Kwan has rich humour

Family dramas expose the lives of the privileged social climbers

THIS is the first Kevin Kwan novel I have read, but it won’t be my last. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I eased my way into the novel, trying to come to grips with all the characters being introduced.

Admittedly it did take me a while to get my head around all the characters and even then, I found myself going back and forth a number of times to understand who each one was and how they were related.

I loved that there was a family tree provided at the beginning of the book – it was helpful.

And, once I got used to them, I also loved the little footnotes on many of the pages – some informing you what the Asian words meant and some just very amusing.

The story centres around family matriarch Su Yi who is on her deathbed in Singapore. Her family – the entire Shang-Young clan – come rushing from all corners of the world to be at her bedside as she slips away.

While they claim to be there to care for the old lady in her final days, it becomes obvious that the main goal for most is to stake a claim in the massive fortune that Su Yi controls.

The jewel in the crown is the keys to Tyersall Park – a trophy estate on 25 prime hectares in the heart of Singapore.

Su Yi’s grandson Nicholas Young was heir apparent but since a falling out with his grandmother, it is anyone’s guess who will claim the prize.

Interwoven into all this are the many dramas going on within the family. Kwan is very witty and very entertaining as he introduces us to the absurdity of the dysfunctional, paranoid, social climbing characters.

There is Astrid Leong who is in love with her old sweetheart Charlie Wu, but his ex-wife is making Astrid’s life hell.

Then there is Kitty Pong, married to billionaire Jack Bing and finding Jack’s fashionista daughter Colette is a forbidding adversary.

The list of great characters goes on and on as we get a glimpse into the extravagant world of Asia’s most privileged families.

This is satire at its best.

As an aside I have just discovered Kwan’s very successful debut novel Crazy Rich Asians about three super-rich, pedigreed Chinese families is being adapted as a major motion picture.

I can’t wait to see it, but I think I’ll read the book first.