I would almost prefer if the book were like the CRA film which focused solely on the Chinese Singaporean characters because there was representation and diversity but at what cost? I felt bad for Suresh! Both joyfully entertaining and socially perceptive, Lauren Ho’s debut is a vivid read on dating, work and family in Singapore through the lens of a brutally honest protagonist of gold. I loved it” —Naoise Dolan, author of Exciting Times Crazy Rich Asians meets Bridget Jones’s Diary in this funny and irresistible debut novel about the pursuit of happiness, surviving one’s thirties intact, and opening oneself up to love. At thirty-three, Andrea Tang is living the dream: she has a successful career as a lawyer, a posh condo, and a clutch of fun-loving friends who are always in the know about Singapore’s hottest clubs and restaurants. All she has to do is make partner at her law firm and she will have achieved everything she (and her mother) has ever worked for. So what if she’s poised to be the last unmarried member of her generation of the Tang clan? She doesn’t need a man to feel fulfilled, no matter what her meddling relatives have to say about it. But for a dutiful Chinese-Malaysian daughter, the weight of familial expectations is hard to ignore. And so are the men life keeps throwing in Andrea’s path. Men like Suresh Aditparan, her annoyingly attractive rival for partner and the last man she should be spending time with, and Eric Deng, a wealthy entrepreneur whose vision for their future is more lavish than she could have imagined. With her workplace competition growing ever more intense, her friends bringing dramas of their own to her door, and her family scrutinizing her every romantic prospect, Andrea finds herself stretched to the breaking point. And she can’t help but wonder: In the endless tug-of-war between pleasing others and pleasing herself, is there room for everyone to win? Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho – eBook Details Andrea Tang is 33 years old - not ancient by any means, and a hard working lawyer hoping to make partner soon - but none of this matters to the hard-core traditional Chinese-Malaysian family she has. She must get married and soon! How will it look if she never produces grandchildren - and soon? She lost all the fat and now she's thin - why doesn't she have a husband - she best get one - AND SOON. The sarcastic tone of the book was a lot of fun. I appreciate Lauren Ho’s use of style here because Andrea seems self-aware about the fact that her family is ridiculous. She understands the culture of her crowd in Singapore is a bit of a hot mess—full of materialistic, vain, and narcissistic individuals. It was funny, I’ll say that.

A book begging to be read on the beach, with the sun warming the sand and salt in the air: pure escapism. This book is easily about choices, finding your ground with them, and recognising your own reasons for making them. There are many reasons to read this book but the first reason is this just shows you how to be truly yourself and do everything you want besides you will laugh until you pee, believe me.

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A woman in her 30s contends with her family's expectations as she navigates career and romance in Singapore. Andrea’s mom is impervious to her daughter’s pleas to let her focus on her career. Their mother-daughter dynamic helped me sympathize with Andrea, because exasperation with parents is my love language. The more unreasonable Mom became, the more entertained I was: This book was a lot of fun to read - and the description of Crazy Rich Asians meets Bridget Jones' Diary is absolutely perfect. Andrea is a rising star in the lawyer world. She's aiming to make partner at her firm this year. Unfortunately, she's Chinese, 33, and not married, having split up with her boyfriend of 8 years. Crazy Rich Asians meets Bridget Jones’s Diary in this funny and irresistible debut novel about the pursuit of happiness, surviving one’s thirties intact, and opening oneself up to love.

This book is a clearly representation of how many societies acts towards different cultures and interracial couples with dark, quirky and sarcastic humour. I couldn't stop laughing in many chapters. June 30, 2020: Last Tang Standing clubs the typical yet prevalent expectations of an Asian family, especially parents, around the success & settlement of a young (but gradually ageing) woman and the pressure that a woman of thirty-four inevitably finds on herself, even enforced by herself at times, to find the perfect partner & live the best romantic life. You see, most Asian countries are not welfare states; we basically need the little moppets that come after us to be successful so they can in turn feed us. That’s why family is so important in most traditional Asian cultures. I am oversimplifying, of course.”Amidst the gradually increasing pressure from her mom, never-ending questions of nosy aunties, ever-piling burden at work, and tough competition from a rival colleague, Andrea currently has too much on her plate. Charming and witty. . . It’s a good match for fans of The Hating Game, Crazy Rich Asians, and young professional women who feel at a crossroads.” — Booklist

Believe it or not, I still have plenty to say about this terrible, terrible novel. Full review to follow. Asmart and witty depiction of navigating the world of dating, coupled with the messy (but amusing) dynamics of family life.” —Jennifer Joyce, author of The Accidental Life Swap As Eric wines and dines Andrea, Suresh reveals more about himself. He hates the law and hopes, to the horror of his London fiancée, to focus full-time on online comics which he secretly writes on the side. Despite her hopes to become partner, Andrea finds she isn’t very happy in her job either. I’m of the feeling that if you’re compelled to write a whole goddamn blog post in response to a review that attempts to... gawd, I’m not sure what this was, then I think you’re actually saying a lot more about the state of your book than you were probably intending. If cheating is a dealbreaker for you, please be advised that Suresh is engaged for most of the book, and a secondary character has an affair with a married man. This didn’t bother me initially but as it persisted until nearly the end of the book, I started to fantasize about shooting beautiful Suresh out of a cannon without a helmet.

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The romance between the characters is so slow burn it will make you pull your hair sometimes but is so damn realistic and cute, you either wish this to happen to you or just wait until he appear in front of you. Two talented chess players challenge each other on and off the board in bestselling author Hazelwood’s YA debut. The book is written in an easy language but the setting and the new woke English might prove a little challenging to some readers. However, this is only applicable to a few readers who are just beginning to read English novels. So here we go the story of Andrea, age 33, the lone unmarried member of her generation in the Tang Clan being labeled by her relatives as a lost girl (敗犬) despite her successful career as a corporate lawyer. If you think this is just a pretty much cliché story about discovering true love, then you are wrong. This book explores many contemporary issues in our modern society and I believe it will offer readers more than just a summer rom-com.

He did a head twitch in the girl’s direction. “This is, ah, my girlfriend, Nessadalyn.” I did a double take. “I’m sorry, Ness—?” I genuinely didn’t catch her, erm, name. There was a flash of anger in his face. “Nessadalyn,” he repeated. He glanced pointedly at my toes, which were a little grubby, because #AllWorkNoLife. Lastly, you may think that Last Tang Standing already sounds fun here, but isn't it Crazy Rich Asians all over again since it talks about family interference on the relationship? I couldn't imagine having to put yourself out there in the dating scene at age 33, so I am in great awe of Andrea and her willingness to meet men both online (it's the post-millenium after all) and conventionally for a prospective partner. She says it herself, dating is tough and that is one big understatement. I remember at 25 when I already thought dating was just purely exhausting. Good thing my husband showed up at just the right time. I get that bigotry (including racism towards other Asian ethnicities) remains prevalent in Asia. Even in the Philippines (where I'm from), there's still a lot of work to be done. So, my problem isn't that racism (whether "casual" or outright) is depicted in Last Tang Standing. My issue is that none of it is challenged at all - not in the text and not by any of the characters. Despite her qualms of not condoning her family's racist beliefs/remarks (especially towards other Asians), Andrea Tang wasn't progressive either. In fact, when her mother confessed that she disapproved of Andrea's sister's Muslim partner out of fear that he would take multiple wives after their marriage, Andrea's reaction was basically: "Oh yeah, that makes sense."Whether this is meant to be a lighthearted jab at her cousin's wealth or not, this is disgusting all around. The Marcoses are a political family of plunderers who stole billions from Filipinos. In addition, under the dictatorship of the late Ferdinand Marcos, political dissenters were brutally tortured, raped, and killed. Like I said, not cute at all. I am unfortunately not familiar with the Singaporean culture so I loved getting a little glimpse at the family at the beginning, it really made me understand better the pressure on Andrea's life. I found Andrea very likeable, not perfect, making wrong decisions, it all happened to many of us and I liked that I could really relate to her. I also enjoyed that the story wasn't all about her romantic life but mixed with family, friends and work like in real life. She has a brain and uses it, she isn't dependant on the man/men she meets. One evening, Andrea is invited to an exclusive book group at a friend of a friend’s house. When Andrea arrives, she feels completely underdressed and finds refuge when she strikes up conversation with a man she assumes is the hired help. But as it turns out, he’s actually the owner of the mansion and a billionaire hotelier with eco-friendly resorts throughout Asia. Everyone in Singapore knows Eric Deng, despite his keeping a low profile and avoiding paparazzi and social media. So when he asks Andrea out, she can’t help but feel flattered.