Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians, #1)

by Kevin Kwan

Ormsby rushed downstairs from the mezzanine, knowing he could more efficiently dispatch these foreigners than his front-desk clerks. “Good evening, I am the general manager. Can I help you?” he said slowly, over-enunciating every word. “Yes, good evening, we have a reservation,” the woman replied in perfect English. Ormsby peered at her in surprise. “What name is it under?” “Eleanor Young and family.” Ormsby froze—he recognized the name, especially since the Young party had booked the Lancaster Suite. But who could have imagined that “Eleanor Young” would turn out to be Chinese, and how on earth did she end up here?

Almost every story in the "Crazy Rich Asians" trilogy is inspired by a real event, often something that happened to someone I personally know. In this case, I knew this family from Singapore who arrived in London late one night in the early 1980s, with reservations at a posh hotel, where they had booked rooms for an entire month. Their last name, wasn't "Young," but it was similarly one of those names that didn't necessarily sound Chinese. They were shocked when the manager wouldn't honor their reservation, and quickly realized it was a deliberately prejudiced act. As I wrote this scene, I tried to reimagine how it all might have happened. It's interesting to note that three of the top hotels in London are currently owned by Singaporeans.