is one of the richest in the world. His wedding to Araminta Lee is the most talked-about wedding in the entire Asia.
- Araminta Lee: Colin's fiancée who befriends Rachel. She is Singapore's most celebrated fashion icon, whose father is one of China's richest men and her mother is the luxury hotel queen.
- Edison "Eddie" Cheng: Nick's cousin who wants his family to have a picture perfect life. Despite having wealthy parents, with his father being one of the world's renowned heart surgeons, and her mother coming from the wealthy Youngs, they live a humble lifestyle, something that Eddie's ashamed of.
- Cassandra Shang: Nick's gossipy second cousin who seems to know everything about everyone, earning her the nickname, "Radio One Asia".
- Carol Tai: A good Christian who's also the wife of a dirty billionaire. She's good friends with Eleanor.
- Bernard Tai: Carol's son and also Nick and Colin's former classmate, who's very spoiled and wild.
- Kitty Pong: A gold-digging soap opera star who's dating Alistair, Eddie's brother. She later has an affair with Bernard.
- Francesca Shaw: Nick's vain socialite ex-girlfriend who doesn't like Rachel. Her mother, Nadine, is also good friends with Eleanor. Her family later goes broke due to their money being taken back from her grandfather, Sir Ronald Shaw, who was in a coma for many years.
- Shang Su Yi: Nick's extremely wealthy and powerful grandmother who lives in a very huge estate that resembles a palace, Tyersall Park, and has maids from the King of Thailand as a gift. She dislikes Eleanor.
- Michael Teo: Astrid's husband who owns a start-up company. He hates being in Astrid's upper-class world so much that he fakes an affair with a text, thinking it's from another girl, to break up with her.
- Charlie Wu: Astrid's tech billionaire ex-fiancé who still has feelings for her despite being married to someone else. He was disapproved by Astrid's parents due to not coming from an old-money family like her.
Reception
The novel received overwhelmingly positive reviews.[3]
Adaptation
In 2015 Kwan confirmed that a movie version of Crazy Rich Asians was in development.[4]
