Kerry Chu Character Analysis in Crazy Rich Asians

Kerry is Rachel’s mom. After emigrating from China with baby Rachel, Kerry worked in restaurants, earned a degree at night school, and eventually became a successful real estate agent. The fact that Kerry had Rachel so young (she was only 18 when Rachel was born) resulted in an unusually close relationship between the two. However, Rachel comes to question everything when Eleanor reveals that Rachel’s father, Zhou Fang Min, is alive and in a Chinese prison—Kerry told Rachel he was dead. With Nick’s help, Kerry flies to Singapore to tell Rachel about her abusive marriage with Fang Min and that another man, Kao Wei, is Rachel’s real father. Throughout the novel, Kerry remains adamant that Nick is thinking of marrying Rachel. She also recognizes early on that Nick’s parents don’t like Rachel, as she’s more familiar with traditional Chinese culture than Rachel is.

Kerry Chu Quotes in Crazy Rich Asians

The Crazy Rich Asians quotes below are all either spoken by Kerry Chu or refer to Kerry Chu. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

“To be completely honest, Nick is the first guy I’ve dated who I could imagine being married to. But I was never raised to believe that marriage supposed to be my life’s goal. My mother wanted me to get the best education first. She never wanted me to end up having to wash dishes in a restaurant.”

“That’s not the case over here. No matter how advanced we’ve become, there’s still tremendous pressure for girls to get married. Here, it doesn’t matter how successful a woman is professionally. She isn’t considered complete until she is married and has children. Why do you think Araminta is so eager to get married?”

Related Characters: Rachel Chu (speaker), Sophie Khoo (speaker), Colin Khoo, Kerry Chu, Nicholas Young, Araminta Lee

Page Number and Citation: 278-79

Explanation and Analysis:

“This is the first time you have been serious with a Chinese man. There is so much you don’t know about the proper etiquette with these families.”

“I didn’t realize you could be so old-fashioned,” Rachel teased. “Besides, Nick’s family doesn’t seem really Chinese at all. They seem more British if anything.”

“It doesn’t matter. You are Chinese, and you still need to behave like a properly brought-up Chinese girl,” Kerry said.

Related Characters: Rachel Chu (speaker), Kerry Chu (speaker), Eleanor Young, Philip Young, Nicholas Young

Page Number and Citation: 313

Explanation and Analysis:

Kerry Chu Character Timeline in Crazy Rich Asians

The timeline below shows where the character Kerry Chu appears in Crazy Rich Asians. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Just before bed, Rachel calls her mom, Kerry Chu, in California. Once Kerry tells Rachel about her latest real estate sale, Rachel shares... (full context)

Kerry asks Rachel where she’ll be staying in Singapore. Rachel says they’ll probably be with Nick’s... (full context)

...“clear boundaries between [his] personal life and [his] family life.” He notes that Rachel and Kerry have a special relationship; he and his parents don’t talk about feelings at all. (full context)

...job in. When Rachel called her mom recently to worry about this situation with Nick, Kerry told her that Overseas Chinese families are really traditional, and his family might be poor.... (full context)

...has been leading a double life. To be clear, Rachel isn’t totally new to wealth—when Kerry got her real estate license, they moved to the Bay Area. Rachel attended Stanford and... (full context)

...about her childhood, which was spent in the back rooms of suburban Chinese restaurants until Kerry got a degree and became a real estate agent. Sophie is fascinated, but Rachel says... (full context)

From the hotel, Rachel calls Kerry and tells her that she’s been at the bride’s bachelorette party on an island in... (full context)

...Eleanor asks if Nick has met Rachel’s father—he didn’t die in an industrial accident, as Kerry has always told Rachel. Rachel looks at Eleanor like Eleanor is crazy, but Eleanor says... (full context)

...if her father is still alive and demands to know who Zhou Fang Min is. Kerry is silent for a long time, and then she asks to explain. Rather than let... (full context)

...U.S. and have children, Nick’s family will never accept them. Rachel says that learning about Kerry’s lies has shown her that names and family connections don’t matter all that much. What... (full context)

...he and Rachel had, and he ruined Rachel’s life altogether by damaging her relationship with Kerry and leading to Rachel finding out her father is a convict. The blue jay begins... (full context)

...open, a silver Land Rover blocks the driveway and Nick races out of the car. Kerry emerges from the passenger side, and Rachel leaps out of Peik Lin’s car. Kerry says... (full context)

Peik Lin and Nick drink margaritas by the pool while Rachel and Kerry go to the house’s library. Rachel sits angrily as Kerry begins her story—one she’s never... (full context)

Kerry says her parents were distraught, but she thought for a short time that things were... (full context)

Continuing her story, Kerry says there was a family with a son in the apartment below. The son, Kao... (full context)

Kerry says she was shocked when Fang Min’s mother was thrilled and suddenly became caring and... (full context)

Continuing her story, Kerry says that the maid Fang Min’s mother hired to care for her during her pregnancy... (full context)

Kerry never spoke to her parents again and wouldn’t have been able to follow Rachel to... (full context)

Around sunset, Peik Lin and Nick watch Kerry and Rachel come out to the garden, arm and arm. Kerry asks Peik Lin to... (full context)

...left the Gohs’ house, and now, Nick gets up to walk along the infinity pool. Kerry tells Rachel that Nick is a good man, and she’s glad he came to see... (full context)

Crazy Rich Asians

Kerry Chu Character Analysis

Kerry Chu Quotes in Crazy Rich Asians

Part 2, Chapter 13 Quotes

Part 2, Chapter 17 Quotes

Kerry Chu Character Timeline in Crazy Rich Asians