Kevin Kwan on why he wrote Crazy Rich Asians--

https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/im-no-crazy-rich-asian-says-author-kevin-kwan I'm glad he was/is successful and his "set" is rich, but at the end of the day, it's an artificial society and an enclosed world and Singapore is a capitalist dictatorship. I did not find it that funny either. For instance, a waiter in Philadelphia Chinatown told me of being whipped for overstaying his visa and I know of many Burmese working in construction or as maids in Singapore. Many horror stories. The blue-green plastic whips are apparently so popular, one made an appearance in the opening scene of the true life story "Against the storm, Across the waves" of Karen leader Mahn Nyein Maung which I am translating. Scene takes place in Rangoon's notorious Insein Prison. 9-17-2018