Five Star Billionaire by Tash Aw

Five Star Billionaire

Tash Aw

Who wouldn’t like to be rich? Who really benefits from reading the popular business self-help books? (I must admit I have some on my book-shelves at home). With chapters headed with sage proverbs from a successful ‘billionaire’, this novel charts five Malaysian immigrants in Shanghai fired up with ambition, desperate to seek their fortunes.

Extract
Empty your mind and be still her teachers would say, enjoy being in the present: Let go of all that has happened in the past. Do not think about what lies ahead but stay in the stillness of this moment.
But this was not possible for her. There was too much for her to do, too many thoughts spinning and clashing in her mind. She needed to look ahead, map out her future, every minute of the day – like a constantly moving ocean creature that would drown if ever it stopped swimming forward, forward.
Parallels
  • How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid
  • Other People’s Money by Justin Cartwright
  • The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga