How did we get here? It’s August, and we are almost at the end of Summer.
How are you doing? How has 2023 been for you so far? My year has been filled with many reflections and nostalgia, and it has been evident from the books I have picked up lately.
Here are my reading highlights for the week:
Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians #1) by Kevin Kwan
4 stars
This is one of the rare times I read a book after watching the movie first. I’m not sure if I knew that Crazy Rich Asians was based on a book before I watched it in 2018, but I do remember being very excited about the movie and that it didn’t disappoint.
The book differs from the movie; apart from more context and nuances as apparent as the original version, we get more insight into Rachel and Nic’s relationship and life together before visiting Singapore. I finished the book in pretty much one sitting. It was fun and intriguing; it felt like I was in the country, eating the food and enjoying the sights.
China Rich Girlfriend (Crazy Rich Asians #2) by Kevin Kwan
3 stars
I have several thoughts on this second book. I was surprised that there was an element of geopolitics and wondered if it was just a coincidence. I won’t go into this element of the book here, so I recommend you do some Googling if you are interested.
I didn’t like the book’s first half, because we didn’t get much of Rachel and Nicholas, even though they are supposed to be the main characters. I listened to the audiobook for both books and as they were read by different narrators (something I have learnt is a no-go for series, for me), Rachel felt very different from the lady I was introduced to in the first book. Furthermore, there was a lot more emphasis on materialism, so numerous descriptions of cars, bags, houses, paintings, etc. As I am very removed from these, I couldn’t significantly vision them, and thus it had little impact on me.
However, the second half was full of plot twists and ridiculousness. It felt like reading a long gossip column, and as I am intrigued to find out what happens next, I will pick up the next and final book in the series.
