While I was drawn to the description of this book and the beautifully designed cover, I found the story hard to get into. The characters are vapid and shallow and did not make me want to learn more. Unfortunately, I didn't get past the first 100 pages before putting it down.

This book was not what I expected. I thought it would be a dark, murder-mystery-esque story. It's much more of a social commentary. Think a darker version of Crazy Rich Asians. The author did a wonderful job of painting the characters and delving into the minds of these two sisters. I felt a strong connection to the characters. It was just not the book I thought it would be based on the description. Still very worth a read though.

DNF @ 10%. Unfortunately, this one did not work for me. The writing and structure felt clunky to read. Additionally comparing this to Crazy, Rich Asians was a misstep. Thank you for the opportunity, and sad this one didn't work out for me.

I was intrigued by the gorgeous color of the cover. I think it speaks well to the content of the book: the swirling confusion of identity, questioning of status, meaning of beauty.

The whole book is the unfolding of how the main character's family is murdered by the main character's sister. Why did she do this? We learn how opulence, greed and shame shape the course of this family's path. The device of the insect fashion project is interesting, but simply just that...a device.

In the end, I didn't love The Majesties. It felt like a book for entertainment whereas I lean toward appreciating books with more depth, feeling, emotion, creativity and layers of meaning. Just depends on what type of genre you're into.

A novel that is more family drama than thriller. As a thriller, the book doesn't work, but as a family drama, it does.

While I have never read Crazy Rich Asians, I have seen many reviews saying that this missed that mark.. I did want to read on to find out why one of the characters poisoned everyone but I just didn't get the vibe that I thought i would from reading the description.

Overall, it was ok. I recommend it to those looking for something different and interesting to read.

The Majesties is an international tale of intrigue that examines the roles individuals play in family and morality. Estella and Gwendolyn are the two leads, and the play foils of each other. The characters here aren't entirely likable, which isn't required, but it makes for an intense read.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

This book in somewhat reminiscent of Crazy Rich Asians (which I loved) in that it focuses on two families who are crazy rich and Asian. Other than that, there aren’t many similarities. I was confused a lot. Is this psychological? A romance? A murder mystery? What is going on? Overall it was okay, but not my cup of tea.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. If you are looking for a quick and engaging read this may be the book for you. The Majesties would be a perfect airplane read if we were still flying. It takes us into the world of a dysfunctional and ultra-wealthy Chinese in Jakarta. The story opens after a horrible crime has occurred. The remainder of the story is narrated by a (probably) unreliable narrator - are there any other kind these days? The ending was a bit rushed and had some weird switches that left me almost wanting to re-read the last 20 or so pages to see if I missed anything.

Heartbreaking novel which can be delegated to several categories - family drama, thriller, etc... I read that it's a mix between Gillian Flynn and Crazy Rich Asians and that's the perfect description.

I just finished this gem- The Majesties. This cover is absolutely stunning and honestly the reason I requested this book. And I’m so glad the cover pulled me in because this was such a unique read.

The first line in this book is so shocking that it totally gripped me- I had to know the backstory of this family. Estella and Gwendolyn are attending an event with their family and friends, when Estella poisons all 300 guests (including herself). Now Gwendolyn is the sole survivor, lying in a coma and looking back on the relationship with her sister and the history of their family. How did it get to this point, what would have possessed her sister to do such a thing?

From the opening, you would assume this is a thriller, but it’s definitely more of a family drama. It was very dark and the murder mystery and suspense kept me reading. There’s also a huge twist at the end that I didn’t see coming- and I love when that happens! Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for this copy- this book was published on 1/21/20.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this early copy!

Did not finish - I did not connect with the plot and writing and decided to put it down.

Not enough words to describe how much I loved this book. It was absolutely captivating and not what I was expecting. When I say not what I was expecting, I mean it was even better! Please read this, you won’t regret it.

Enjoyed this one, especially learning about the social role of Chinese people in Indonesia (heightened because I read it while in Indonesia). I guessed the twist pretty early, but I was also trying pretty hard to figure it out once I saw the book compared to Gillian Flynn. ;)

I picked this book because of the cover. I found the confusion in the illustration so interesting. Unfortunately, it followed into the storyline. I felt I needed a guide to the characters as well. Its okay, but if you are looking for _Crazy Rich Asians_ this isn't it.

(🚨 spoiler alert, maybe?)
If you’re looking for a linear thriller unraveling bits and pieces as you find out WHO had done the crime, this book is not it. Under Your Wings is a charming nonlinear story of a big big WHY which draws you in wanting for more. The plot is told as flashbacks of bedridden Gwendolyn who is in a coma because her sister, Estella, just poisoned the whole family. Yes, the whole family, and only Gwendolyn knew the reason why. Under Your Wings started with a top-tier hook: “When your sister murders three hundred people, you can’t help but wonder why—especially if you were one of the intended victims.” Belonging to an exorbitantly rich Chinese-Indonesian family, Gwendolyn and Estella lived in a (dysfunctional) bubble. The Sulinados, and the Angsonos as the story goes, lived their whole lives lavishly with little regard of where and how the money comes from. Corruption, ignorance, patriarchal abuse, and whatnot were considered normal.

Although the first half of the book is slow-paced, the second half really picks it up! We are introduced into the life of the long lost aunt who actually cut ties with the rest of them, Tante Sandra. From her story, we get to know how rotten the family is—and it gives a sense of the dynamic intersection of race and class in Indonesia. Identity politics and how it relates to privileges such as access to education, career, and even social groups are chronicled impressively well by Tsao. Not to mention her poetic writing style, with refined phrases and word choice, Under Your Wings is a treat.

I may be biased but hear me out, I’ve read a number of family saga from different places before. In all instances, I gladly researched more on the background info—luckily this one came from my place, Indonesia. Living in Jakarta for the past few months, I’m practically surrounded by a lot of Gwendolyns, Estellas, and Leonards. As a non-Chinese-Indonesian who has studied about this topic before, I couldn’t help but sympathise with the middle class Chinese-Indonesians of what happened during the 1998 riot. At the same time, I am also aware of the striking gap between the upper and lower class of various groups in Indonesia might result in a grievance. To be candid, I was surprised that someone would write such a strong fiction work about such a (still) sensitive topic. As far as I have read, most writers tend to tiptoe around this issue but Tsao just remarkably went straight for the jugular.

It seems like readers might need to know basic information about Chinese-Indonesian history and the class inequality among Indonesians to fully appreciate how groundbreaking this story is. However, I’d say even if one has zero knowledge on Indonesian sociopolitical situation, it’d still be enjoyable—as long as you pay attention to the twists and turns. Then again, always challenge yourself to dig deeper. Pick this up, it might surprise you!

i had an inkling of where it was going towards the end, and i really hoped i was wrong. i wasn't. it's a decent novel but the twist is so overdone (and quickly becoming my least favorite literary trope) that i knocked it down a star. i enjoyed it for the most part but pretty disappointed how it petered out at the end.

I’m not positive how I feel about this story. There were very interesting parts but it was mostly wealthy,egotistical people looking down on the general public. As stated with lots of sub-par stories, there was a decent plot but poor execution.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

First published in Australia in 2018; published by Atria Books on January 21, 2020

The Majesties is Crazy Rich Asians without the crazy. Or, at least, with a different kind of crazy. The Majesties lacks the humor of Kevin Kwan’s novel (and avoids the romantic cheese of the movie version). Instead, Tiffany Tsao purports to explore the impact of wealth on an extended Indonesian family. The Majesties is a family drama that descends into a very strange melodrama, but it takes an honest look at divisions caused by race and class in both Indonesia and America.

The story is told in the first person by Gwendolyn, who opens the novel with the revelation that her sister Estella murdered three hundred people, including herself, by poisoning their shark fin soup. Gwendolyn is the sole survivor. We later learn that this was not the first occasion on which Estella used poison to solve a problem, but Gwendolyn does not understand why her sister was motivated to wipe out so many people. The forced explanation that emerges at the end of the novel is far from convincing.

After the introductory mass murder, the novel backtracks to fill in the details of the narrator’s dysfunctional family. Estella and Gwendolyn are the granddaughters of Chinese tycoon Irwan Sulinado. The family conglomerate is based in Indonesia. Their business holdings involve textiles, agriculture, and mining, although various family members have branched out according to their interests and talents. Estella was put in charge of a profitable business that manufactures silk, although the business pretty much runs itself, leaving Estella free to live a life of fashionable frivolity. Gwendolyn founded a company called Bagatelle that makes jewelry from live insects, an idea that is sufficiently revolting to assure its success. The rest of the family is peeved that independent Gwendolyn refused to link her business to the family conglomerate.

Estella married Leonard, merging two prestigious families despite Leonard’s inability to meet the Sulinado standard of business management. His failure to turn a profit contributes to family conflict, as does his eventual decision to embrace Jesus and reject corruption (a decision that imperils family businesses that depend on corruption for their survival).

Additional family drama comes from Irwan’s remarriage to a younger woman “of humble stock” before his dead wife’s body was cold. The rest of the family treats the new grandmother as inconsequential, although she has the saving grace of being Chinese. The family insists on maintaining racial purity, despite the intermingling of a Javanese ancestor and a more recent half-Caucasian bride.

The plot moves to California when Estella and Gwendolyn discover a picture of a deceased aunt named Sandra. The picture was taken some years after the aunt’s supposed death. They decide to get to the bottom of the mystery by tracking her down.

The Majesties is refreshing in that it is not a “love conquers all” story. Sandra once studied in Australia, where she met a student from Jakarta. They began a friendship and potential romance until she discovered that, despite his physical appearance, the student was Javanese, not Chinese, and a Muslim to boot. The student resented the Chinese for their refusal to employ non-Chinese and resented his Chinese features because they impeded his hiring by Muslim employers. Still hoped to pursue the spark she felt, Sandra tries to stay in touch, but their subsequent encounters in Jakarta only gave her an opportunity to glimpse the lives lived by the city’s less fortunate residents. Thanks to Sandra’s father, friendship is difficult and romance is impossible. Sandra’s story approaches melodrama, but not nearly to the degree of Estella’s, who after all turns out to be a mass murderer.

The Majesties works best when it illuminates prejudice in circumstances that open the eyes of the privileged to the realities faced by the unfortunate. It is less successful when it chronicles the cruel dysfunctions of the Sulinado family. Gwenolyn learns that the family icons she has idolized are imperfect, but those lessons should have been apparent to her much earlier. Gwendolyn’s resolute independence is hard to square with her decision to maintain any relationship with her family at all. In any event, by the novel’s end, Gwendolyn cannot lay claim to a moral standard, making it difficult to care about her fate.

The novel’s themes will be familiar to fans of Dynasty and Dallas (Sandra’s disappearance being the dramatic equivalent of “Who shot J.R.?”). I watched Dallas as a guilty pleasure; The Majesties has a similar appeal. But just as Dallas eventually lost its way, so too the plot of The Majesties eventually derails. The climax requires the reader to rethink the story, but the sudden change of perspective is just too far over-the-top to be believable. The story steadily loses credibility, substantially offsetting its entertainment value, until it reaches a resolution that just doesn’t work. Dallas was at least meant to be cheesy; The Majesties has loftier aspirations that it never quite achieves.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Whew! What a fantastic read this is! I loved reading about multi-generational family drama that explores what happens in wealthy and prominent Chinese families that look perfect on the outside but rotten in its core. Tiffany Tsao is a brilliant writer that was able to explore and challenge the complexities of family relationships in the realm of the Indonesian cultural norms and societal prejudices. A shocking beginning and an even shocking ending. I devoured this in one sitting and still mesmerized by the dark and brooding tale of this sinister book. I LOVED it!