Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan
Kevin Kwan, the bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians, is the king of dishing dirt about rich and famous Asians with flair and pizazz. His latest novel, Lies and Weddings (Doubleday), continues the tradition with a witty, biting tale of the power and pitfalls of the globetrotting super-rich.
Lies and Weddings is also a story about the stark contrasts between the wealthy and the poor, and how two strong Asian women navigate lives burdened by their economic circumstances. And how an ancient crime unknowingly impacts their present circumstances.
A Cinderella-esque, Starcrossed Love Story
Dr. Eden Tong literally lives on the poor side of the British estate. She and her oncologist father reside in a cottage at Greshambury Hall, a manor owned by her father’s best friend, the Earle of Gresham and his wife, Countess Arabella. Raised alongside the three manor-borne children, Eden has never been their equal in society. She has dedicated her young life to serving her community as a doctor for the National Health Service, and has never aspired to the trappings of wealth displayed by the Gresham family.
Countess Arabella Leung Gresham is the wicked “stepmother” to Eden’s Cinderella. The Countess has taken great pleasure in ensuring Eden understood her lesser place in society. Having struggled to ascend from the streets of Hong Kong to marry an English Lord, Arabella desires the same success for her two daughters and son of marriageable ages. And those plans do not include her son Rufus marrying Eden.
The death of Eden’s mother from breast cancer when Eden was five still haunts her dreams. She feels an absence in her life, and she cannot identify why she feels adrift. Only her job and her father keep her tethered to the world. Until recently, she considered Arabella as an auntie. However, with Rufus being crowned as one of the world’s most eligible bachelors, Arabella’s attitude toward her has changed. In fact, Eden has not even been invited to the wedding of the Greshams’ oldest daughter, Augustina.
Lush Scenery and Extravagant Lifestyles
The wedding of Augustina to Prince Maximillian at the family’s lush Hawaiian resort initiates a season of opulent, over-the-top wedding festivities. Without consideration of the cost, Arabella goes to extremes to make this nuptial the wedding of the social season. However, it also sets in motion a series of unexpected events — Eden’s last-minute attendance, a lava flow, a pregnancy test, bespoke couture, and pre-wedding Vogue Magazine photo shoots — which open a floodgate of revelations and past secrets.
When Rufus declares his love to Eden, Arabella’s claws appear. She bans Eden from Greshambury Hall, and from seeing the Gresham family, and threatens Eden’s job. Poor Eden finds herself entangled in Arabella’s web of lies, gossip and scandals.
The exotic locations of Manila, pastoral England, Paris, Venice, Beverly Hills, and the Big Island of Hawaii frame this tour de force of the lives of millionaires who consider private jets, designer clothing, yachts, and life in the fast lane as commonplace. To assist the readers in understanding Kwan’s vast references to designers, restaurants, Asian cultural events, and British etiquette, he annotates his chapters. After all, how many readers know that Harry Collins MVO was appointed as the personal jeweler of Queen Elizabeth II in 2005?
A Murder Mystery and a Complex History
Overshadowing the present wedding season, a 20-year-old murder mystery casts a long, dark shadow over the characters, including the colorful secondary cast of a mysterious billionaire, his spendthrift son, a rich American-Iranian playboy, and an interfering Auntie. This tragedy threatens several family dynasties and raises questions of inheritance and social standing for many of the book’s characters.
Despite their affluence, the Chinese characters seem burdened by a melancholy undertone of racism, a continuation of the historical prejudice they experienced under British rule.
Arabella’s unrelenting desire to develop a five-star international hotel chain, her marriage to the Earle, her penchant for ostentatious couture, and her socializing only with the upper class exemplify her insecurities about her Chinese heritage. She appears to be on a lifelong mission to overcome and compensate for her self-loathing about her heritage. Unfortunately for Eden, she becomes the target of Arabella’s pursuit of revenge.
Spunky Loveable Lead, and Catty Good Fun
In contrast, Eden respects her heritage. With spunk and confidence, she surmounts the obstacles created by others while remaining true to her love of her father and the memory of her mother. Readers will root for the selfless Eden to overcome Arabella’s unfounded cruelty and hope she finds happiness with Rufus and the occupation she dearly loves.
In typical Kwan style, the characters in Lies and Weddings inhabit a world of excess. Readers will wonder whether the novel is a satire of the super-rich or a peek inside their shallow existence. Either way, it’s catty good fun.
About the Author:
Kevin Kwan is the author of Crazy Rich Asians, the international bestselling novel that has been translated into 40 languages. Its sequel, China Rich Girlfriend, was released in 2015, and Rich People Problems, the final book in the trilogy, followed in 2017. For several weeks in 2018, the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy commanded the top three positions of the New York Times bestseller list — an almost unprecedented single-author trifecta — and the film adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians became Hollywood’s highest-grossing romantic comedy in over a decade. Sex and Vanity, his most recent novel, hit the New York Times bestseller list in its first week of release and is being adapted into a feature film by Sony Pictures. Kevin has been named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.
