Our schoolyear has just started and I've already borrowed my first book from my school library.
And I finished reading all of it today.
Our very own Kris Aquino will star in the Hollywood-adaptation of Kevin Kwan's first book Crazy Rich Asians, and this book, China Rich Girlfriend, they say, is the follow-up, and the protagonist in the first novel, Rachel Chu, is also here.
I wonder which role Kris plays though in the first book because although there are many Filipinos mentioned in this second book, only one character belongs to the elite and her lineage is not Chinese. So that means this character is not in the first book and Kris Aquino's may not be in the second book.
Or she may not be playing a Filipino-Chinese.
Yes, as usual, we Filipinos are the maids and the drivers and the bartenders in the book, which in a way, mirrors real life, especially in Singapore and Hong Kong, but we are written well into the story and there is no condescension, just the reality of the work our OFWs do abroad.
Anyhow, I thought initially that I would be bored with this book, that Kevin Kwan, the writer, would just be some bored society columnist turned amateur novelist, and I have read several local books on high society life in Manila and they are not quite as interesting as how Kevin writes about his characters.
Unfortunately, like in real life, especially in the Philippines, the very rich are immune from paying for the consequences of their actions, and I guess, the same vibe happens in Singapore and Hong Kong, and maybe China, that the very rich can get away with things normal people like us can't.
But this is fiction, and stories of how the high society lives is well-chronicled in the Western world, that even NBA superstar basketball players are attracted to TV shows like Downton Abbey.
I guess because the very rich sort of live in a weird fantasy bubble and their snobbery and haughtiness amuses us, especially those whose two feet are firmly on the ground.
There are so many humorous scenes in this book - and crazy does not even begin to describe many of the actions of the characters here.
I just enjoyed it like how I enjoyed watching the US soap operas Dynasty, Dallas and Falcon Crest in the 80s. Just let these loose cannons off the hook and laugh or shake your head at their unbelievable excesses.
That's the reason why I had to finish it today, I could not put down the book. For some strange reason, I could relate to two characters in the story - Nicholas Young and his fabulous cousin Astrid Leong. I could be Astrid Leong now, har har har, if I were a woman, and Nick, if I were a red-blooded male.
So while I was reading the book, I felt like I was in it, and I was watching all these characters crash and burn spectacularly, in front of me.
Anyhow, I am now very eager to read the first book, Crazy Rich Asians, and find out if Nick and Astrid are still there (I am sure they are!) Medyo nagkamali ako, I read the second book, before the first installment, but don't you worry.
This book can stand alone on its own even without you knowing what they had done before.
I just hope we have a copy of Crazy Rich Asians in our library, otherwise, I may have to buy it.
Nothing like the excesses of the rich to transport you to another world on a long wet weekend.
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