And It All Began Here

Since the first book was published in 2013, Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians trilogy has been making waves across the globe, unveiling a never-before seen side of contemporary Asia. He shares tales of his idyllic childhood with MJ Jose and touches on how the film based on the series is revolutionising Hollywood

- MJ Jose

In the essay she penned for TIME Magazine’s Most Influential People of 2018, the actor Constance Wu (who portrays protagonist Rachel Chu in the film adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians) says of Kevin Kwan, “[He] doesn’t focus on making Asians cool; he focuses on making our stories whole. The bits we’re proud of, the bits we try to hide, the tremendous heart that beats underneath it all.” And she is right, for the Crazy Rich Asians saga is set in a milieu that was never explored in fiction until the first book was published in 2013. The author himself affirms this; he feels people were initially drawn in by the sheer novelty and aspirational qualities of the world within his pages. “No one else was writing social satires about the upper class of contemporary Asia,” he adds. “But then the characters, their emotions, and their stories ended up being so relatable, and that is what kept readers hooked. I am often approached by people saying, ‘My family isn’t Asian or rich, but we are just like the family in your books. We are just as crazy!’”

TALES FROM THE OLD COUNTRY

Kevin’s own upbringing—“normal” and “idyllic” are his choice words to describe it— could not be more different. Though his writing drew inspiration from his own life, it was not in the way people might expect. “I was not brought up in a lavish manner—quite the opposite, actually—as my paternal grandparents, whom I lived with, were not ostentatious people,” he shares. “But there was a quiet elegance in the way they carried on with their lives, as well as a beauty to the customs and rituals we practised that inspired me as I began to conceptualise the idea of Tyersall Park.”