China Rich Girlfriend (2015)

The sequel to Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians was published in 2015 by DoubleDay (Penguin books). The novel is 526 pages long (a digital edition 400 in print) and is divided into three parts. Kwan chooses to title his chapters largely by the location of the given scene but occasionally opts to focus on particular characters, thus reflected in his chapter headings. I will share my thoughts on the continuation of this story and compare it to the previous novel as well as how it met my expectations.

In terms of the progression of the storyline, the China Rich Girlfriend begins a couple of years after the previous one's end. I was glad that both the Nick and Rachel and Astrid and Micheal plots were developed. The latter definitely offered great value to the novel as a whole and I felt it was well presented and delicately recounted. Astrid's character is still like-able and I appreciate the way Kwan presented her relationship struggles. The former storyline was fairly steady though there was not tremendous focus on their relationship in relation to the many other events.

I personally wanted this sequel to develop the drama between Nick and Rachel and Nick's family (especially in Tyersall Park) yet the title clearly indicates the shift away from Singaporean affairs into Chinese territory. For this reason we have a host of new characters and an unexpected focus on

a smaller character from the first novel (who I won't disclose to avoid potential spoilers). While I wasn't personally too keen on this storyline, it did offer a perspective on trying to enter Hong Kong high society despite one's history.

Before getting hold of this novel, I was warned by other readers that it was a good book but not as good as the first one (as is often the case). Someone on instagram mentioned that they felt that this novel had "too much brand identification" and upon reflection, I can see why. The storyline is interesting but not quite as gripping as the first and often it feels like there are long lists of brands and other expensive things.

Overall, I found this novel was less rich in history and culture and despite the shortcoming of expensive lists, it makes for a nice casual read. I intend to read the final of the trilogy because it seems to offer the storyline I was hoping for: the dynamics between Nick and his family, especially with his grandmother.

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Have you read this novel? What did you think of it? Comment your thoughts on it below, I'd love to hear what you thought. 

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