The Crazy Rich Asians Trilogy by Kevin Kwan

While the hype around these books  when the movie came out seemed over the top, years later I decided to give the first book at try and quickly went through all three, understanding the hype around the books several years ago. So many of the characters being over the top crazy rich and crazy in how they behave it makes the books a great escape from reality. As each book progresses the characters being focused on widens to include more than Rachel and Nick’s immediate family. While some stories, like Rachel’s best friend and Nick’s cousin, are barely glossed over other other people have their story told over the course of the books with more information coming to the reader as you would learn more about a friend. The list of characters is too long to list and each book is not getting an individual review, because the stories can be one and done but really the trilogy makes for such a great read that all three should be read. The reader will understand Kitty’s desire to be accepted and how she eventually is counseled by the right person and understands the long game plan (while getting a hot stone massage on her private jumbo jet) so much better if the entire arch of the three books is read instead of just one. The wedding of Colin Khoo and Araminta Lee may be the excuse that brings Rachel and Nick to Asia, but Colin and Araminta go through changes over the course of the three books that touch other characters and help friendships grow closer (or end). Nick’s mother oddly only gets more overbearing, especially when she tries to surprise Rachel with an exam to see if Rachel is having fertility issues during a bible study meeting. A warning to the readers who have seen the movie, the Astrid in the movie who leaves her husband is not like that in the books, and it takes until the end of the third book to see her being the self confident woman who is portrayed in the movie (each reader may feel differently on if the three books is worth the payoff for how Astrid’s character develops).   The trilogy is great and the three books would be recommended, but it is for each reader to decide if the box set or each individual books is what they would rather read. 

 

 

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