Novelist Kevin Kwan: ‘Health Is Wealth’

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Author Kevin Kwan grew up hearing his grandmother’s stories about his family’s prominent status as Singapore socialites. Those stories served as the backdrop for Crazy Rich Asians, which was

adapted into the hit 2018 Hollywood rom-com of the same name. His latest novel, Lies and Weddings, promises to thrill readers with another globe-trotting tale of love, money, murder, sex

and lies. Kwan, 50, shares with AARP how his childhood and family life influence his writing, how he’s working to prioritize his health and why he looks to his 84-year-old mother for

inspiration.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How has your family’s life experience shaped your writing?

I grew up in a multigenerational household, with my grandparents and my parents, in Singapore. My grandmother was such a beautiful repository of history. When you’re 8 years old, you’re not

really paying attention, but she did constantly tell these stories and remind us of how proud we should be of our heritage and this and that. That was what she was focused on. My dad never

said anything. My dad was always a very, very quiet man. But I knew that he had lived this life — in his early days — in a world that no longer existed.

You moved from Singapore to suburban Houston when you were 11. What was that move like?

It was complete culture shock. I benefited from the final last drippings of that old world. I didn’t realize how privileged I was as a kid because how would you know? I grew up with nannies.

They dressed me for school every morning. Literally, I didn’t know any better. We ended up in Houston, and I remember the first day of school, I was like, What do I do?

How were the other kids to you?

It was really so lovely. By third period I had a whole new bunch of friends. It was this enchanted time. It was 1985. Also because we were in Clear Lake [Texas], where NASA was, I went to

school with the kids of astronauts and astrophysicists, and it was a very educated international crowd already. Also speaking English helps a ton — coming from an English-speaking family

immediately catapults you to being able to communicate.