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Tag: Crazy Rich Asians

  • 3 Reasons You Should Read Lucky Seed By Justinian Huang

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    Living through messy family drama? ❌ Reading about messy family drama? ✅ One thing about us here at THP: we could never get tired of dysfunctional families! Justinian Huang’s new novel, Lucky Seed, takes family politics and drama to another level.

    Lucky Seed stars the Sun Clan, a wealthy family living in Los Angeles known for its billion-dollar company, Sunfang Global. But when the role of company president and sole inheritor to the Sunfang trust requires a male heir by blood, there is nothing this family won’t do to secure their future.

    With the soapiness of Succession and a diverse cast like Crazy Rich Asians, we may have found our latest book obsession. Here are (lucky number) three reasons why Lucky Seed is a must-read!

    Lucky Seed by Justinian Huang
    Image Source: HarperCollins Publishers

    Book Overview: Lucky Seed

    Content warnings: parent deaths, murder and attempted murder, attempted suicide, mentions of drug addiction and use, rape, sexism, homophobia, hospitalization, pregnancies, car accident, graphic sex, some violence (Read at your discretion!)

    Summary: The billionaire Sun Clan of Greater Los Angeles is your typical American family, with power-struggling aunties, emasculated uncles, scheming cousins, scandalous secrets and a fortune teller on retainer. But at the end of each combative day, the Suns are chained together with golden handcuffs, whether they like it or not.

    Yet strange storms are a-brewing. Their matriarch, Roses Sun, is grappling with an existential crisis: she must produce a male heir that bears the clan’s surname. She fears that if her generation is the one in which their esteemed lineage ends, they will be punished as “hungry ghosts” in the afterlife—an ancient but very real Asian superstition.

    Faced with this terrifying fate, Roses summons her favorite nephew, Wayward. Believing him to possess the “lucky seed,” Roses presents Wayward with a mandatory suggestion: to father a baby boy who will inherit everything. When the other members of the Sun Clan catch wind of Roses’s plot, all hells break loose. Wayward’s family will now clash like never before in an epic war over the future of the Suns…if there is a future at all.

    Yet through the chaos, Wayward sees opportunity. What if he can leverage all the conflict into a solution for his problematic family? What if he can reunite the Sun Clan by healing them? And what if the tumultuous Suns can finally learn how to love each other for the first time?

    Crazy Family Dynamics

    Imagine the most dysfunctional family and multiply it tenfold. That’s how chaotic and scandalous the Sun Clan in Lucky Seed is. Starting from the way the late Big Boss Sun grew his company at the expense of other people, one of which was his close friend and business partner. Then we get to his children and their strained relationships caused by betrayal, blackmail, and constantly butting heads: Roses, Iris, George, and Hyacinth. The next generation of Suns (April, Wayward, Isaac, Felicia, and Lola) mostly tolerate or ignore one another, though some of their resentment has been brewing in recent years. Now with a multi-billion dollar trust on the line, everyone vies for their shot at producing a son who will ultimately inherit it.

    It Keeps You Guessing

    We were somehow able to predict a few of the plot twists in Lucky Seed (not to brag or anything). But the secrets and surprises never seem to end with the Sun Clan. Like what does a murder investigation in Hong Kong have to do with Roses’s fortune teller? Or who gains the most from spying on the Sun Clan and planning their demise? Some of the shady dealings between family members and secret conversations we become privy to are so unexpected. Yet they are all interconnected to the main drama: and that’s how each of the Sun cousins finds a way to inherit the family fortune. We especially love getting the added perspective of the family dog, Houyi, who is ultimately a hero in his own right.

    The Cathartic Ending

    Whew, we had to take a few breaks reading through the ending of Lucky Seed because the consecutive big reveals kept wailing on us. We fast forward through each of the respective pregnancies (we won’t spoil who to keep the element of surprise). In a much-anticipated family reunion at a baby shower, everyone’s secrets and schemes come to light. Characters we once rooted for turn into the villains of the story. Long-missing relatives show their hand in manipulating the Sun Clan. We were so scared for the fate of a few characters. But suffice it to say that everyone gets the ending they deserve. Slowly but surely, most of the siblings’ relationships and parent-child relationships are on the mend. And the future of the Sun family is as bright as ever.

    In this twisty and dramatic contemporary novel, Lucky Seed by Justinian Huang follows one wealthy family’s path to securing the family fortune. Filled with dark plots, betrayals, and surprise reveals, it’s become our latest book obsession!

    Lucky Seed by Justinian Huang comes out November 11th, and you can order a copy of it here!

    What do you think of Justinian Huang’s new novel? Do you plan on reading Lucky Seed? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!

    Want to hear some of our audiobook recommendations? Here’s the latest!

    TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JUSTINIAN HUANG:
    INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | WEBSITE

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    Julie Dam

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  • Mahjong Master Jennie Jethwani Brings the Game to L.A.’s Elite

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    Jennie Jethwani is at the center of the clacking culture of mahjong, which is having a huge moment in Los Angeles

    Jennie Jethwani teaches the wildly popular game mahjong at ultra-trendy spots all over Los Angeles
    Credit: Courtesy of Jennie Jethwani

    Mahjong —yes, mahjong— is enjoying a modern resurgence, bringing traditions new and old to not just to kitchen and living rooms all over Los Angeles, but to some of the city’s toniest social clubs.

    Jennie Jethwani is a mahjong master and is taking her teaching skills to people’s homes and places like the Soho House and Club Joyful in Venice, where she will be teaching next month in a mahjong and mingle event (tickets are still available). The game’s profile is surging and not just with older Asians; it was featured in the 2018 romantic comedy “Crazy Rich Asians, which featured a pivotal mahjong scene. “Mahjong is having a moment with everyone,” Jethwani said. “It’s a fantastic people connector, and I am seeing rising interest in the game among millennials and Gen Z who love the strategy.”

    The game became wildly popular in China in the late 1800s, but in the centuries since, it has traveled the world. But this year, the U.S. has become mahjong-crazed, especially in Los Angeles, said Jethwani, who learned the game during the pandemic as a way to stay connected online with family all over the world. She wasn’t the only one. TikTok became inundated with videos of heated clacking tile games, and Jethwani was sought after for mahjong nights all over the place. “The scene started to get crazy, and now mahjong is everywhere,” she said.

    There are Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Filipino, and American Jewish styles of the game; there are 13-tile and 16-tile versions; and every household has its own system regarding points and scoring. Better yet, the sets themselves are gorgeous, collectibles doubling as objets d’art for collectors.

    “It’s a great way to make new friends and show people the benefits of playing on their brain health. I always loved teaching dance and naturally transitioned to teaching mahjong when I was asked to by Soho House,” Jethwani says. Now her business has exploded with requests for private events and one-on-one lessons.

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    Michele McPhee

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  • The Director’s Cut of STRANGERS and Brian L. Tan’s HOLDOUT Will World Premiere on CHOPSO on Friday, Dec. 7, at 8 p.m.

    The Director’s Cut of STRANGERS and Brian L. Tan’s HOLDOUT Will World Premiere on CHOPSO on Friday, Dec. 7, at 8 p.m.

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    With Live Appearances of Actress Eugenia Yuan and Filmmaker Michael Aki and Brian L. Tan ‘BLT’

    Press Release
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    updated: Nov 16, 2018


    LOS ANGELES, November 16, 2018 (Newswire.com)
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    CHOPSO is proud to present STRANGERS, the Director’s Cut of the neo-noir feature set in Los Angeles by Michael Aki and starring Eugenia Yuan and television producer Matt Westmore. A dead man’s girlfriend turns out to be a hit man’s new assignment, but an unfamiliar longing for connection stays his hand. The unlikely odd couple embarks on an odyssey that necessarily evolves into a getaway.

    STRANGERS is the sophomoric feature directed by Michael Aki after his first feature SUNSETS (1997) that world-premiered as part of Class of 1997, Asian American New Wave, at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival in 1997.

    Produced for under USD$5,000, STRANGERS was shot guerrilla-style and piecemeal on the streets of Los Angeles. Michael Aki directed, co-wrote, co-produced, co-edited and also starred in the feature opposite Eugenia Yuan. It took Aki between 2008 until this year to finish the Director’s Cut of STRANGERS. The score was provided by Ken Kawamura and the additional music provided by Crepiscule Trio.

    A longtime collaborator with Michael Aki, Eugenia Yuan is a Hong Kong Film Award winner and daughter of martial arts legend Cheung Pei Pei. Eugenia’s career spans between America and Asia, acting in such movies such as MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON 2, REVENGE OF GREEN DRAGONS, THE EYE 2 and CHARLOTTE SOMETIMES, as well as television series such as INTO THE BADLANDS and SECRET CITY.

    Preceding STRANGERS is director Brian L. Tan’s 30-minute film HOLDOUT, a historical action drama based on a true story of the last Japanese holdout from World War II. Left behind on an island by his unit, he never learned of Japan’s defeat and has been fighting a one-man war ever since. Suddenly, his world view is challenged when he encounters a modern American tourist. Shot on location in Hawaii, HOLDOUT was produced by Angie Laprete, Chris Pluchar, Wainani Tomich, Roy Tijoe and Ric Galindez and stars Toshi Toda, Mick Tolbert, Joji Yoshida and the late Wesley John. 

    CHOPSO will present the world premiere FREE SCREENING of the Director’s Cut of STRANGERS and HOLDOUT on Friday, Dec. 7, at 8 p.m. at National Center for the Preservation of Democracy at the Japanese American National Museum, 100 N. Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

    Actress Eugenia Yuan, filmmaker Michel Aki and Brian L. Tan “BLT” will appear for a special Q&A after the film screening. Join them at the after party at Little Tokyo’s historic Far Bar (https://www.farbarla.com), at 347 East 1st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, after 10 p.m. Cash bar only.

    * STRANGERS and HOLDOUT will be streamed worldwide day-and-date on Dec. 7 on CHOPSO. *

    CHOPSO is the ultimate streaming destination for English-language Asian content worldwide. Movies, documentaries, short films, TV and digital series … “All Asian, all English, 24/7!” For $4.95/month or $49.95/year, customers can stream CHOPSO’s library anytime via the app (on IOS and Android devices) or website worldwide: CHOPSO.com. All handles are @CHOPSO.

    RSVP info: http://www.CHOPSO.ORG/STRANGERS.

    For press inquiries or pre-screening requests, contact Alan Chang at 424 361-8148 or e-mail alanc [at] chopso.org.

    Source: CHOPSO

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