“‘You sure about this?’ Rachel asked again, blowing softly on the surface of her steaming cup of tea.”

From Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians.

When Nick invites his girlfriend Rachel to travel home to Singapore for the wedding of his best friend (Colin), she readily agrees for the experience of touring Asia, catching up with her Singaporean college roommate (Peik Lin), and seeing where the reserved Nick grew up.  Even though the couple has been together for two years, Nick never informed Rachel that his family is exceptionally rich; Nick has also neglected to tell his old-world-values family about Rachel, with the exception of his cousin Astrid.  After leaving her single mother at home in New York, Rachel’s expectations are blown away when she arrives in Singapore and begins to meet Nick’s aunts and uncles, cousins, grandmother, and friends because each person she meets lives more in luxury than the last.  Feeling slighted because her son didn’t tell her about his relationship with Rachel until this trip, Nick’s mother Eleanor devotes all her time and energy into finding out who Rachel is and convincing her that she is not good enough for Nick.  As Rachel grapples with the lavish lifestyle Nick was raised in, she must also find a way to deal with Singapore’s ultra-rich gossip and disdain before it tears her and Nick apart.

Kwan does a brilliant job of weaving a story that is humorous, romantic, and lavish… all rolled into one crazy experience.  While the main focus of the story comes from Nick and Rachel’s thoughts and experiences, there is a solid story-enhancing element in the chapters focusing on the secondary characters.  The annotations scattered throughout the book are very informative and often hilariously honest, but some of the longer explainations end up distracting from the story.  Crazy Rich Asians is a story that is completely original while somehow managing to use characters that are relatable, even in their absurd wealth.