Were the Asians Crazy Rich or Were the Rich Asians Crazy?

A little of both, you say? Ken presented us with this conundrum as the first question for discussion of Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan. The group was divided as to which interpretation was preferable. I thought there was probably no correct interpretation, but that there was probably a joyous “aha moment” when the title Crazy Rich Asians was first suggested and deemed perfect.  

We discussed situations and characters and lots of family dynamics. One theme, the disparity between normal people and these very rich ones, seemed to give a nod to Nick’s cousin Astrid’s line of thought when she had asked Nick what he was thinking when he brought Rachel Chu to visit the family without telling her anything about the family wealth. Chu was aware she didn't know much about Nick's family, and our group thought she had waited a long time to ask, as she had been Nick’s girlfriend for a year. Nick didn't know much about Rachel’s family, either. (It turned out that no one really knew.) In Singapore, Chu was wondering what she was getting into, but Nick's family thought she was calculating the monetary value of things.

Another set of questions was presented by Astrid’s husband, Michael, who broke up his marriage during the story. Carla noted that Michael said he couldn't keep up with Astrid (particularly her shopping) or do things for her. Ken read that part of the book aloud. Michael faked a whole affair because he felt the marriage had not worked at all; he didn’t feel needed.  Ken said that was important, because it preceded Rachael telling Nick why she was leaving him…She didn't want to be part of family that thought they were better than her. She needed family members to feel equal; she needed to feel equal to be comfortable. Michael’s and Rachel’s characters had similarities. Whether they are tied more closely together in the remaining 2 books of the trilogy remains to be seen. I thought Chu's speech to Nick in the book was very strong; it made me wonder how she could come back from that and marry him.

Pam noticed that there were a lot of people controlling others in the story. She said the clans didn’t intermingle much; but within each family, there was a lot of interaction. She gave the example that in America, it’s known who the power brokers are, but she felt that the characters in the book didn’t seem as aware of the power dynamics.

Nick’s years in the United States brought a dimension to his family. Joyce M. questioned whether someone like Nick would make a break from the grandmother who raised him, as this would be unlikely in the Asian culture. Carla reminded us that Nick’s mother had felt that Nick’s too-long and intense inundation with American culture was at fault for Nick’s unexpected independence. Cindy T. noted that Nick’s mother had purposely pushed Nick into being raised closely by his grandmother, so that Nick would be included in the family as his rich and powerful grandmother’s favorite, and thus he would be included in the wealth. Nick’s mother had done this because she herself had never felt quite accepted by the family.

Not everyone liked the characters in the book, but everyone read the book, many saw the movie, and Cindy T. read the remaining 2 books of the trilogy. The movie seemed to follow the book fairly closely, except it might have abridged the remaining 2 books of the trilogy and/or borrowed from them to give the movie closure. The movie probably will not be a trilogy!