A Touch of CLASS

Poster boy author for Asian wealth Kevin Kwan exclusively shares with Elite why those with old money are secretive and how his books have boosted the cultural profile of the continent

We all have problems, but your super red arowana aquarium fish being too drowsy to entertain your house guests because it just returned from getting a facelift or being locked out of inheriting a 64 acre palatial estate in the heart of Singapore would surely only qualify as “rich people problems”.

The latter is what the plot line revolves around in Kevin Kwan’s last book in his internationally best-selling trilogy, which was just released on Tuesday. The prequels Crazy Rich Asians (2013) and China Rich Girlfriend (2015) hilariously followed the lives of obscenely wealthy Chinese Asians from Singapore, Hong Kong and China and in Rich People

Problems, the highly-anticipated showdown begins when his main character’s grandmother, Su Yi Young, is on her deathbed.

While Nick Young just wants to make amends with his grandmother after falling out for marrying a girl outside of their wealthy bubble, his cousins from all around the world have also touched down in the Lion City to lay claims on Su Yi’s grand home. Practically a character in itself, Tyersall Park is the heart and gold of the third book, with Kwan keeping you in luxury-laden apprehension on who will inherit it.

Impossibly vast, guarded by war-trained Gurkhas and home to chefs that cook bird’s nest delicacies so rare most of us will never taste it in our lifetimes, the Singaporean-born author reveals that it is inspired by real estate in the middle of Singapore that still exists today, named Istana Woodneuk, which was owned by the Sultan of Johore. Wanting it to play a central role in his book, the way Downton Abbey does in the eponymous TV series or Brideshead does in Brideshead Revisited,

Kwan’s own walks around the property as a child helped him to create its charmingly antiquated descriptions. His friend, actress Julia Nickson, also shared with him memories of the place from the 70s, which she describes as “literally a small palace in the middle of the jungle”.

But beyond its magnificent stature, Tyersall Park also serves to give an insight into why the old money he grew up around actually goes out of its way to not be in top 10 lists and financial news. Wanting to capture the sense of sophistication and nobleness that gets lost in the crowd of “bling and fancy-fancy”, much intrigue from Kwan’s book continues to stem from the families that have been living their lives of privilege and style for generations in a quiet way.

“I think particularly in Asia, many of these people still have very vivid memories of what happened during World War II,” he explains. “When Singapore was occupied by the Japanese, there were horrors and atrocities. They learned at that point that you wanted to be as invisible as possible. If you’re too public or known to be a rich and powerful family, guess what, the Japanese are going to come after you and lock you up, so I think it was a matter of survival. It goes back even earlier in the history of China, with immigrants in the 18th and 19th centuries fleeing something, like rebellion or war. I think very early on, they were just wired to be very protective and secretive.”

His third instalment is still uproarious as ever, but it also takes a surprising historical turn his previous books have not taken before. Giving an unrosy look into the disappearing old-world charm of the island nation and long-buried secrets of the looming and privileged matriarch Su Yi, Rich People Problems transcends its prequels to become an advocacy story that is also of historical significance — beyond the rich romp label that the series has made for itself.

“I needed to go back to the previous generations, to show how their early experiences — especially during World War II — changed them in profound ways and influenced the generations to come,” says Kwan. “I wanted readers to understand why some of the characters behaved the way they do and to deeper explore the lineage of pain that passes from generation to generation — how Su Yi’s experiences affected her daughter Felicity Leong, and how it in turn affects her relationship with her daughter Astrid.”

Astonishingly, Su Yi’s history will also take readers to our hills in Chiang Mai, with Thai bits in his book bringing forward a Thai family, nothing less than MRs and MCs, flying into Singapore too for heirlooms and a piece of the fortune. Kwan’s own aunt, who married a Thai gentleman and settled in Bangkok, is clearly the backbone for this branch of the extended family, while he adds: “I am also very fortunate to have a close family friend who was a Khunying, married to a Thai prince. She was like a godmother to me and I would see her every week when I was growing up. She gave me many books and would tell me the most fascinating stories.”

The gilded lives of Asia’s richest clans draws to a close in print, but their world ceases to end anytime soon, with Kwan serving as the executive producer of Warner Bros.’ film adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians.

With shooting currently going on in Singapore and Malaysia, this could be the biggest all-Asian outing Hollywood has seen, with Jon M. Chu (of Step Up and Now You See Me 2 fame) directing. Some confirmed big names in the cast already include Michelle Yeoh as Nick’s mother, Constance Wu (from Fresh Off the Boat) as Nick’s girlfriend and the despicably funny Ken Jeong, most likely to star as Eddie, Nick’s obnoxious, social-climbing cousin from Hong Kong. As more names are revealed, it seems that local talents from Singapore and the Philippines are also part of the production.

But what’s more valuable than all of Christie’s antiques in his books combined is how Kwan has jumpstarted a renaissance of works about modern Asia, especially in a literary market that only offered nostalgia and immigrant blues, when coming from Asian writers. More writers are writing stories about contemporary Asians today and the author’s latest project is creating a one-hour scripted drama series with STX Entertainment. It won’t be a continuation or spinoff of the Crazy Rich Asians world, but can we hope to see more works from him that put Asia in the spotlight?

The man who could possibly turn into the next Julian Fellowes answers: “Definitely! I feel like we are only at the beginning of a tidal wave of entertainment that will feature Asian actors alongside Hollywood actors and I want to be at the forefront of that. My new TV series will definitely be a showcase for Asian talent and everything else I try to do.”

He wants to capture the sense of sophistication and nobleness that gets lost in the crowd of ‘bling and fancy-fancy ’