2020 Observances
Spotlight: Kevin Kwan
"Before author Kevin Kwan moved to Texas from Singapore, he grew up in a wealthy neighborhood. He was used to seeing luxurious gated homes with fountains and security guards. Years later, Kwan turned his memories of Asia into a poem, "Singapore Bible Study," which he wrote for a college course. The poem detailed the luxurious lifestyle of the Singapore he knew, and it won him a local poetry award. In 2013 Kwan turned the poem into a best-selling trilogy of books, starting with Crazy Rich Asians. The film adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians was released in August of 2018." Read Kwan's full biography from Gale.
Online Event: A Conversation with "Crazy Rich Asians" Author Kevin Kwan
May 22, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
The Library of Congress will present a conversation with Singaporean American novelist and changemaker Kevin Kwan, known for his satirical novels “Crazy Rich Asians,” “China Rich Girlfriend” and “Rich People Problems,” that seeks to introduce contemporary Asian culture to an American audience. This event will be livestreamed from both the Library of Congress' Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/libraryofcongress and the Library's YouTube site (with captions) at https://www.youtube.com/user/LibraryOfCongress.
Works by Kevin Kwan
Crazy Rich Asians
Overview: Crazy Rich Asians is the outrageously funny debut novel about three super-rich, pedigreed Chinese families and the gossip, backbiting, and scheming that occurs when the heir to one of the most massive fortunes in Asia brings home his ABC (American-born Chinese) girlfriend to the wedding of the season. When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and quality time with the man she might one day marry. What she doesn’t know is that Nick’s family home happens to look like a palace, that she’ll ride in more private planes than cars, and that with one of Asia’s most eligible bachelors on her arm, Rachel might as well have a target on her back. Initiated into a world of dynastic splendor beyond imagination, Rachel meets Astrid, the It Girl of Singapore society; Eddie, whose family practically lives in the pages of the Hong Kong socialite magazines; and Eleanor, Nick’s formidable mother, a woman who has very strong feelings about who her son should-and should not-marry. Uproarious, addictive, and filled with jaw-dropping opulence, Crazy Rich Asians is an insider’s look at the Asian JetSet; a perfect depiction of the clash between old money and new money; between Overseas Chinese and Mainland Chinese; and a fabulous novel about what it means to be young, in love, and gloriously, crazily rich.
China Rich Girlfriend
"Kevin Kwan, ... author of Crazy Rich Asians, is back with a ... new novel of social climbing, secret e-mails, art-world scandal, lovesick billionaires, and the outrageous story of what happens when Rachel Chu, engaged to marry Asia’s most eligible bachelor, discovers her birthfather"-- Provided by publisher.
Rich People Problems
When Nicholas Young hears that his grandmother, Su Yi, is on her deathbed, he rushes to be by her bedside--but he’s not alone. The entire Shang-Young clan has convened from all corners of the globe to stake claim on their matriarch’s massive fortune. With each family member vying to inherit Tyersall Park--a trophy estate on 64 prime acres in the heart of Singapore--Nicholas’s childhood home turns into a hotbed of speculation and sabotage. As her relatives fight over heirlooms, Astrid Leong is at the center of her own storm, desperately in love with her old sweetheart Charlie Wu, but tormented by her ex-husband--a man hell bent on destroying Astrid’s reputation and relationship. Meanwhile Kitty Pong, married to China’s second richest man, billionaire Jack Bing, still feels second best next to her new step-daughter, famous fashionista Colette Bing. A sweeping novel that takes us from the elegantly appointed mansions of Manila to the secluded private islands in the Sulu Sea, from a kidnapping at Hong Kong’s most elite private school to a surprise marriage proposal at an Indian palace, caught on camera by the telephoto lenses of paparazzi, Kevin Kwan’s hilarious, gloriously wicked new novel reveals the long-buried secrets of Asia’s most privileged families and their rich people problems.