Sex and Vanity

At one point in his new novel, Kevin Kwan mentions the Instagram handle of the book’s heartthrob. Instinctively, we reach for our phone. It’s only once we’ve begun scrolling that we remember this character is fictional. Embarrassing? Yes. But that’s the seduction of Kwan’s writing: it’s only too easy (and enjoyable) to believe the people on his pages are real.

It’s been 10 years since the author began writing , seven since it became a bestseller, and two since it was adapted, becoming the first, circumnavigates all that, and more.