China Rich Girlfriend
A novel
(Sprache: Englisch)
Kevin Kwan, bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians, is back with a wickedly funny new novel of social climbing, secret e-mails, art-world scandal, lovesick billionaires, and the outrageous story of what happens when Rachel Chu, engaged to marry Asia's most...
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Kevin Kwan, bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians, is back with a wickedly funny new novel of social climbing, secret e-mails, art-world scandal, lovesick billionaires, and the outrageous story of what happens when Rachel Chu, engaged to marry Asia's most eligible bachelor, discovers her birthfather.On the eve of her wedding to Nicholas Young, heir to one of the greatest fortunes in Asia, Rachel should be over the moon. She has a flawless Asscher-cut diamond from JAR, a wedding dress she loves more than anything found in the salons of Paris, and a fiancé willing to sacrifice his entire inheritance in order to marry her. But Rachel still mourns the fact that her birthfather, a man she never knew, won't be able to walk her down the aisle. Until: a shocking revelation draws Rachel into a world of Shanghai splendor beyond anything she has ever imagined. Here we meet Carlton, a Ferrari-crashing bad boy known for Prince Harry-like antics; Colette, a celebrity girlfriend chased by fevered paparazzi; and the man Rachel has spent her entire life waiting to meet: her father. Meanwhile, Singapore's It Girl, Astrid Leong, is shocked to discover that there is a downside to having a newly minted tech billionaire husband. A romp through Asia's most exclusive clubs, auction houses, and estates, China Rich Girlfriend brings us into the elite circles of Mainland China, introducing a captivating cast of characters, and offering an inside glimpse at what it's like to be gloriously, crazily, China-rich.
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1The Mandarin
Hong Kong, January 25, 2013
In early 2012, a brother and sister clearing out their late mother s attic in the London neighborhood of Hampstead discovered what appeared to be a cluster of old Chinese scrolls at the bottom of a steamer trunk. By chance, the sister had a friend who worked at Christie s, so she dropped them off--in four Sainsbury s grocery sacks--at the auctioneer s salesroom on Old Brompton Road, hoping they might take a look and tell us if they re worth anything.
When the senior specialist of Chinese Classical Paintings opened up one of the silk scrolls, he nearly went into cardiac arrest. Unfurled before him was an image so remarkably rendered, it immediately reminded him of a set of hanging scroll paintings long thought to be destroyed. Could this be The Palace of Eighteen Perfections? The artwork, created by the Qing dynasty artist Yuan Jiang in 1693, was believed to have been secretly removed from China during the Second Opium War in 1860, when many of the royal palaces were ransacked, and lost forever.
As staffers scurried around unrolling the scrolls, they discovered twenty-four pieces, each almost seven feet tall and in immaculate condition. Placed side by side, they spanned thirty-seven feet, almost filling the floor space of two workrooms. At last, the senior specialist could confirm that this was undoubtedly the mythical work described in all the classical Chinese texts he had spent much of his career studying.
The Palace of Eighteen Perfections was an opulent eighth-century imperial retreat in the mountains north of modern-day Xi an. It was said to be one of the most magnificent royal residences ever built, with grounds so vast that one had to travel between the halls on horseback. On these ancient silk scrolls, the intricate pavilions, courtyards, and gardens that meandered through a dreamlike blue-and-green mountain landscape were painted in colors so vibrantly preserved, they seemed almost electric in
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their iridescence.
The auction-house staff stood over the exquisite masterpiece in awed silence. A find of this caliber was like discovering a long-hidden painting by da Vinci or Vermeer. When the international director of Asian Art rushed in to see them, he began to feel faint and forced himself to take a few steps back for fear that he might fall onto the delicate artwork. Choking back his tears, the director finally said, Call François in Hong Kong. Tell him to get Oliver T sien on the next flight to London. 1
The director then declared, We need to give these beauties the grand tour. We re going to start out with an exhibition in Geneva, then London, then at our Rockefeller Center showroom in New York. Let s give the world s top collectors a chance to see it. Only then will we take it to Hong Kong, and sell it right before the Chinese New Year. By then the Chinese should be frothing at the mouth in anticipation.
Which is precisely how Corinna Ko-Tung came to be sitting in the Clipper Lounge of the Mandarin Hotel in Hong Kong a year later, impatiently awaiting the arrival of Lester and Valerie Liu. Her richly embossed business card listed her as an art consultant, but for a few select clients, she was a great deal more than that. Corinna was born to one of Hong Kong s most pedigreed families, and she secretly parlayed her extensive connections into a very profitable sideline. For clients like the Lius, Corinna did everything from refining the art on their walls to the clothes on their back--all in service of getting them memberships at the most elite clubs, their names onto the right invitation lists, and their children into the city s top schools. In short, she was a special consultant for social climbers.
Corinna spotted the Lius as they ascended the short flight of stairs up to the
The auction-house staff stood over the exquisite masterpiece in awed silence. A find of this caliber was like discovering a long-hidden painting by da Vinci or Vermeer. When the international director of Asian Art rushed in to see them, he began to feel faint and forced himself to take a few steps back for fear that he might fall onto the delicate artwork. Choking back his tears, the director finally said, Call François in Hong Kong. Tell him to get Oliver T sien on the next flight to London. 1
The director then declared, We need to give these beauties the grand tour. We re going to start out with an exhibition in Geneva, then London, then at our Rockefeller Center showroom in New York. Let s give the world s top collectors a chance to see it. Only then will we take it to Hong Kong, and sell it right before the Chinese New Year. By then the Chinese should be frothing at the mouth in anticipation.
Which is precisely how Corinna Ko-Tung came to be sitting in the Clipper Lounge of the Mandarin Hotel in Hong Kong a year later, impatiently awaiting the arrival of Lester and Valerie Liu. Her richly embossed business card listed her as an art consultant, but for a few select clients, she was a great deal more than that. Corinna was born to one of Hong Kong s most pedigreed families, and she secretly parlayed her extensive connections into a very profitable sideline. For clients like the Lius, Corinna did everything from refining the art on their walls to the clothes on their back--all in service of getting them memberships at the most elite clubs, their names onto the right invitation lists, and their children into the city s top schools. In short, she was a special consultant for social climbers.
Corinna spotted the Lius as they ascended the short flight of stairs up to the
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Autoren-Porträt von Kevin Kwan
Kevin Kwan
Bibliographische Angaben
- Autor: Kevin Kwan
- 2016, Internationale Ausgabe, 496 Seiten, Maße: 10,3 x 17,5 cm, Kartoniert (TB), Englisch
- Verlag: Anchor Books
- ISBN-10: 1101973390
- ISBN-13: 9781101973394
- Erscheinungsdatum: 27.05.2016
Sprache:
Englisch
Pressezitat
Snarky ... Wicked ... Funny. Janet Maslin, The New York TimesDeliciously fun.... Satire at its best. People
Scandalous. Town and Country
Makes Downton Abbey look more like Downton Arrivistes.... Ingenious. The Daily Beast
Frothy. Hanya Yanigahara, Conde Nast Traveler
Lifestyles of the rich and famous, China-style The Houston Chronicle
This year's best beach reading.... As frothy as the egg whites on the sort of cocktail you should drink while reading Kwan s books.... Highly entertaining. The Washington Post
A crazy parade through the lives of the aspirational elite. Los Angeles Times
The equivalent of a Bubble Tea concoction laced with Henry James extracts and Jackie Collins sprinkles.... In the same way that Edith Wharton catalogued the Gilded Age via novels like The Age of Innocence, Kwan in his novels is doing his bit for a China that now has the second-highest number of millionaires in the world. The Daily Beast
A taste of Asian opulence served with skewering humor. The Daily News
Kwan s characters are powerful and attractive, living in the lap of luxury. NPR, All Things Considered
Very enjoyable.... Just as funny as Crazy Rich Asians, this globe-spanning tale of excess includes enough snootiness and class snobbery to fill a multitude of designer handbags. Minneapolis Star Tribune
With the same hilarity ... as the first novel, China Rich Girlfriend will not disappoint both fans and newcomers to the series. Town and Country
An equally good-natured, catty-as-hell sequel.... Part Oscar Wilde, part Judith Krantz, part Arthur Frommer . . . Hilarious . . . Over-the-top and hard to stop. Kirkus Reviews
China Rich Girlfriend is the most fun I ve had reading a book in quite some time.... A jam-packed, lively
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story. Amy Scribner, BookPage
A heady taste of vicarious escapism.... Read China Rich Girlfriend for the exuberant spectacle of zippy vintage cars, gossipy matriarchs-who-lunch and reckless profligacy but read it also for its very engaging narrative about people like us. Thuy On, The Sydney Morning Herald
[An] amusing, whirlwind novel. The Miami Herald
Like Gossip Girl and Dynasty and the royal family of England all at the same time. Kwan s characters behave hideously and it s hilarious. Elaine Lainey Lui, Flare
Will have readers clamoring for more. Library Journal (starred review)
An engaging page-turner with a multi-layered, inventive narrative. Kwan has clearly taken a few lessons from one of America s great social satirists think Tom Wolfe set loose on the wealthiest enclaves of Confucian Asia. South China Morning Post
A heady taste of vicarious escapism.... Read China Rich Girlfriend for the exuberant spectacle of zippy vintage cars, gossipy matriarchs-who-lunch and reckless profligacy but read it also for its very engaging narrative about people like us. Thuy On, The Sydney Morning Herald
[An] amusing, whirlwind novel. The Miami Herald
Like Gossip Girl and Dynasty and the royal family of England all at the same time. Kwan s characters behave hideously and it s hilarious. Elaine Lainey Lui, Flare
Will have readers clamoring for more. Library Journal (starred review)
An engaging page-turner with a multi-layered, inventive narrative. Kwan has clearly taken a few lessons from one of America s great social satirists think Tom Wolfe set loose on the wealthiest enclaves of Confucian Asia. South China Morning Post
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