By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Credit: Danny Ngan Photography
Credit: Danny Ngan Photography
We were there, ostensibly, to talk about his latest book, “Lies and Weddings.” In reality, we talked about a little bit of everything. It really was a “Meet Cute”—the name of the Seattle Arts & Lectures series—and we got to know Kevin Kwan in a well-rounded way. Interviewer Jane Hyo-Sung Park guided the conversation with a mix of her own questions and ones from the audience.
Credit: Danny Ngan Photography
Prior to the talk at Seattle’s Town Hall on May 29, Kwan attended a reception where he amiably signed books and conversed with guests. The talk itself ran a good 90 minutes and covered topics from politics to aesthetics to, of course, his writing and his books. Throughout the evening, Kwan was devastatingly honest about his likes and dislikes. I say “devastatingly” because it’s a tad unsettling to find out that what we all love Kwan for is not necessarily exactly what he loves. The style of writing of “Crazy Rich Asians” (CRA), a genre that Kwan pretty much invented himself, a rich and famous travelogue, is not really his preferred style, he revealed. The way the publishing industry works, Kwan shared, is they want you to write the same thing over and over; and so, here we are, with him on a second series, which is different and yet similar to CRA.
Kwan has tried other things—a book of poetry, for instance—and been turned down. An essay he wrote about a friend’s artwork is actually closer to his real voice, he said. More spare, more cynical. On a scale of one to 10? Kwan is a “two” for optimism. This came as a shock to an audience accustomed to gleaning their joy and humor from his writing. What’s fun for us? Not exactly the same as it is for Kwan.
“Maybe when I’m retired, I can actually write for fun,” he joked. Which is not to say he doesn’t enjoy the bestsellers he writes—many writers have more than one voice—or that he doesn’t have an agenda when he writes—he does. Both. In his latest series, for instance, which started with “Sex and Vanity,” he intended to adapt, to re-invent, beloved books by E.M. Forster, and emulates the Merchant Ivory films, with a multiracial twist. Kwan reminded us his books are meant to be satire, to poke fun at the rich, but with empathy.
Credit: Danny Ngan Photography
CRA and its fellows fit into Kwan’s habitual passion for observing trends. For cataloging. For information of all kinds. “I love libraries,” he shared, which got a big round of applause from the librarians and readers in the audience. When Kwan’s family first immigrated to the U.S., his parents didn’t have childcare, so they would drop him off at a library. The librarians were his friends, he said. In high school, Kwan published a “who’s in” and “who’s out” list, which we can also see echoes of in his books. “I was always chronicling and always dissecting culture.” His brain is a garbage can of information, he said. His spirit animal is Oscar the Grouch—the subject of one of his famous footnotes in “Lies and Weddings.”
An art form he wished that he had learned? Piano. He’s never taken a lesson even though his mother is a piano teacher. “That’s not very Asian of you,” to not know how to play on any musical instrument, Park joked. Although Kwan admitted he had stage fright, and had trouble coming up with answers to some of the questions, like any of us would when put on the spot, Kwan was as funny in person as in his books. And extremely gracious. He made sure that the host felt comfortable and that the presentation moved along. He expressed surprise that the audience was not asking questions in the old-fashioned way, i.e. by standing up and introducing themselves. Rather, the questions were coming through Park’s iPad. Maybe Kwan was feeling the lack of personal connection, something which is so important to him.
Also important, diversity and representation. Kwan urged everyone to make their desires known when it comes to entertainment, to let Hollywood know what they want. Hollywood is going through “an existential crisis,” he said, choosing “blockbuster” movies over those with more diversity of cast and range of story. It was 25 years between “Joy Luck Club” and “Crazy Rich Asians.” Kwan is doing his personal best to make sure that it’s not that long again before the next movie based on one of his books comes out. He is now working on a TV series based on the current trio of books, a movie follow up to “Crazy Rich Asians,” and a musical version, which he told the audience is a very time-consuming project.
Credit: Danny Ngan Photography
We learned about Kwan’s absorbing writing process. When he is working on a book, he censors any outside influences, reads only non-fiction, and limits watching other movies or shows. Writing is a full-time job. He works eight hours a day. And while that sounds rather proletarian, Kwan’s method is extremely creative in that he just goes with the flow. He avoids writer’s block by making sure that he exposes himself to many forms of art, something he recommends to everyone. He is a voracious reader. His preferred genre is non-fiction. He has even published a non-fiction book of his own called “Luck: The Essential Guide.” When asked what he might’ve done if he hadn’t become a writer, Kwan said he would’ve been a banker. His family has historically been in banking, and his brother is currently a banker.
Interestingly, Kwan credits being an immigrant with his ability to adapt.
“I think maybe that’s part of the immigrant experience, when you’ve been removed from your childhood, you sort of become comfortable everywhere,” he said. He feels at home in many places. It’s Los Angeles now. Before, it was New York. It’s wherever he’s visiting. Kwan’s family moved to Texas when he was 11 years old, so he had the benefit of growing up in Singapore before the move. He was unabashed about admitting that he was never a cool kid. Kwan’s stories might be about the rich and famous, but he himself is extremely down to earth. Has he experienced some of the luxury he writes about? Yes, he has. Even more so. Kwan shared that he’s been asked to “turn down” the luxury in his books; that he’s been told it wouldn’t be believable. The wedding in “Lies and Weddings” doesn’t come close to the excess that he has personally witnessed, he said.
Kwan moves smoothly between worlds. He is a global citizen, as much Singaporean as he is American. He aims his discerning eye on all of us. He hates a snob. Even if many of his characters do, Kwan never takes anything at face value. He always assumes the background behind someone’s behavior. “I just observe and listen, and I just put it on the page.”
Kai can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.
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