Book Group Discussion Meeting, Saturday, February 2, 2019, 2:00 PM, San Leandro Main Library

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Introducing Kevin Kwan

Here's a simplified biography from a site called Who2:

Kevin Kwan is the author of Crazy Rich Asians and its sequels, China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems.

Kwan grew up in Singapore until he was eleven, when his family moved to Texas.

After getting his degree in creative writing from the University of Houston (1994), Kwan headed to New York, where he earned his BFA from Parsons School of Design and began working for high profile publishers.

Kwan spent time at Martha Stewart’s Living and Interview magazines before opening his own creative consulting firm, specialzing in visual projects for fashion designers, celebrities and publishing firms.

After ten years as a designer, Kwan wrote his first novel, Crazy Rich Asians, a breakout best seller and a popular “beach read,” famous for its nutty characters and their delightfully wicked excesses.

Kwan followed with China Rich Girlfriend in 2015, and Rich People Problems in 2017, just as the filming of a film version of Crazy Rich Asian was underway. 

The Wikipedia bio is more detailed and interesting, and I suggest you check it out, but as it is Wikipedia, know that it may not be 100% accurate.

The following is a brief interview with Kwan about Crazy Rich Asians:



Singapore Album

The world's most expensive city.

The colonial-era Raffles Hotel, now considered just a tourist destination by the locals. 

A colonial-era "black and white" house.

Singapore National Archives (former site of Anglo-Chinese School)

Singapore Botanic Gardens, behind which Nick's grandma's mansion was found

The video below shows a time lapse of a tan hua flower blooming:



Singapore Food 

Singapore food carries the influences of China, India, and Malaysia. Here's a link to an article entitled "10 Best Singapore Dishes." Nick's family spend a lot of time sipping tea and snacking on "kueh" (also spelled "kuih"), which are rice cakes. Here are a couple of links: "7 Nyonya Kuih You Must Have" and "How to Know the Names of Chinese/Nyonya/Malay Kuih".

Crazy Rich Asians, the Movie 

If you're like me (and you're probably not) you knew Crazy Rich Asians was a movie before you knew it was a book. The trailer is below. Just from watching the trailer, I saw several differences between the book and the movie.