Anchor Books – …on the B.L.

Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan

May 31, 2019 RaeAnna

Worth a Read Meh
Length 541
Quick Review Like the first two books in Kevin Kwan’s trilogy, Rich People Problems falls short in storytelling but exceeds in opulence and drama.

If you haven’t read my reviews of Crazy Rich Asians or China Rich Girlfriend, you can read them by clicking the titles… Not glowing reviews by any stretch of the imagination. The third and last installment in the trilogy might be the best out of the bunch. Rich People Problems has a little bit more character development than any of the other books.

The thing about these books is they suck you in with the crazy amount of money and drama. Plots are driven forward by drama and silliness and a whole lot of crazy. This covers up for the not so great writing and complete lack of interesting or compelling characters. The main protagonists of the books are completely non-existent as people and remain in the two dimensional realm.

Eddie is the worst.

That character deserves his own sentence apart from the others. He’s kind of the epitome of awful. What I did appreciate about Rich People Problems is Grandma Su Yi. The matriarch of the family. She had been watered down to an enigma with zero personality or role. This book she received intrigue, back story, and arguably more character development than any other character in all three books combined. I appreciated that very much.

The trilogy consists of three sizable books, but they are very quick reads. I wouldn’t pick Rich People Problems up if you’re looking for something deep and intriguing. These books make for great vacation reads or mindless escapism. Fun but not worth much. I did like the movie version of Crazy Rich Asians much better than the book.

404 Error: No Memorable Quotes Found

Buy on Amazon | Buy on Book Depository
Shop the Post
[show_shopthepost_widget id=”3601422″]

Title: Rich People Problems
Author: Kevin Kwan
Publisher: Anchor Books
Copyright: 2017
ISBN: 9780525432371

Books, Fiction

China Rich Girlfriend

May 21, 2019May 16, 2019 RaeAnna

Worth A Read Meh
Length 479
Quick Review Rachel Chu and Nick Young are newlyweds, but not everything is honeymoon perfect when they decide to spend the summer in China.

Reading China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan in Houston’s Museum District. | Red Dress | Shoes

I have mixed feelings about the Crazy Rich Asians the book and the movie. You can read that review here. I have a thing about always finishing every book I read. I don’t often read series, but when I do, I read the whole thing. Since is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, I thought I’d read Kevin Kwan’s China Rich Girlfriend.

Rachel Chu is an economy professor in New York with her new husband, Nick Young, a history professor. They get married even after opposition from his wealthier than shit Singaporean family. Due to random circumstances, Rachel finds her biological father and spends her honeymoon in China getting to know her brother. She and Nick get swept up in Hong Kong high society and all the drama the uber wealthy find.

The issues I had with the first book are pretty much the same issues I have with China Rich Girlfriend. The plot is engaging and moves very quickly. It’s easy to keep reading. The fast moving, drama filled plot distracts from the flat and empty characters. It’s hard to have any emotional connection with the characters because they don’t seem to exist in a human realm of emotion. If it weren’t for the great acting done by the cast in the movie – especially Constance Wu – I would have no thoughts or connection to any of the characters. It’s all story and drama with no depth. It’s a great mindless read to get swept up in while by the pool watching your kids, a bird, or napping. You don’t have to pay that much attention to this book.

China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan | Dress

The lack of character development doesn’t take away from the fun narrative style Kwan brings to China Rich Girlfriend. The narrative style was equally fun and satirical in Crazy Rich Asians. There’s a lot of grandiosity and throwing around of wealth, which, honestly, sounds like a heap load of fun if I had a gold bar pooping unicorn in my backyard. Like in the first book, Kwan utilizes footnotes to bring the reader into his high-society world full of drama with fun tidbits, gossip, and more. Footnotes are also used to alert the reader to cultural things most [Western] readers probably wouldn’t pick up on. He does a good job highlighting the hypocrisy of the uber wealthy. One fun one is the women carrying Birkin bags but cutting out coupons. It seems ridiculous, but I whole-heartedly believe women like this exist in the world. (I would probably be one of them.)

Overall, China Rich Girlfriend has a lot of redeeming points as a vacation or summer read. If you’re looking for an insightful look into the meaning of life or quintessence of humanity, this is not it. It’s a soap opera in book form. Fun but not good.

Memorable Quotes
““Bernard has no money. He only gets about ten million a year to live on,” Carol confirmed.”

Buy on Amazon | Buy on Book Depository
Shop the Post
[show_shopthepost_widget id=”3583684″]

I absolutely love this red dress from Target. It’s such a cute wrap dress. I have terrible luck finding wrap dresses that won’t blow wide open at the thought of wind, but this one doesn’t! Also these shoes from Target are perfect. I love a good pointy-toed nude shoe.

Title: China Rich Girlfriend
Author: Kevin Kwan
Publisher: Anchor Books
Copyright: 2015
ISBN: 9780804172066

Books

We Should All Be Feminists

February 2, 2018 RaeAnna

Read: Yes
Length: 52
Quick Review: An essay about the importance of feminism. Beginning as a Tedx Talk, Adichie redefines feminism for the new generation of feminists.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is one of my favorite authors. If you’re a repeat reader, I’m sure that is clear already. She is one of those writers you cannot ignore. With her unique voice and story telling ability, she has grabbed the attention of the world. I found her about a year ago, in which time, I have read the majority of her works. (I only have Purple Hibiscus left to read.) I am rereading We Should All Be Feminists again because it is just that good.

For the majority of the world when the word feminism is uttered, people immediately and solely think of it as something applying to women or even cared about by women. Feminism is seen as benefiting women.

Adichie begins her essay with a few examples of the differences women face in the world based on their gender. She also turns the idea of feminism on its head by explaining the benefits feminism has for men and boys as well. Without feminism, culture is a hindrance to men because they must conform to the idea of masculinity and “stifle their humanity.” Although Adichie discusses the positives of feminism for men, it is more important for girls. Without feminism women spend their lives defining their place in the world by their relationship to men.

Adichie writes succinctly and effectively. There is a fire in her words fueled by anger and hope. She is one of the most talented storytellers, but she is incredibly gifted as a nonfiction writer. Her novels and short stories take the reader to another place, but her essay grounds the reader in reality. Adichie lets the reader get to know her a little.

I can’t recommend We Should All Be Feminists more. The essay should be mandatory reading for everyone. It is an amazing, concise, and quick read. Taking less than half an hour. Sit down and read it the moment you can!

Memorable Quotes
“… both of us bristling with the half-baked knowledge of books we had read.”
“At some point I was a Happy African Feminist Who Does Not Hate Men And Who Likes To Wear Lip Gloss And High Heels For Herself And Not For Men.”
“But our ideas of gender have not evolved very much.”
“… it is one thing to know something intellectually and quite another to feel it emotionally.”
“There are far fewer guides for men about pleasing women.”
“And then we do a much greater disservice to girls, because we raise them to cater to the fragile egos of males.”

Title: We Should All Be Feminists
Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Publisher: Anchor Books (Random House)
Copyright: 2012/2014
ISBN: 9781101911761

Books

A Week in Winter

December 18, 2017 RaeAnna

Read Yes
Length 464
Quick Review How one woman’s dream brought a group of strangers together while they struggle through their own difficult situations.

A Week in Winter was her last novel and published posthumously in 2012 after her death in the same year. Binchy has written a multitude of novels, but this is the first I have read. In my opinion, it’s a wonderful novel to end an already amazing literary career.

Binchy was Irish and wrote about her country in A Week in Winter. Chicky Starr is from a remote town, Stoneybridge, in west Ireland. After moving to New York City in her youth, she returns to Stoneybridge, where she turns an old house into a beautiful hotel, Stone House. The town believes her crazy, but a few devote their time and futures into the dream. The dream comes to fruition when a hodge-podge group of people stay during the opening week.

The book is divided into chapters focusing on individuals lives and the events which bring them to the house. The characters are flawed and looking for respite or wholeness or the hotel has simply happened upon them. The hotel becomes a beautifully silent and simultaneously powerful character supporting each character through their personal journeys. The characters come from all walks of life and several countries in Europe. Some lives intertwine with others in close or remote ways. Binchy does not strive to have her characters adored. Like people, she writes them with various characteristics, flaws, and, at times, no redeeming qualities.

This novel isn’t a Christmas story, but it is a winter story. The perfect companion for a chilly evening, a fire, and a mug of something warm, or if you live somewhere warm, it will make you crave a chilly winter.

Memorable Quotes
“And anyway, there’s more to life than just sex and kittens.”

Title: A Week in Winter
Author: Maeve Binchy
Publisher: Anchor Books (Random House)
Copyright: 2012
ISBN: 9780307475503

Books

The Thing Around Your Neck

February 24, 2017 RaeAnna

Read Yes
Length 218
Quick Review Twelve short stories in one book exploring women’s lives in Nigeria and America. As always, I highly recommend it because Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is amazing.

Up until now, I have only read Adichie’s novels, so I was excited to read her short stories. She is renowned for her story teller’s expertise, and has been published in some of the best journals including The Iowa Review – a little home-state pride!

Her style, as always, is incredibly straightforward but incredibly nuanced. Her imagery paints a clear picture of the world her characters live in. Her endings are abrupt leaving the reader craving for more yet allowing each person to take away something different. Though the endings are always frustrating, I keep coming back to them wondering what happened.

Adichie explores the realities of womanhood. The meaning of being a black woman in Nigeria and the U.S., and how those meanings and realities differ. The trials and tribulations of being a woman, a black woman, and an immigrant are shown instead of explained. It’s a resonating exploration of how outsiders men, white women, non-immigrants/outsiders of a culture fail to understand the essence of what a black woman’s experience is. Though I share the identity of woman and can identify and understand those trials, I can only read, ask questions, research, but mostly listen to black women (really any woman of color) to understand the obstacles they must overcome, which I do not have to.

I recommend anything Adichie writes. Especially if you want to begin learning, empathizing, and hopefully empowering those different from yourself.

Memorable Quotes
“Then Chika feels a prick of guilt for wondering if this woman’s mind is large enough to grasp any of that.”
“But why do we say nothing?”
“It’s never quite like that in real life, is it? Women are never victims in that sort of crude way.”

Title : The Thing Around Your Neck
Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi
Publisher: Anchor Books
Copyright: 2009
ISBN: 9780307455918

Books, Fiction

The Handmaid’s Tale

February 8, 2017 RaeAnna

Read Yes
Length 311
Quick Review It’s a remarkable work of dystopian fiction, which has been talked about for decades. It’s a highly influential book in the world of contemporary fiction.

I have been hearing about The Handmaid’s Tale for a long time now. It’s been on my to read list for just as long. Amazon has created a TV show of the same name, and I wanted to read the novel before watching the show. So that was my shallow push to finally get around to reading it.

To be honest, it’s a book I read because it is so widely talked about, and not out of pure love for the genre. As a reader, I do not like Atwood’s style throughout. It’s odd and difficult to follow at times. Nor does it follow grammatical rules at all whatsoever. I majored in Literature in college, and have experience with textual analysis. From a scholarly standpoint, the style is incredibly compelling and fully supports the plot. More importantly the style gives credence to Offred, the protagonist, as well as help the reader understand where she starts and her evolution. The style changes throughout the story as Offred progresses taking steps to reclaim her previous self. I won’t say more, so I don’t ruin it for you. The style is intrinsic to the story. I do not think it would be such a compelling work of fiction if the style were more traditional.

It was a difficult book to read, at this point, for me. I live in a country which is experiences a lot of upheaval and frankly illegal/unconstitutional actions. These are the first steps towards societies depicted in dystopian fiction. For me it was difficult to read because there were points where the novel was not depicting a fictional world, but things I see happening right now today.

I was entirely uncomfortable reading The Handmaid’s Tale because of how women are treated. As a self-proclaimed feminist, I was uncomfortable and at times a bit queasy. Although, these are all intended by the author, I’m sure; no one writes dystopian fiction saying: yes this is the perfect world.

I had a hard time getting into the novel because of the style, but once I got used to it, I really enjoyed it. For me, the ending was both perfect yet entirely unsatisfying.

Read it. It’s fabulous and deserving of the hype surrounding it. It ranks high within my list of interesting dystopian novels.

Memorable Quotes
“It’s good to have small goals that can be easily attained.”
“They blamed it on the Islamic fanatics, at the time.”

Title: The Handmaid’s Tale
Author: Margaret Atwood
Publisher: Anchor Books
Copyright: 1986
ISBN: 9780385490818