Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan: Book Review

Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan was a book that I had anticipated reading during this summer. While I hadn’t read the highly successful book Crazy Rich Asians, I had seen the movie and really enjoyed it.

Lucie Churchill is a teenager when first introduced to the reader. Having been born to a WASP father and a Chinese mother, she doesn’t really identify in either culture. While attending a multi-million dollar wedding on the island of Capri, she meets George Zao a Chinese man who she initially can’t stand, and later makes out with. Indeed, their moment of intimacy is caught on camera via a drone. Lucie’s cousin Charlotte knows this will ruin Lucie’s reputation and bring shame to the family. In this case, money does buy anything and the video is destroyed.

Several years later, Lucie becomes engaged to another man who is extremely rich and one of the most eligible, sought-after men in the world. Her life is back on course and she has everything she wants in life. But then George re-enters her life and all of a sudden everything looks a little different.

While I was entertained by the book, I really didn’t find it to be a story I enjoyed. On a positive note, I did like that the author included the messaging that biracial individuals may be exposed to racism within their own extended families as I see evidence of this in today’s reality.  However, the story was extremely predictable. I didn’t like several of the characters and the educational background articulated for each of the characters was a little too obnoxious for this reader. Indeed, I found several of the characters to be so over the top pretentious that I almost did not finish this book.

I listened to the audiobook edition of this book and this was narrated by Lydia Look. She brings an articulate, believable and multilingual performance to this book, and I was happy I had chosen the audiobook format for this reason.

My rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️?/5 stars.