Book Review: “Sex and Vanity” by Kevin Kwan

Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan

I enjoyed Kwan’s earlier ‘rich people’s problems’ books (this, this), though I haven’t see the movie (and am not tempted to do so).   had expectations of what the new story would be about, and I was not disappointed.

Now, I’m not really that interested in the lives of the extremely wealthy.  And I really, really, really don’t care about the luxury good industry.  So I not only don’t identify with these people, I generally don’t even understand a lot of the stuff Kwan drools over.

And stuff is certainly a big part of the story.  Designer clothes, absurdly excessive houses, and exclusive schools—I’ve never heard of most of this stuff, and don’t really want to.

Kwan, of course, is certainly into this stuff, and has developed his trademarked style around lovingly depicting people who are obsessed with being rich.  This time, the protagonists are New Yorkers, although the main group of them have Chinese ancestry.

Sex and Vanity opens at an over-the-top wedding on the Isle of Capri, home of decadent Roman Emperors and artists for centuries.  That sets the pace.  Other settings include upscale NY locations, resorts, and an insanely excessive street performance.

Worse, these scenes are populated by people who take this stuff seriously, measure each other by their toys, and feel entitled to it all.  This isn’t the 1%, this is the 0.1%.  They can afford to do anything they want, and expect the rest of us to serve them swiftly and silently.  Their idea of “work” is spending money, generally a lot of money.  All the while, complaining about how the peasants aren’t doing it right.

This all would be intolerable to read, were it not for Kwan’s nuanced storytelling.

First of all, while he clearly loves all this glitz, he doesn’t seem to feel entitled, and he seems to measure his own worth by what he knows, not what he owns.

But most important, he gives us a handful of characters who are decent people, especially the protagonist, Lucie Churchill.

Young Lucie is part of a wealthy family, and has everything going for her.  But she actually cares about family and love, just like anyone.  And she is just as messed up about family and love as anyone.

We have to cringe as Lucie careens from one dubious decision to another.  I’m not giving the story away to say that the reader knows very well what Lucie really wants hundreds of pages before Lucie herself seems to admit it.

Lucie also learns to appreciate some of her family and friends, who are sane and true.  She also has to learn to stop caring what other, less sane and true, family and “friends” say and think.

Watching Lucie be treated as basically a mannequin for her fiancee’s social media feeds is excruciating.  (And the fact that he seemed to like dressing her in his mother’s style is absolutely creepy.)

Along the way, Kwan puts the needle in about the racism of the 1%, as well as the general “let them eat cake” attitude.  It’s hard to like a lot of these people.

Is this a romance or social commentary?  A slice of life or satire?  There certainly aren’t any prescriptions for—or even condemnations of—massive inequality here.

But there certainly is a call for true love, respect, and honesty.  In the end, we know that Lucie will be happy even if she didn’t have millions of dollars, because the money isn’t what makes her happy.

PS.  I had some fun speculating on which character(s) represent the author’s wish-fullfilment version of himself. Clearly, George is the top pick: impossibly handsome, good at everything, and lucky in love.  But brother Freddie comes up fast at the end, when he runs off to the impossibly romantic desert project.  And, for that matter, Lucie is good looking, smart, artistic, and good=hearted—and a New York girl to the core.  So there are a lot of “ideal Kevins” to choose from in this story!   : -)

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1. Kevin Kwan, Sex and Vanity, New York, Doubleday, 2020.

 

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