If you’re stopping by for the first time, here’s some critical information before I get into my review of Rich People Problems: I’m a die-hard Kevin Kwan fan. I tore through his debut novel, Crazy Rich Asians like it was a Chanel sample sale and I had an AmEx Centurion card. It was love from first page. Book two in the series, China Rich Girlfriend, continued the ... Read More...
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
I have always enjoyed Lisa See’s novels for their intimate portrayals of women in China at various points in its history. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane is her latest and, once again, See brings to life the stories about people and places about which I knew nothing. The novel is set in the 1980s in the Yunnan province, an area known for its tea. Li-Yan’s family, like ... Read More...
How I Became a North Korean
How I Became a North Korean by Krys Lee is a lot like the Korean delicacy kimchi—a confounding blend of elements that, until it has fermented, can be confusing and difficult to appreciate. But, just like kimchi, by halfway through the novel the three disparate main characters have released their identities to make the story come together. Danny is a sixteen-year-old boy, living ... Read More...
China Rich Girlfriend
As summer appears in all its sweltering glory China Rich Girlfriend is the sumptuous equivalent of a decadent ice cream in book format. The novel is Kevin Kwan’s follow-up to his biting and over-the-top debut Crazy Rich Asians about people with more money than brains and taste. In China Rich Girlfriend, much of the original cast is back, along with some new stereotypes ... Read More...
Diamond Head
Diamond Head is an ambitious debut from the school of Amy Tan multi-generational Chinese family drama. The Leongs are the premier family living on Oahu where they settle after leaving China prior to World War I. First time novelist Cecily Wong does an admirable job portraying the inter-generational relationships amongst the Leong women. She captures those that reflect ... Read More...
Kinder Than Solitude
A trio of friends haunted by a mysterious accident are the key characters in Yiyun Li’s new novel, Kinder Than Solitude. They all live within the same housing compound in Beijing, where life moves along without much disturbance, until an older girl living in one of their houses is overcome by a mysterious illness that later turns out to be chemical poisoning. She is not ... Read More...
