Sex and Vanity

Was the heroine frustrating and not relatable? Yes. But the depiction of Capri in the first half of the book took me right back to my own (much less lavish) time there. Some of my favorite aspects of the CRA trilogy were here, namely super detailed descriptions of food, fashion, and decor. However the second half felt like a totally different book, and I did not love it. Realistically this book is probably a 2.5-3 ⭐️ read, but the delectable Capri scene setting made the whole thing worth it for me.

[b:A Room with a View 3087 A Room with a View E.M. Forster https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388781285l/3087.SY75.jpg 4574872] is one of my favorite books of all time (so much so that my cats are named Lucy and Charlotte), so maybe my expectations were too high for this, especially since I very much enjoyed the [b:Crazy Rich Asians Trilogy 40534004 Crazy Rich Asians Trilogy (Crazy Rich Asians, China Rich Girlfriend, Rich People Problems) Kevin Kwan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529076340l/40534004.SX50.jpg 62927792] and find Kevin Kwan's writing style almost compulsively readable - I didn't much care for this book but there was no way I wasn't going to finish it, if that makes sense. I don't know where the issue is exactly here, but I just don't think this story translated well to the modern-day setting at ALL. A lot of the characterization was really flat for me, and I think that's the biggest issue, since it definitely affects the plot. Lucie is supposed to be super old-money and insecure because she never felt good enough for the white side of her family, but I didn't think that conflict was ever all that well-developed, and certainly not enough for it to explain her actions here. George is barely even a character besides being hot and not talking a lot, and Kwan changes the role of his father (his mother in this version) so there's not that early connection with Lucie and yes, Cecil is the Worst, but I don't think there's enough development of the connection between Lucie and George to make them make sense. Also, imagine caring about the Social Register in 2018! Or thinking Odessa was “central Texas,” like I get that you want the new-money background for Cecil but please look at a map, if he grew up in Odessa why is his family trying to get into a swanky country club in Houston? Also, how do you not have the skinny-dipping scene?Things that I did like - Lucie's mom was delightful, Freddie was delightfully terrible, Cecil was at least as insufferable as in the original, I really want to visit Capri now. I don't think I recommend this - read A Room With a View instead, like I'm going to (for the dozenth time) now.

This book is essentially like watching a reality show watching rich people show off being rich, but with an unrealistic romance plot. The inclusion of footnotes was an odd choice for this kind of fiction. I stopped reading them. Very standard, mindless beach read. I didn't hate it, because I neither expected nor wanted it to be anything more than it was.

This may even be closer to 2.5, I'm not sure yet. I picked this because (like many others) I enjoyed CRA. In a lot of ways this book gave me what I wanted in terms of rich people drama, exciting locations and generational conflict. I also found the way race and racism was handled was interesting. As a white person I cannot say how accurate that aspect was but I felt it was one of the few areas the really fleshed out the novel. In other words: I could tell Kwan cared about that sub-plot. I also liked that it gave us another perspective on the old vs new rich. It handled in a fresh way and was not a copy paste from CRA.

Unfortunately, the book really suffered in other areas. It's possible part of the issue is Kwan is more used to writing about older people who's relationships have history? The only interpersonal relationships I fully bought into were friendships. The romances just didn't have time to breath. I never felt l knew why these people were in love with each other beyond sexual tension. I mean, George seems preferable to the alternative but I never felt like I knew him. I felt like I knew Auden better!
Additionally, Lucie seems stuck in a permanent state of immaturity, where she can't handle anything in her personal life. At least one of her decisions the letter writing fiasco comes out of a 16 year old's playbook. Which would make sense in the first half of the book, but it happens in the second half. I understand the way she was raised plays into this, but I feel like we never see her adult business woman side. It's like Kwan forgot to mentally age her up after the time jump.
Conclusion: I enjoyed this book and read it really quickly. Yay popcorn reading. But it's lower quality popcorn than I was hoping for. If Kwan writes another book I will certainly give it another chance. Everyone has a dud at some point.