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" My father went to boarding school in Sydney when he was 14. "
Kevin Kwan
He
Sydney
Boarding
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" As a child, I could bike down the hill from my house and grab an ice-cold bottle of soda from the neighborhood grocer, which was nothing more than a corrugated metal shack run by two Indian men clad in sarongs. "
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" I do believe that peoples' natures can be changed, and they have to be changed if we want to live in this modern world and be a part of it. "
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" It's human nature when you first make your big fortune to want to show off a bit. I don't begrudge that whatsoever. "
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" I'm naturally a shy, quiet person. "
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" All Americans knew was 'The Joy Luck Club' and children of dry cleaners trying to assimilate. The Asia that I was seeing was a world of people who are incredibly sophisticated, and I wanted to represent that side. "
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" In order for me to write a scene, it's very important for me to see and experience everything with my own eyes, so yes, I was able to visit some remarkable houses and destinations while I was in China. "
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" If you're the water boiler king of China, you're selling a billion water boilers. "
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" My golden dream was to move to New York and live in the Village and become that cool rebel beatnik Jack Kerouac. "
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" They say truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, but there's such a thing as believability when you're writing a novel. "
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" I love Netflix and Amazon and watching movies on streamers as much as the next person. "
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" It's not normal to go into a house and see a pond in the middle of the living room full of baby sharks. It's not normal to go to someone's garage and see a private plane. "
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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. "
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" I moved to New York and went to art school at Parsons School of Design. Became a photographer. Became a creative consultant. "
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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. "
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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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Always
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" I really don't keep an outline; I don't organize in any way. I just write. "
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" The China Rich seem to be spending on a scale that's just beyond anything we've ever seen before. They are building and buying an insane amount of luxury residences around the world, commissioning huge flying palaces from Boeing, and paying ridiculous amounts for art. "
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" If I were to generalize a bit, I would say that the ultra rich in Asia live on a scale that far surpasses the wealthy in the U.S. or Europe. "
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" The idea of Asian ascendancy has entered public culture. "
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" 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. "
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" 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. "
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" I have a photographic memory. "
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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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" Every family is a crazy family. "
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" There's always been this tradition of satirizing these rich groups of people. "
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" I grew up with a posh English accent, and all my aunts sounded as if they came out of a Merchant Ivory movie. "
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" I grew up in a household where there were really, really strong matriarchal characters. I think that's true of many Asian households. People tend to think of Asia as a misogynistic society or a society where men rule. At least in my experience, the women rule the household; the women rule the social scene. The men often become very useless. "
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" I go to Shenzhen, China, and am taken to a vast luxury spa with a hundred leather recliners and a hundred accompanying plasma screen televisions bolted to the ceiling. "
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" I was born in Singapore, and I lived there until I was 12. I had a very fortunate upbringing. "
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" My father came from old money. There was less of an expectation for the children to earn a living. "
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Father
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Old