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" I'm not revealing any deep, hidden secret that there are wealthy people in Asia. "
Kevin Kwan
People
Secret
Hidden
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" I'm not sure if being Chinese really helped, but I do think that if a non-Asian had written a book called 'Crazy Rich Asians,' they might not have been looked upon so kindly. "
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" I love Netflix and Amazon and watching movies on streamers as much as the next person. "
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" Writers often say that characters begin to write themselves, and I never used to believe that. I always thought that was complete hogwash. "
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" I know an elderly society matron in Singapore who would rather walk in the scorching sun for blocks on end rather than have her chauffeur drive into the Central Business District at peak hour and pay the $1.50 surcharge. "
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Walk
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" I really don't keep an outline; I don't organize in any way. I just write. "
Kevin Kwan
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" I came from a family of extremely old money, and so by the time I was born, there was really just a trickle of money left. "
Kevin Kwan
Family
Time
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" I come from an old establishment family from Singapore. "
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Come
Family
Old
" I'm a writer. I'm naturally introverted, so being the public face of something, I don't think I do it well. "
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" My grandparents were far more English in their manners than they were Chinese. For example, we spoke English at home, had afternoon tea every day, and my grandfather, who attended university in Scotland, would smoke his pipe after dinner. "
Kevin Kwan
Dinner
Tea
Smoke
" Growing up in Singapore, I wasn't allowed to visit China. So when I was finally able to go there after the country began opening up to tourism in the 1990s, I found it to be utterly astounding. "
Kevin Kwan
Growing Up
Opening
Growing
" I've always been drawn to the Edwardian period in England. To me, it seems like such a fascinating time, when the British Empire was at the height of its powers and the strict mores of the Victorian age were dissipating into the decadence of King Edward's reign. "
Kevin Kwan
King
Age
Me
" No matter our background, we all have crazy families. "
Kevin Kwan
Background
Families
Our
" I was born on the island of Singapore, and I grew up there until I was 11 years old, when I was forcibly removed by my dad and planted into suburban Houston. I was in shock for the first year and then began to really love it - but didn't love it quite enough to stay. "
Kevin Kwan
Enough
Born
Singapore
" The characters that populate my books are global nomads in their own right, keeping multiple homes around the world and constantly jet-setting to new places. "
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Books
Own
Places
" My father came from old money. There was less of an expectation for the children to earn a living. "
Kevin Kwan
Father
Children
Old
" Living in the West, you see how there's only two versions of how Asian men are supposed to be. Either they're very nice, yuppie husbands with children in ads, or they're IT geeks. "
Kevin Kwan
Children
You
Living
" My father grew up in a life of extreme privilege. "
Kevin Kwan
Up
Extreme
Father
" It used to be, on TV, you'd see only two types of Asians. You'd see the science geek who's using his mobile phone or something like that, or you'd see a very token Asian family - yuppie mother and father and two little Asian kids. It's the last barrier for Hollywood. "
Kevin Kwan
Family
Father
Phone
" My books are comedies; I want to take my readers on a jet-setting romp, make them laugh, make them swoon at the beautiful settings, and maybe even make their mouths water at all the food. "
Kevin Kwan
Laugh
Beautiful
Water
" Especially in the West, people want to understand Asia on a deeper level because it's become the engine of the world economy, like it or not. "
Kevin Kwan
World
People
Economy
" To me, families are fascinating. I choose to explore it through comedy and through comic situations. "
Kevin Kwan
Comedy
Through
Me
" A lot of the people who live the lives of 'Crazy Rich Asians' don't see the humour of their lives simply because this is just who they are. Even though I'm from that part of the world, I'm no longer part of that world. "
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Crazy
World
See
" 'China rich' is the new 'crazy rich.' It's a new level of outrageousness. It comes from this world where overnight fortunes have been made, but the fortunes are so ginormous compared to anything we've ever seen in the history of the world. "
Kevin Kwan
Rich
China
World
" I think snobbery is one of the oldest customs in the world, and the rich will always find ways to rank each other and make themselves feel more special than others. "
Kevin Kwan
Special
Think
World
" I sort of wanted to reveal this other side of Asia: Southeast Asia, where the Chinese have been wealthy for generations and have different ways of relating to money. I wanted to sort of reveal this world to readers. "
Kevin Kwan
World
Reveal
Side
" Old money in Southeast Asia is much more discrete and low key. It's about not wearing brand names. It's about being invisible, almost. The billionaire can be taking the bus with you. "
Kevin Kwan
Money
Brand
Bus
" I wanted to explore what all this new-found wealth means for the different generations of Chinese who have to live together in this place that is transforming at warp speed into the richest country on the planet. "
Kevin Kwan
Wealth
Together
Speed
" I've lived in New York City for over twenty years now, and every single day is like a new adventure. At this point, there are many places I'd love to visit, but I can't imagine living anywhere else on the planet. "
Kevin Kwan
Love
Day
City
" There are old-money Asians that would never be caught dead with a Chanel handbag or sporting anything that has a label it. "
Kevin Kwan
Caught
Never
Asians
" As a child, I didn't even realize I was Chinese. I was Singaporean, but my identity was wrapped up in the culture I was experiencing every day. "
Kevin Kwan
Day
Identity
Child