We, as students, are coming upon a busy time in the semester – midterms. While other responsibilities may be thrown and piling up upon you, it is important to take a break and do something for yourself. For me, this means I read a book. My favorite book so far this semester is “Crazy Rich Asians” by Kevin Kwan, a light-hearted novel that is exhaustingly saturated in money.
Although the plot-line is a little over-wrought and cliché, it is similar to “Pride and Prejudice” in that a ‘common’ gal meets a very rich guy, but without them hating each other for a while. The real gem is how Kwan dives into the culture of his characters. New Yorker Rachel Chu is happily dating Nick Young, and agrees to visit his family in Singapore for the summer. Little does she know that he is one of the wealthiest men on the planet and comes from a family dedicated to, and who possibly even invented, the notion of designating certain bloodlines and backgrounds as either good or bad.
Kwan exposes the differences, and the ridiculousness, of certain things: rich families versus lower-income families, families obsessed with bloodlines, finding a suitable match for their heirs versus those focused on supporting each other, Singaporean Chinese versus first and second generation Chinese-American, and the list goes on and on. On top of all this interesting cultural information, Kwan’s writing is funny and sassy, which makes this an enjoyable read.
If you happen to have time in your mid-semester rush, I highly recommend this book as a break. It is at the library, along with its sequel, “China Rich Girlfriend.”
