Book Talk | Crazy Rich Asians

I love the Crazy Rich Asians movie, and it is my go-to movie on a flight. For our Hawaii trip, I wanted to read something more summer-y, and I thought maybe this was a great time to read Crazy Rich Asians and see how different or similar they. I’m here to say the book is very different but not in a bad way. Let’s talk about it.

About the Author

Kevin Kwan is the author of New York Times bestsellers Crazy Rich Asians, China Rich Girlfriend, Rich People Problems, and Sex & Vanity. His books have been translated into 40 languages, and the film adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians became Hollywood’s highest-grossing romantic comedy in over a decade. In 2018, Kevin was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

About the Book

When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and quality time with the man she might one day marry. What she doesn’t know is that Nick’s family home happens to look like a palace, that she’ll ride in more private planes than cars, and that with one of Asia’s most eligible bachelors on her arm, Rachel might as well have a target on her back.

Book Talk

When you grab this book, one might think they are getting themselves into another general Rom-com situation. While there are rom-com-esque elements, readers might find this book to be a fun satire as well. Readers will marvel at the opulent wealth that life grants our characters, grind their teeth at some of their excessive and ignorant behaviors, and gasp at what our characters find “cheap,” all while cheering on our main characters. Everything in the book may feel over-the-top, but that is exactly what our author is trying to do. In his own way, Kwan is giving us an entertaining, wild ride while still critiquing the social norms and ridiculous behaviors that mirror a life he has seen and lived somewhat.

There are multiple things that I enjoyed about the book more than the movie, and some changes from the movie that I appreciated. One of the things I liked most about the book more are our characters. In the movie, besides Rachel and Nick, all of the other characters we are introduced to, we get to know on the surface level of. However, in the book, we get to really deep-dive into more of our characters, their motives, their feelings, and just more into their storylines through their dedicated chapters. For example, Astrid plays a role in the movie, but in the book, we see her breaking down when she finds out her husband, Michael, is cheating on her. We see her go completely insane trying to find him, and we learn the actual truth of Michael’s so-called affair and how she’s dealing with it through the different scenarios throughout the story. We also see more of Eddie Cheng and how horrible a father and husband he is, and how shallow Araminta is compared to her movie counterpart.

The movie diverts quite a bit from the book, so some of the major scenes stayed the same, while some of it was completely omitted from the movie. One context that feels completely omitted was the fact that Nick’s grandmother did not approve of Rachel at all and went as far as flying to her private island (also not seen in the movie) to stop Nick from proposing to her. In the movie, she seems more humble and eventually comes around to Rachel after the mahjong scene. There is no mahjong scene here, and we get no reassurance from his grandmother that she is accepted into the family. I also prefer Peik Lin’s character in the movie to the one in the book. They’re essentially the same, but I feel she is brought more to life in the movie than in the book, at least in the first book. There are other differences, but you just need to read the book to find them all out. 

Overall, I did enjoy my time reading Crazy Rich Asians. It’s a story about love, wealth, class, drama, and all the satire in between. If you’re a fan of the movie, it’s not like the movie, but it’s still a fun ride to go on. I’m looking forward to reading the next installment in the series.

Until then, Happy Reading!