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    Free Food for Millionaires: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Free Food for Millionaires: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Free Food for Millionaires: A Novel
    Audiobook19 hours

    Free Food for Millionaires: A Novel

    Written by Min Jin Lee

    Narrated by Shelly Frasier

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Casey Han's four years at Princeton gave her many things, "But no job and a number of bad habits." Casey's parents, who live in Queens, are Korean immigrants working in a dry cleaner, desperately trying to hold on to their culture and their identity. Their daughter, on the other hand, has entered into rarified American society via scholarships. But after graduation, Casey sees the reality of having expensive habits without the means to sustain them. As she navigates Manhattan, we see her life and the lives around her, culminating in a portrait of New York City and its world of haves and have-nots.



    Free Food for Millionaires offers up a fresh exploration of the complex layers we inhabit both in society and within ourselves. Inspired by nineteenth-century novels such as Vanity Fair and Middlemarch, Min Jin Lee examines maintaining one's identity within changing communities in what is her remarkably assured debut.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Audio
    Release dateJun 15, 2007
    ISBN9781400174607
    Unavailable
    Free Food for Millionaires: A Novel
    Author

    Min Jin Lee

    MIN JIN LEE is the author of the novels Free Food for Millionaires and Pachinko, a finalist for the National Book Award and runner-up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Lee is the recipient of the 2022 Manhae Grand Prize for Literature from South Korea and of fellowships in fiction from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study at Harvard University, and the New York Foundation for the Arts. She is a writer-in-residence at Amherst College and serves as a trustee of PEN America and a director of the Authors Guild. She is at work on her third novel, American Hagwon, and a nonfiction work, Name Recognition.

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    Reviews for Free Food for Millionaires

    3.5/5

    243 ratings28 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Lee really captures the Asian immigrant experience and the struggles we all face in trying to find our identities.
    • 4/5
      Quite good. Very interesting look into the culture and ethos of Korean immigrants. Perhaps other ethnic' second generation sons and daughters will find elements to relate to. Bit of a soap opera pace with all the characters' romances and emotional upheavals.
    • 3/5
      Having just finished Pachinko, I was looking forward to reading another book by Min Jin Lee. Free Food for Millionaires is not nearly as good as Pachinko but I still enjoyed it. The book tells the story of young adult Korean Americans living in New York and how their world is shaped by tradition, family expectations, class, race and education. Casey Han is a recent Princeton grad and the eldest daughter of Leah and Joseph Han, Korean immigrants who run a dry cleaners in Queens. Smart and capable, Casey is not interested in the fast track, high achieving world that her parents and their friends expect their children to pursue.
    • 5/5
      GREAT BOOK BY THIS KOREAN AUTHOR. THE MAIN CHARACTER IS KOREAN BY ANCESTRY BUT AMERICAN BY BIRTH AND HER WANT TO BE THOUGHT OF AS AN AMERICAN. LIVING IN NYC AND ARGUING WITH HER TRADITIONAL FATHER AND THROWN OUT OF HIS HOME SHE GETS A JOB AT A BROKERAGE FIRM AND IMMEDIATELY GETS IN DEBT BY BUYING CLOTHES AND LIVING THE LIFESTYLE OF THOSE AROUND HER. HER ACHIEVEMENTS AND FAILURES ARE ALL BASED ON HER WANTING TO BE SOMETHING SHE IS NOT.
    • 2/5
      This novel got great reviews but I found it's chief interest for me was sociological, since it depicts both first and second generation Korean-Americans in New York. Not great fiction--some of the situations and characters seem too contrived and others simply unreal--but a fascinating description of the mores of twenty-something get-ahead financial wizards who happen to be Korean-American.
    • 5/5
      I can't wait for her next book. Every child of immigrants can relate to this book. Has all the pleasures of a long, traditional novel that you just sink into.
    • 2/5
      First novel, entertaining but a bit too erotic. Characters are developed but not realistic nor sympathetic
    • 3/5
      Min Jin Lee immediately pulls the reader into her novel about Korean Americans in New York City in the 1990s. Casey is caught between her parents and their lower socioeconomic standing and the Princeton and Wall Street worlds she finds herself in as a young adult. Casey is quite a flawed protagonist - never realizing her potential or her place in life.I usually love a novel where the characters are flawed and find them much more believable. I never enjoy a book where everyone has a happy ending. However, Lee created a novel where most of the characters just didn't seem to engage me. I found it hard to truly care about them. Add to that the fact that the main character of Casey seems to constantly throw her life away without any character development or growth. When I finished the novel, I realized the last few chapters had veered off from where I felt the novel was heading and our ending was not in the least bit satisfying.I can see how this novel would be a good book club choice in that the characters have so many flaws it would lend itself to lively discussion. But as a novel, I felt it was less than ideal.
    • 1/5
      While I was impressed with some of the prose and found parts entertaining, the top-level story is one that has been done one too many times. The Asian family aspect added some depth, but not enough for what it aspires to be. I do not regret having read it, but I would not reread it and would not recommend it.
    • 2/5
      Acquired via BookCrossing 29 Aug 2009 - at the Rugby meetupI thought this was an NSS gift and was a bit worried about what I'd thought of it - if I'd realised I'd just grabbed it at a meetup I might not have persisted with it.I think this was trying to be a Bonfire Of The Vanities for Korean-Americans. Set in New York, we meet Casey, arguing with her Dad, not at all traditional, obsessed with hats and trying for a career in Wall Street. Her parents, sister, friends, lovers and colleagues at the financial institution and a department store form the rest of the characters. Unfortunately, although there was some interest, I wasn't really engaged with any of the characters, and there seemed to be a rather cold authorial voice, and an awful lot of "telling" rather than "showing". To be honest, I don't think I'd have completed this long book if it hadn't been the only one I had with me on a trip over New Year's Eve - by the time we came back I was over half way through and it seemed a waste not to persist with it!
    • 4/5
      This book is definitely not the kind of book I usually enjoy, but I have to admit that I liked it a lot. One of Lee's stated goals is to portray Asian American characters in a realistic way, and I think she does just that. The characters are flawed, conflicted, and undeniably human, in a way that will appeal to all different kinds of readers. She explores the struggle of Asian Americans in their relationships with family, friends, boyfriends and husbands, and how their cultural and immigrant identity factors into their lives and decisions. A portrayal of Asian Americans as human beings instead of stereotypical characters was long overdue, and this book was extremely well written and well worth reading.
    • 5/5
      GREAT book - cannot say enough good things about. I think anyone who experienced graduating from college, and struggling to figure out what to do with themselves can relate to this one. Great writing and a definite page turned. Don't be intimidated by the size of the book!
    • 3/5
      I found this book disappointing, but not in the writing. More I was disappointed in the characters. Perhaps that's a sign of quality writing - that I could be disappointed in a fictional person. However, it left me not feeling like I had insight - rather that I had witnessed a trainwreck of a young woman who will never actually be able to right her own ship.
    • 4/5
      Enjoyed the book. Couldn't put it down and pretty much read it straight through. However, I did not really like any of the characters. It is unusual for me to like a book and not like any of the characters. Nevertheless, this book is worth reading. Gives some insight into the new generation of ivy league graduates that are out there now.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book much more than I expected. It felt like a Victorian novel - long (in a good way), densely populated, with wide scope and strong character development. Almost all of the characters felt real to me; they were rich with contradiction and displayed nuanced emotions. I found Min Jin Lee's exploration of class issues among poor Korean immigrants, Wall Street bankers, and Ivy League graduates (with several of the characters belonging to all three groups) fascinating.
    • 3/5
      Smart and tall young Korean woman, a Princeton grad, takes on food stamps and Wall Street. Someone in the New York Times called it "accomplished." Not really. Its various subplots would have better been served as short stories. Korean culture did not, in my opinion, shine through.
    • 3/5
      My goodness, this book took me over a month to read! It was too long in my opinion. There could have been a lot cut out and the book would have been just as good. Don't get me wrong, it obviously kept me intereseted for 552 pages. I enjoyed the changing view points. The Korean immigrant (or immigrant expriences in general) are always interesting to me. All of the characters had clever, interesting storylines. The ending left some to be desired though. I thought more loose ends could have be tied up.
    • 4/5
      This debut novel from Min Jin Lee tackles the Korean immigrant experience. Our protagonist is Casey Han, a Princeton graduate who has acheived academically, has moved outside her family's social circle and yet cannot seem to break into the established society that she thinks she craves. On the other hand, we meet her immigrant parents, who have worked hard all their lives in a dry-cleaning shop. Although we realise throughout the book that they are not poor, neither are they wealthy and they cling to their Korean background and ways. The portrait of Casey's mother througout the book is especially charming. Casey struggles through her life, breaking with her father's controlling ways but remains unable to find stability in her life. The whole story appears to be a tale of non-committal on Casey's part. At the start she finds it within herself to break up with her lover, as she cannot picture them together forever. However, throughout most of the novel, we cannot find the same determination within her. She is prepared to work two jobs to earn a wage, earning enough to keep ticking over, yet she never takes a step towards more.Towards the end of the story, Casey makes a big decision. Having worked hard to secure an internship and gain an offer of employment, she decides to turn it down. She is on the cusp of a breakthrough and this where the author rus out of steam. As a result, this intriguing and captivating tale runs out of steam and becomes a large volume with no real ending.Casey's friends and family follow their own lives in this book, with their stories running in parallel to Casey's. The trials and tribulations of love, marriage and affairs are explored with beautiful nuances and add an incredible tone to this book.Despite enjoying this book immeasurably, and racing through the pages, I was ultimately left discontent at the end. Questions about the immigrant experience and the quest to find one's own path in life are raised and treated in this novel, but there's nothing quite like a good ending.
    • 4/5
      Surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Great insights into Korean American culture, as well as how difficult it is to live a happy life in NYC without any money. Lee is a wonderful storyteller, honest and believable.
    • 3/5
      My copy was a prepublished copy so I think it was more than likely a tighter read after it was fully released. I enjoyed the story as it was real & interesting. A Korean Princeton graduate deals with life after college. Materialism, doubt, insecurity, trust, growth, & strength are prevelant themes.
    • 4/5
      Free Food for Millionaires is a pleasure to read. Min Jin Lee is a gifted storyteller. The words flow beautifully, and they contain a solid plot and many insights into American culture along the way. Her vision of post-ivy life is insightful and resonated with my own experience. Her challenge to what it means to be successful is also timely. I recommend it to anyone who is worried about chasing the "American Dream."
    • 4/5
      I really liked this book. It touched on a lot of themes that I find interesting, including immigrants, class, money, and finding out what you really want out of life. Also, whether the fact that you are good at something means you should do it, and how independent do you need to be from others to maintain your sense of self. I would definitely recommend this book.
    • 5/5
      Love these characters, even the assholes. Did not want the story to end.
    • 4/5
      I very much enjoyed this melodrama. Set in New York in the 90's we live through some emotional roller coaster rides witnessing the lives of young Korean-Americans making and living with their life choices. The narrative is third person omniscient. The subjects are mostly beautiful and gifted and driven. There is sex and fashion and earnest Christian activity and almost no physical violence and some evidence of humor and wit. I found some incidents painful to read but I had a hard time putting the book down.
    • 5/5
      Fabulous! All of the characters have so much depth. It's an amazing story--very well written.
    • 3/5
      Angsty, and too long. If there was a plot in there somewhere, I didn't see it. Reminded me of the thinly veiled autobiographical 'novels' of the '80s, only with Korean Americans.
    • 4/5
      Lee really captures the Asian immigrant experience and the struggles we all face in trying to find our identities.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      This 500+ page book is all about relationships, love and finding your true path in life. It is at times enthralling and at other time repetitive and oh-so-long. Casey Han, a talented Princeton graduate who’s already been accepted to Harvard Law, postpones grad school and spends the rest of the book dating various people, upsetting and alienating her conservative, traditional parents, and taking the long path to finding her true role in life – designing and making hats, something any reader could have predicted in the first few chapters. At first the constant changing to the internal thoughts of each character and the details about even peripheral characters is a bit confusing, but Lee finally settles on the core group as they stumble their way toward true meaning and happiness in life. If this book were 200 pages shorter I could actually recommend it to patrons.