Paperback: Kevin Kwan, author of the widely celebrated, critically acclaimed breakout bestseller Crazy Rich Asians (2013), is back with with a wickedly funny new novel of social climbing, secret e-mails, fashion-world scandal and the outrageous story of what happens when Rachel Chu, engaged to to marry Asia's most eligible bachelor, discovers her birth father.
On the eve of her wedding to Nicholas Young, Rachel should be over the moon. Her fiancé is willing to defy his mother and sacrifice his entire inheritance - one of the greatest fortunes in Asia - in order to marry her.
However, Rachel still regrets the fact that her father, a man she never knew, won't be able to walk her down the aisle until a shocking revelation draws Rachel into a world of Shanghai splendour beyond anything she has ever imagined.
Here we meet Carlton, a Ferrari-crashing bad boy known for Prince Harry-like antics; Colette, his celebrity girlfriend who is chased by fevered paparazzi; and the man Rachel has spent her entire life waiting to meet. Meanwhile, Singapore's It Girl, Astrid Leong, is shocked to discover that there is a downside to having a newly minted tech billionaire husband and "Mrs Katherine Tai" (previously known as the soap opera Kitty Pong) realizes that it will take more than a new name for her to claim her rightful place in society.
An uproarious comedy of manners that takes readers through Asia's most exclusive clubs, auction houses and estates, China Rich Girlfriend (2015) is filled with the opulence of mainland China - a place where people attend church in a penthouse above the clouds, where private jets are decorated to look like Balinese resorts, where exotic sports cars race along boulevards, and where people aren't just crazy rich, they're China rich - (these people aren't just everyday rich with a few hundred million, we're talking billions and billions)!
About the author: Kevin Kwan was born and raised in Singapore, where he attended Anglo-Chinese School in the mornings and spent his afternoons either hiding from his Chinese tutor or chasing after neighbourhood dogs on his bike. When he was eleven, he moved to the United States, where the next few years were a blur of trying to survive high school, reading too much F. Scott Fitzgerald and Joan Didion, and dreaming of living in New York.
After obtaining his first degree in creative writing from the University of Houston, Kevin moved to Manhattan to pursue a BFA at Parsons School of Design. Kevin's early years in the city were spent working for Martha Stewart Living, Andy Warhol's Interview magazine, and M&Co, the legendary design firm founded by Tibor Kalman.
In 2000, Kevin established his own creative studio, where he specialized in producing high profile visual projects for clients such as the New York Times, the Museum of Modern Art, Rockwell Group, and TED.com. Many unforgettable experiences followed, like creating the ultimate publishing tribute to Oprah Winfrey's groundbreaking television show, handling Elizabeth Taylor's fabled jewel collection while producing Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry, and serving as the visual consultant for the re-launch of the TED website, which exceeded a billion views in November 2012.
Throughout all this, Kevin always remained passionate about books. As he became sought after as a visual consultant by acclaimed authors like Michael Korda, Gore Vidal, and Larry McMurtry, Kevin was inspired to return to his first love - writing. His critically-acclaimed debut novel Crazy Rich Asians became an international bestseller in 2013 and is currently being adapted into a feature film by Ivanhoe Pictures and Color Force, the producers of The Hunger Games movies. The sequel, China Rich Girlfriend, hits bookstores around the world in June 2015.
Kevin still resides in Manhattan, eats too much pasta, still craves pineapple tarts, a decent place of Hokkien mee (a dish of egg noodles and rice noodles in a fragrant stock, which is made from both fresh shrimp and dried prawns, as well as pork or chicken) and these days, dreams of living in Italy.
Rating: 5/5
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