Description

The brilliant debut novel from the New York Times-bestselling author of Pachinko.

‘Ambitious, accomplished, engrossing… As easy to devour as a nineteenth-century romance.’ NEW YORK TIMES

Casey Han’s years at Princeton have given her a refined diction, an enviable golf handicap, a popular white boyfriend and a degree in economics. The elder daughter of working-class Korean immigrants, Casey inhabits a New York a world away from that of her parents. But she has no job, and a number of bad habits.

So when a chance encounter with an old friend lands her a new opportunity, she’s determined to carve a space for herself in a glittering world of privilege, power, and wealth – but at what cost?

As Casey navigates an uneven course of small triumphs and spectacular failures, a clash of values and ambitions plays out against the colourful backdrop of New York society, its many shades and divides. Addictively readable, Min Jin Lee’s bestselling debut Free Food for Millionaires exposes the intricate layers of a community clinging to its old ways in a city packed with haves and have-nots.

‘Explores the most funadmental crisis of immigrants’ children: how to bridge a generation gap so wide it is measured in oceans.’ Observer

‘A remarkable writer.’ The Times

Publisher Review

'Ambitious, accomplished, engrossing ... as easy to devour as a 19th-century romance' * New York Times * 'This big, beguiling book has all the distinguishing marks of a Great American Novel ... [a] remarkable writer' * The Times * 'Exquisitely evoked ... an epic meditation on love' * USA Today * 'Explores the most fundamental crisis of immigrants' children ... an insight into the secret world of Korean America' * Observer * 'It is no exaggeration to say that Lee's debut deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Eliot's great doorstopper [Middlemarch]. What is more, it is arguably even more fun' * South China Morning Post * 'There are two memorable episodes in which an exchange of gifts reveals a gulf in regard and understanding that could have been penned by Austen herself, so well are they judged. The sisters' stories bowl absorbingly along, while their mother is also permitted a poignant starring role, receiving the same sympathetic treatment Lee extends to almost all her characters' * Daily Mail *