Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan
This could be the title of any of Kwan’s stories, no?
In other words, more of what we expect from Kwan: a tangled tale of rich families mainly of the Chinese diaspora; with Kwan’s patented footnotes on luxury style and food.
Weddings. Parties. Shopping. Etc.
The main plot revolves around young doctor Eden Tong, who grew up next door with the half Chinese children of the Earl of Gresham. In typical style, these wealthy and privileged folks bop around the world, visiting swanky places, currently At her mother’s over-the-top resort in Hawaii for the over-the-top wedding of the eldest Gresham daughter.
There is a slight glitch at the wedding when the volcano erupts, wiping out the resort and scattering the gathered nabobs. Not to mention a hot mic that catches part of nice, artistic heir to the Gresham title, Rufus’ ardent but clumsy profession of love for (merely a doctor) Eden.
All is not well at Gresham Hall, for sure.
Rufus’ Chinese Mom (AKA the Countess) is furious at everybody. And it turns out that the Gresham’s are—wait for it—broke. The new hubby (the Prince of Lichtenburg or whatever) has a swanky title but—wait for it—no money. Both families are broke and were marrying the other for the money—oops!
And so on. Stuff happens. Misunderstandings, deception, hubris, racism.
But let’s ignore all that. From page one, it’s obvious that our two nice kids, Eden and Rufus, are in love and meant to be together. What will it take to get them together? C’mon you two, quit messing with us!
Mom the Countess is not helping things at all. She wants Rufus to marry money, a lot of money, like right now, already. You can play with Eden on the side if you have to, but Mamma needs a ton of cash pronto, and you my son are primo aristo meat.
Mom’s prepared to intervene to make it happen. I mean, as in diverting Rufus’ plane midflight and whisking him off to Marrakech for an even more preposterously swankier wedding. Objective: woo multi-billionaire Martha Dung.
Sigh. Like that’s gonna work. (I mean, Martha is no innocent schoolgirl. She runs an empire with 10,000 employees. And she has a Chinese mother herself, fer goodness sake.)
And then there is the mystery of Eden’s own history. Eden’s dad (an eminent oncologist) is clearly hiding something from her. But what? And what’s the deal with her dad’s special patient, a Philippino gazillionaire dying of cancer?
I liked this book, even if most of the luxe-porn stuff doesn’t interest me. Frankly, I wouldn’t know a designer outfit from a hole in the wall, and do not care. Not only can’t I visualize the scenes, I don’t grok the presumed status signals implied.
Worse, the over-the-top estates, resorts, clubs, parties, and weddings; and the privileged prats that inhabit them; mostly just sicken me. This story may be intended as satire, but a lot of it is not particularly funny to me.
In other words, I’d be just as happy with 80% less fashion deets, and far more romance and banter.
But, to be fair, luxe-porn is what Kevin Kwan does, and he does it well.
So, if what you want is a Kevin Kwan romance, this novel is what you want, definitely.
- Kevin Kwan, Lies and Weddings. Doubleday, New York, 2024.
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