At thirty-three, Andrea Tang 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. All she has to do is make law partner, and her life will be perfect. And if she's about to become the lone unmarried member of her generation in the Tang clan--a disappointment her meddling Chinese-Malaysian family won't let her forget--well, she doesn't need a man to complete her.
... the most candid piece of work I had ever read ... Lauren Ho must be some kind of magical being. Or at least, her brain is an absolute masterpiece, I’m sure of it ... Andrea Tang was one of the single most relatable characters I had read! The fact that she was so open and fearless about the thoughts she had in her head makes all the things she says and does so relatable and not hurtful in the least ... I was so surprised at the author’s ability to keep me hooked despite what had initially felt like an influx of characters. Eventually it smooths out and you start to fall into the rhythm of the relationships and the happenings of the plot. To my utter surprise, I can even go as far as to say, the author almost read my mind at certain points when I realised the reason for a certain character arc and the next sentence I read were those exact same words I had thought in my head. I think it needs to be said: Lauren Ho had the reader exactly where she wanted them ... I think in many ways, Andrea represents all of us, outside of race, ethnicity, or anything else. Just as a person, she represents all of the moments where we’re blind to the things we’re holding on to out of habit and the wonderful things that we’re letting go of, not even from fear, but out of being utterly unaware of what we want ... The only issue I had with the book was that the style of the writing dictates the large variety of things we learn in a single page and at times, it felt like there was an stream of information coming through too fast and that did bring about some fatigue, but that didn’t take away from the overall humour, joy, and message of the story.
Author Lauren Ho is a former legal adviser, and her debut novel is a blast. Andrea is a relatable, laugh-out-loud protagonist, a high achiever who also gives in to her weaker instincts on occasion. Last Tang Standing is a near-perfect blend of Crazy Rich Asians and Bridget Jones’s Diary, yet it still feels wholly original.
The combination of an appealing lead, a glamorous setting, and relatable, funny portrayals of relationships and workplace politics make this debut one of the must-read escapist pleasures of the summer. Fans of Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians and Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game will be dazzled.
