"Rich People Problems" by Kevin Kwan (2017)

"...What kind of Asian is this?  In descending order of importance: Chindo, Singaporean, Hong Konger, Malaysian Chinese, Eurasian, Asian American living in New York or Los Angeles, Asian American working in private equity in Connecticut, Canadian Asian from Vancouver or Toronto, Australian Chinese from Sydney or Melbourne, Thai, Filipino from Forbes Park, American-born Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, Mainland Chinese, common Indonesian."

I read this book right after finishing Crazy Rich Asians.  You can read about the author and that book in that entry.  Those who've read the series will already know that I've skipped over China Rich Girlfriend, which I couldn't find in my local bookstore.

Rich People Problems follows the blueprint laid out in Crazy Rich Asians.  Super rich Asian people deal with various romantic entanglements, countless designers and travel destinations are mentioned, and in the end someone finds true love and the wicked are punished.  Now that I think about it, Kwan's formula is also very similar to what Anthony Trollope was doing in his books, albeit on a much smaller, much more British scale.

Rich People Problems is a good book and at times it's quite funny.  It's a lot more uneven than Crazy Rich Asians, which is unsurprising given that it's the third book in the series.  By this point Nick and Rachel are married, Colin Khoo and his wife Araminta have a son, and Astrid and Charlie are on the verge of getting married.  The rivalry between Kitty Pong and her daughter-in-law Colette frames most of the funnier parts of the book, and Nick's grandma's hospitalization frames the serious bits.

I'm sure I'll read China Rich Girlfriend when I can find it.  This series is pretty good, and I still plan on watching the movies eventually.

Related Entries:

"Crazy Rich Asians" by Kevin Kwan (2013)
"The Windup Girl" by Paolo Bacigalupi (2009)
"Mission of Gravity" by Hal Clement (1954)
"R.U.R. and War with the Newts" by Karel Capek (1920 and 1936)