Rich People Problems

A Novel

By: Kevin Kwan

Narrated by: Lydia Look

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Kevin Kwan, bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians (soon to be a MAJOR MOTION PICTURE starring Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh and Gemma Chan) and China Rich Girlfriend, is back with an uproarious new novel of a family riven by fortune, an ex-wife driven psychotic with jealousy, a battle royal fought through couture gown sabotage, and the heir to one of Asia's greatest fortunes locked out of his inheritance.

When Nicholas Young hears that his grandmother, Su Yi, is on her deathbed, he rushes to be by her bedside—but he's not alone. The entire Shang-Young clan has convened from all corners of the globe to stake claim on their matriarch’s massive fortune. With each family member vying to inherit Tyersall Park—a trophy estate on 64 prime acres in the heart of Singapore—Nicholas’s childhood home turns into a hotbed of speculation and sabotage. As her relatives fight over heirlooms, Astrid Leong is at the center of her own storm, desperately in love with her old sweetheart Charlie Wu, but tormented by her ex-husband—a man hell bent on destroying Astrid’s reputation and relationship. Meanwhile Kitty Pong, married to China’s second richest man, billionaire Jack Bing, still feels second best next to her new step-daughter, famous fashionista Colette Bing. A sweeping novel that takes us from the elegantly appointed mansions of Manila to the secluded private islands in the Sulu Sea, from a kidnapping at Hong Kong’s most elite private school to a surprise marriage proposal at an Indian palace, caught on camera by the telephoto lenses of paparazzi, Kevin Kwan's hilarious, gloriously wicked new novel reveals the long-buried secrets of Asia's most privileged families and their rich people problems.

Critic reviews

“Flashy, funny.... Delicious, the juicy stuff of classic high-society drama.... Rich People Problems is a fun tabloid romp full of over-the-top shenanigans, like a society party brawl that ruins both a Ramon Orlina glass sculpture of the hostess’s breasts and ‘a special pig that had only eaten truffles its entire life and was flown in from Spain....’ A memorable, laugh-out-loud Asian glitz fest that’s a pure pleasure to read.” —USA Today

“I gobbled all three volumes of Kevin Kwan’s gossipy, name-droppy and wickedly funny Crazy Rich Asians trilogy as if they were popcorn. (Really fresh, still-warm popcorn, with that good European butter… but I digress.) The novels, set among three intergenerational and ultrarich Chinese families and peppered with hilarious explanatory footnotes, are set mostly in Singapore but flit easily from one glamorous world city to another…. Irresistible.” —The Seattle Times

“Kevin Kwan has done it again. The mastermind behind the delicious Crazy Rich Asians series has drawn a cult-like following with his extravagant tales of Asia’s upper echelon. He’s back at with the series’s final installment, Rich People Problems (rest assured, it’s just as enthralling as the trilogy’s first two volumes).” —InStyle

“[A] hilarious family drama…. This delightfully wicked family saga will have you laughing over your summer daiquiris at the long-buried secrets of Asia’s most privileged families and their rich people problems.” —Redbook Magazine, “20 Summer Beach Reads to Stock Up On Now”

“There are a lot of lines in Kevin Kwan’s forthcoming novel Rich People Problems that will make you both roll your eyes and chuckle at the pure absurdity of the characters…. Pure entertainment. Think: Bravo’s ‘Housewives’ but with a lot more money and, as a result, a lot more drama.” —Nylon

“Thank god for Kwan.... In Rich People Problems—Kwan’s third installment in his Crazy Rich Asians series—even more insane family hijinks unfold when greed and jealousy get fortune-hungry schemers up in a wild tizzy. Catch up on the whole saga before the film’s release.” —W Magazine

Fantastic story and series

I have loved all three books in the series. They are fun and lighthearted. The characters are wonderful and the storyline is clever and engaging. The book is also laugh out loud funny but with serious issues as well. My only issue is I preferred the narrator from the first book over the one who did the second two.

Not 'Quite' as Good as 1st Two

But better than most books out there. This one had a high bar to reach, the pacing was a little slower. Or maybe I've listened to the other ones more often. I'd give 4.5

Fun book

Fun read. Great for a vacation book or just because. Would recommend to a friend.

My personal favorite of all three

Want to mention the dislikes of the book first. As mentioned by some other reviewers the unnecessary details like ok we get it they are rich sometimes the chapters would drag with all these details of someone’s house, dress , boat I would zone out with all these crazy details cause it would be so unrealistic you can’t even picture it all the details kind of took away from the story like ok get to the point. Also I wish Kitty’s story line was a little better I was kind of rooting for her in the other books since she was the one to just do her own thing and not care about the snobby rich folks. I wanted her to show them up and still be true to herself but throughout the whole book I cringed at how snobby she was and she was ridiculously obsessed with collette and they tried to redeem her a bit in the end but it was very rushed.
Besides all that I loved the book. I really liked the happy ending it had I wish there was more but the way it ended just brought everyone’s story together in a way there’s not much more to say. I enjoyed the voices much more in this one especially Rachel’s I feel they were all done well I could tell everyone a part much more than the last one. And Astrids story was such a rollercoaster I didn’t see any of that coming she needed a book of her own. I would recommend this read.

Full Disclosure I am a huge Kevin Kwan fan!

This book was probably the best in the series. I appreciated all of the footnotes- otherwise you’d be Googling to find out what is being mentioned. By this book I was pretty familiar with all of the main characters at bored with some of them- such as Kitty Pong- but Kevin really managed to make them all 3 dimensional. I considered this entire series a bit of escapism and if you are looking to get lost in another world this is certainly for you!