Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians, #1)

by Kevin Kwan

To make matters even more surreal, the middle of the room was dominated by an enormous oval pond-cum-aquarium sunken into the gold-flecked marble floor. The pond was brightly lit, and for a second Rachel thought she could make out baby sharks swimming in the bubbling water.

The Goh mansion is a mash-up of several over-the-top houses I've seen with my own eyes. Yes, there's a house in Asia where every surface and every object is gilded in gold, and yes, as a young kid, I once walked into the living room of a friend's house in Singapore and saw that there was a huge sunken pond in the middle of the room, filled with baby sharks. It was actually quite elegant, as verdant tropical plants rose out from the middle of the pond, and one side was edged with velvet seating.