O.C. readers spend Lunar New Year with author Kevin Kwan
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Author Kevin Kwan laughed as he shared his mother’s concern for the turnout of his special appearance in Orange County, since the event fell on Lunar New Year.
“She said, ‘Who is going to come to the O.C. to see you on Lunar New Year?” said the Singaporean-born American novelist. “Asian parents are a very specific breed, but I was really lucky in that they were always supportive of my crazy schemes.”
Thankfully, nearly 340 readers turned out for Kwan’s literary event on Jan. 29 at the Norma Hertzog Community Center in Costa Mesa.
Presented by OC Public Libraries and partly funded through a grant from the California Department of Aging, the series features keynote speakers, like Kwan, in celebration of literacy. Kwan spoke with local journalist Jennifer Tanaka, took questions from the audience and signed copies of his books, which were made available for sale on site by Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore.
Kwan is the author of the international bestselling novel “Crazy Rich Asians,” which has been translated into 40 languages. The subsequent books in the series, “China Rich Girlfriend” and “Rich People Problems,” both went on to be best sellers.
The film adaptation of “Crazy Rich Asians” in 2018 became Hollywood’s highest-grossing romantic comedy in more than a decade and is credited with launching the mainstream careers of many actors cast in the production, like Awkwafina. Directed by Jon M. Chu and released theatrically in the United States by Warner Bros., the film was the first major studio project almost entirely cast with performers of Chinese descent in a present-day setting since “The Joy Luck Club” in 1993.
Kwan referenced the “The Joy Luck Club” and its author, Amy Tan, another Asian American writer, as a source of early inspiration.
“Amy Tan, she is amazing, and she is one of my heroes. Her book was life-changing for me,” said Kwan. “Reading ‘The Joy Luck Club’ was one of the most intensely wonderful experiences of my life.”
Kwan also maintained that the movie adaption of Tan’s book was done at a level he strove for when his bestseller was adapted for the big screen.
“That movie was such a beautiful adaptation of a book and so to me that was the gold standard,” said Kwan. “She was intensely involved in her movie, in fact she was one of the screenwriters. So watching her, I said I have to do the same thing. If Hollywood studios don’t want to involve me, then they are not going to get to do this.”
Readers have gravitated to Kwan’s storytelling for its insight into modern, albeit lavish, Asian culture, but they have also found themselves pulled in by his knowledge and colorful description of popular foods from Singapore, Malaysia and Hawaii.
“I grew up in Singapore as a child, and I think Singapore is the original foodie country,” said Kwan. “We literally ate five times a day; breakfast, lunch, high tea, dinner and supper was what my family did, so we were always food obsessed. When I moved to America, that just never ended.”
While Kwan writes often about the food he loves, he also writes about food the characters in his books love as a way of informing the reader a bit more about who they are and their tastes. As he read aloud from his latest release, “Lies and Weddings,” he elicited oohs and ahhs from the audience as he shared a scene in which two characters dine on what they consider a simple lunch.
“Barely two hours later, Arabella found herself at a table on the glorious outdoor terrace of Rosina’s rooftop garden suite, alternately sipping champagne and chrysanthemum tea and enjoying a simple lunch of flame blue lobster with caviar, Sichuan-style mapo tofu with minced Iberico pork, lacquered abalone with ginger and butter and lime, lotus roots with seasonal vegetables and golden garlic, braised boneless beef ribs flambe with wine, goji berries and radish in a stone pot and wok-fired rice noodles with wagyu beef and bok choy in a silky egg gravy,” Kwan read.
Some readers have been inspired to visit the places Kwan writes about and use his books as a travel guide of sorts. The author’s books include scenes at popular restaurants like Din Tai Fung and Tex Drive-In in Hawaii. Even an Orange County restaurant, Nick’s in Laguna Beach, gets a shout out.
“I love their French dip sandwich,” said Kwan. “That was my Laguna Beach discovery and I love it.”
Kwan discussed upcoming projects and fielded questions about the anticipated movie sequel to “Crazy Rich Asians” and another film from his new book series in development.
“The first exciting news is that “Sex and Vanity” is being made into a film by Sony, so right now we are furiously trying to rework the script and get that finalized, and if all goes well, perhaps it will film this year. There are two amazing actors that are already attached but I can’t say who they are.”
Kwan also spoke about plans to turn “Crazy Rich Asians” into a musical with Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures and Chu, who recently helmed the Broadway-musical-turned-Hollywood-blockbuster “Wicked,” returning as director.
“The other exciting news is the ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ musical,” Kwan said. “We have actually been working on it for five years now. A book-to-Broadway adaption takes 10 years, believe it or not.”
He also hinted at upcoming plans for both the big and small screen.
“In the meantime, Warner Bros. is also trying to do spinoffs.”
At heart Kwan is a writer, and he spoke about his new series that borrows from classic literature with Asian American characters at the center. He offered sage advice for anyone interested in writing a novel.
“Start with a page a day, and in a year you will have a book.”
“A Slice of Literary Orange” series has more keynote speakers lined up throughout the year, including Erika L. Sánchez, author of the New York Times bestseller “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” on Feb. 3 at 6:30 p.m. at the Clifton C. Miller Community Center in Tustin and national best-selling author ReShonda Tate on Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the Norma Hertzog Community Center in Costa Mesa.
For more information on other events with “A Slice of Literary Orange,” visit ocpl.org.
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