Since Kwan is so intimately acquainted with the super-rich of Singapore, he could render characters and landscapes with accuracy and authority. In fact, I'd venture to say Crazy Rich Asians works so well precisely because Kwan has that insider perspective: Instead of ogling at the wealthy, like we do, he satirises them. Each of the characters is based on a person in Kwan's life. "I know all my characters — or the people who inspired them – very intimately," Kwan Refinery29. "Of course I change enough details so no one is recognisable. But their essential characteristics are there."