Rich People Problems

July 31, 2017
The winning third novel (after 2015’s China Rich Girlfriend) in Kwan’s trilogy about elite Asian families focuses on the impending death of matriarch Shang Su Yi and the fate of the family estate, Tyersall Park in Singapore, amid plenty of gossip, scheming, and cattiness among the book’s status-conscious players. Nick Young is living in New York, estranged from Su Yi—the beloved grandmother who raised him—since she deemed his then-girlfriend, Rachel Chu, unfit for him. Nick’s cousin Astrid Leong, though also favored by Su Yi, is on the outs with her family after Isabel—the unstable ex-wife of Astrid’s beau, Charlie Young—causes a public spectacle that soils the Leong name. When it becomes clear that Su Yi is near death, status-climbing Eddie Cheng, Nick’s cousin, plots to keep Astrid and Nick from her deathbed while hoping to claim Tyersall Park for himself. Kwan’s writing is lively and witty, and he has a gift for peppering his narrative with telling detail. His complicated plot never flags, even in the less-intriguing scenes that showcase Astrid’s gooey illicit romance. The author is at his best when he’s unveiling this rarefied world and pitting the stature-obsessed with their more humble counterparts; this comes to a satisfying crescendo as the fate of Tyersall Park is decided.

The final installment of this bestselling saga of life among the billionaires of Singapore puts the family matriarch at death's door--which means somebody's going to inherit her exquisite estate. The fairy tale/soap opera/lux-a-thon that began withCrazy Rich Asians (2013) and China Rich Girlfriend (2015) comes to a fittingly majestic and hilarious end in Kwan's third novel. When Su Yi's health precipitously fails, Shang-Young family members from all over the globe assemble at Tyersall Park--some out of genuine concern, others to callously go after their piece of the pie (this contingent is led by the always hilariously awful and overdressed Eddie Cheng). The only two family members missing are those Su Yi is most attached to--her grandchildren Nicky Young and Astrid Leong. Nicky hasn't spoken to his grandmother since he married beneath his station five years ago, and though he tries to rush to her side, the guards at Tyersall Park have been instructed not to let him in. How can that be? Meanwhile, Astrid is in the midst of getting engaged to her beloved Charlie Wu at a palace in India complete with elephants when paparazzi hell breaks loose, unleashing a chain of events that includes a leaked sex tape and a suicide attempt involving a Lindsay Adelman chandelier. As the sharks circle at Tyersall Park, related dramas play out around the globe, including an all-out, multicontinental war between Kitty Pong and Colette Bing. Also unfolding is the amazing back story of Su Yi's secret involvement in World War II, which turns out to have significant bearing on her legacy. Readers who thought they didn't like to read about rich people will quickly lose all high-minded pretensions as they revel in the food, fashions, real estate, and art so lusciously strewn through this irresistible, knowing, and even sometimes moving story. Things that are this much fun are usually illegal. Alamak! as they say in Singapore. Please say it isn't over! Of course everything's wrapped up perfectly and tied with a (priceless, hand-painted, 15th century) bow--but not since we were kicked out of Hogwarts and Downton Abbey have we felt so adrift.

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