I don’t have physical copies, so this is my attempt to make my post look aEsThetiCaF so bear with me here.
let’s just start off with the fact that I’ve never come across a book quite like this. I don’t mean to say that this book is a written masterpiece because it honestly isn’t. Despite everything, I still loved it.
The writing style is – I guess an appropriate word would be- good, but it wouldn’t cut it for me to be called great. The drama and descriptions drag on sometimes for just a tad too long, and the word choice is sometimes very simple and sometimes I have the feeling, Kevin Kwan was just looking in the thesauruses for another word, just so he wouldn’t need to repeat the same one as some of the words seem unnecessarily fancy for very simple actions (but maybe I’m merely not used to hearing those words on regular basis).
I don’t think the book would win an award for the language used or become a topic for an endless, critical analytical literature discussion. Nonetheless, I loved all the detail Kwan employed. The way he explicitly explains the meaning and explanations of the local language, accents and dialects, social structure and general cultural background and traditions of this particular society. I don’t know if all of the details are actually true (I’ve never lived in Singapore) and surely, some of the details may come across slightly excessive, since there are plenty of descriptions about all the vintage pieces they wear and own and how difficult and, thus valuable certain pieces are. Yet, I believe that this also represents the incredibly materialistic side and superficiality present in this Asian society. I mean have you walked into a Louis Vuitton store recently? For some reason, these luxury stores are now filled with Asians. Of course, for one Asia is developing more rapidly and I’m not saying that all Asian societies are like this. I’m not trying to represent all of Asia, but from what I have experienced, this really highlights the social importance of what can be seen on the surface and how one may be judged based on this. But on the otherside, are you maybe one of those people that just enjoys looking at the luxeries rich people get to enjoy and all the money these people get to spend so freely? Well I am one of them. I mean I don’t follow richkidsofinstagram, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get fascinated at just how rich people can be.
I didn’t know what image I should add … 
So here’s my sister and I shopping
I also loved the fact that he wrote each chapter from a different character’s perspective (more like a rotation of characters), because ya’ll goTTA kNow that I always fall for side characters (in this case it’s Astrid. I just love Astrid. She’s perfect.) But most of all this also made the book so much more intersting and such a page-turner (at least for me) since I had to read through like 3 more chapters before I could get back to this particular side-story line I guess you could call it. But Kwan thus gave each character so much more depth and the opportunity to showcase empathy and for me, as a reader, to relate and understand the characters. (Did i just repeat the same thing, just in different words? lol)
Maybe thats why I thought the story line was so intriguing. I didn’t think that the best part of the story lay within the fact that Nick and Rachel fit so perfectly together. But the whole concept of it and all the explanations about the social structure and society within the high class of Asia is just so real. The reason I enjoyed it so much was, well, of course it was very funny. but i’ve never seen anyone else talk about this culture and social structure. I think it’s great to put it out there for other people to learn about. Although I guess some people will think it’s super fake because yes a lot of things are quite over the top, but on the other side, I honestly wouldn’t doubt if these things were real since the auther said that he was writing about personal experience as he grew up in this kind of society in Singapore. And knowing some people like that myself, it’s just very real. I am not quite sure how else to describe it. But I don’t think everyone is aware that Asia does not only consist of Chinese Factory workers and South East Asian rice farmers.
I loved how the importance of family was stressed in not only the book but also the movie. (Did I mention that I watched the movie? I’ll come back to this later.) I don’t know if I’ll be able to explain this properly, but I have found that family plays such a huge role in an Asian’s person life. And of course, I don’t mean to say that this is not the case in other cultures. Because I know that depending on the individual, you will love your family and care for them. But I think the way my parents influenced my life is a little different than what I have seen from my European’s friends’. Sure, I love my parents. But I think I, and many of my Asian friends, grew up around our parents respecting them more than loving them. I think this mentality has been so engraved, that it became a driving force for many of the things I do. Think about representing your family, more than representing yourself. And I know this may sound slightly extreme, but if I do something wrong (inespecially infront of relatives and extended family), it would reflect my parents negatively. Why? Because they raised me and thus are responsible for the way I talk and behave. And let’s not forget that the gossip culture in this society is crazy. Just like Rachel became an easy target just for spilling a drink or not knowing the norms, I could be showing interest to somone and rest of my extended family will ask about it for the next 2 years even if it’s not even the slightest bit relevant anymore. I hate it. But let’s talk about this more in detail another time.
Should you watch the movie? or read the book? I think I have talked about the book enough for you to know whether it is something you should read or not, but even if you don’t, watch the movie! Do it for my sake lol. I think the movie was even funnier than the book. I absolutely loved the cast (eSPECIAlly for PEIK liN and her dad ermahgawd). It’s short and easy to understand and to watch, nothing too heavy but also nothing too silly and shallow.
I hope you will enjoy it just as much as I did!
