Wealth and Absurdity
Crazy Rich Asians follows Rachel Chu, an economics professor, as she accompanies her boyfriend, Nick, to Singapore for his best friend’s wedding. At the outset, Rachel knows little about Nick’s family or upbringing—but soon, she discovers that Nick is from one of the wealthiest, if not the wealthiest, families in Singapore. In the week leading up to the wedding, she’s shocked to encounter people who think it’s totally normal to buy a dozen…
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Marriage and Money
Marriage, love, and romance are huge motivating factors in Crazy Rich Asians. However, the novel makes it clear that love doesn’t always lead to marriage—in fact, according to the older generations, love and marriage have little or no business coexisting. Thus, it’s fine for Nick to date Rachel, bring her to Colin’s wedding, and even stay with her at his Ah Ma’s house—but when Ah Ma and Nick’s mother, Eleanor…
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Family vs. Individuality
Crazy Rich Asians presents two views of family: family as a means of emotional support and in which members are encouraged to have their own identities, and family essentially as a business. In Nick’s family, children are raised to carry on the family line, preserve the family’s wealth, and increase the family’s social standing. This means that individuality isn’t valued: Nick’s parents scoff at his job as a history professor, as it’s something that…
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Chinese vs. Western Culture
In introducing readers to contemporary Singapore, Crazy Rich Asians paints the relationship between Asia and both Europe and America as somewhat fraught: while most (if not all) of the characters embrace European fashion, art, and social conventions to signal their wealth and sophistication, traditional, conservative Chinese social culture is still a powerful force—at least when it suits. For instance, Rachel attends a party at Tyersall Park (an English-style manor decorated in both traditional Singaporean and…
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