Conspicuous consumption.
That could actually be my full post about Crazy Rich Asians, a book I read because Roxane Gay told me to. It is a book that depicts conspicuous consumption. If you like Jackie Collins and preferred Veronica to Betty because Veronica had all the cool stuff, Crazy Rich Asians might be for you. One of the characters literally has an outfit-picking computer program like in Clueless.
Nick Young, scion of a derangedly wealthy Singaporean family, is bringing his girlfriend, Rachel Chu, home to meet his family, while his cousin Astrid Yeong faces the possible collapse of her marriage. And what feels like the whole of Singapore watches every move they are making.
I’d have said I don’t care for reading about conspicuous consumption, because really, the money these people are spending on a single dress could be feeding villages. But then — when I got to the end of Crazy Rich Asians and remembered that Kevin Kwan has a new book out called China Rich Girlfriend, I thought: “HM. I could probably stand to read more about silk batiste dresses hand-painted by a Javanese designer. IF I HAD TO.”
The characters and dialogue aren’t tremendously inspired, but they don’t need to be. Kevin Kwan is writing about things. If you’re having a week where you feel broke, Crazy Rich Asians can bring you back. In its world, you can have SERIOUSLY LITERALLY ALL THE THINGS.