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A review by gabsalott13
China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
4.0
I've really appreciated the indulgent break from reality [a:Kevin Kwan|634694|Kevin Kwan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1412808034p2/634694.jpg]'s books so easily offer! China Rich Girlfriend features considerably more plot twists, copious amounts of label-dropping, and considerably fewer pages, but also feels more self-aware than [b:Crazy Rich Asians|16085481|Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians #1)|Kevin Kwan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1364852559s/16085481.jpg|21571970].
Let me explain: personally, I found the book's most interesting subplot to be the saga of Kitty Pong, a soap opera star turned billionaire housewife who, despite her past, desperately longs for a place in Hong Kong's high society. She hires an incredibly blunt "lifestyle consultant," Corinna Ko-Tung, whose detailed makeover guide provides a most memorable assessment. My favorite quote from China Rich Girlfriend is the following tutorial from Corinna:
"Your true spiritual affiliations do not concern me—it does not matter to me if you are Taoist, Daoist, Buddhist, or worship Meryl Streep—but it is absolutely essential that you become a regular praying, tithing, communion-taking, hands-in-the-air-waving, Bible-study-fellowship-attending member of this church. (This has the added bonus of ensuring that you will be qualified for burial at the most-coveted Christian cemetery on Hong Kong Island, rather than having to suffer the eternal humiliation of being interred at one of those lesser cemeteries on the Kowloon side.)"
The socioeconomic ascension these characters attempt to engineer lead to stunning reflections about the ultimate futility of these great ambitions. I say stunning because of my literal shock—one minute, I was laughing at the ridiculousness of trying to ensure access to a VIP graveyard, and the next, a lightbulb was going off in my head about Kwan's major point in the series. While still ludicrously, entertainingly over-the-top, China Rich Girlfriend seems to be asking tougher questions about what all this wealth does to these incredibly damaged families.
From the description, it appears that [b:Rich People Problems|29864343|Rich People Problems (Crazy Rich Asians, #3)|Kevin Kwan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1493727003s/29864343.jpg|50231439] will tackle questions of mortality head on. I'm (beyond) excited to read Kwan's final verdict on these characters!
Let me explain: personally, I found the book's most interesting subplot to be the saga of Kitty Pong, a soap opera star turned billionaire housewife who, despite her past, desperately longs for a place in Hong Kong's high society. She hires an incredibly blunt "lifestyle consultant," Corinna Ko-Tung, whose detailed makeover guide provides a most memorable assessment. My favorite quote from China Rich Girlfriend is the following tutorial from Corinna:
"Your true spiritual affiliations do not concern me—it does not matter to me if you are Taoist, Daoist, Buddhist, or worship Meryl Streep—but it is absolutely essential that you become a regular praying, tithing, communion-taking, hands-in-the-air-waving, Bible-study-fellowship-attending member of this church. (This has the added bonus of ensuring that you will be qualified for burial at the most-coveted Christian cemetery on Hong Kong Island, rather than having to suffer the eternal humiliation of being interred at one of those lesser cemeteries on the Kowloon side.)"
The socioeconomic ascension these characters attempt to engineer lead to stunning reflections about the ultimate futility of these great ambitions. I say stunning because of my literal shock—one minute, I was laughing at the ridiculousness of trying to ensure access to a VIP graveyard, and the next, a lightbulb was going off in my head about Kwan's major point in the series. While still ludicrously, entertainingly over-the-top, China Rich Girlfriend seems to be asking tougher questions about what all this wealth does to these incredibly damaged families.
From the description, it appears that [b:Rich People Problems|29864343|Rich People Problems (Crazy Rich Asians, #3)|Kevin Kwan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1493727003s/29864343.jpg|50231439] will tackle questions of mortality head on. I'm (beyond) excited to read Kwan's final verdict on these characters!