Free Food for Millionaires

By: Min Jin Lee

Narrated by: Jennifer Sun Bell

In this "mesmerizing" novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Pachinko, the Korean-American daughter of first-generation immigrants strives to join Manhattan's inner circle (USA Today).

Meet Casey Han: a strong-willed, Queens-bred daughter of Korean immigrants immersed in a glamorous Manhattan lifestyle she can't afford. Casey is eager to make it on her own, away from the judgements of her parents' tight-knit community, but she soon finds that her Princeton economics degree isn't enough to rid her of ever-growing credit card debt and a toxic boyfriend. 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?

Set in a city where millionaires scramble for the free lunches the poor are too proud to accept, this sharp-eyed epic of love, greed, and ambition is a compelling portrait of intergenerational strife, immigrant struggle, and social and economic mobility. Addictively enjoyable, 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.

©2007 Min Jin Lee (P)2020 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Mesmerizing...Not since Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake has an author so exquisitely evoked what it's like to be an immigrant."—USA Today

"This big, beguiling book has all the distinguishing marks of a Great American novel."—The Times (London)

"Lee has updated the Victorian novel of progress to a postmodern, postfeminist world and imagined a character whose circumstances feel universal."—Chicago Tribune

Interesting read, entertaining.

I very much enjoyed this story. It allowed me a peek into Korean culture, and what it’s like to be a Korean-American. The story held my attention throughout. Kudos to the Narrator Jennifer Sun Bell who executed a flawless performance. I have no hesitation in recommending this book to my friends.

believable melodrama

Compelling, likable characters if a bit two-dimensional. What i most appreciate about this work is how it wrestles with authentic experience and all its complicated ambivalences, conflicts, fetishes, disavowals, longings, and lies. Im sorry to say i could barely tolerate the voice actor’s performance. fortunately, the story and writing were strong enough to pull me through.

The reader has a most annoying sing song for such a long book

I loved Pachinko, so had very high expectations for this book. I think this is an inferior novel, but enjoyable, with many endearing characters and variant interesting for those of us who, like me, no little about Korean Americans.

But I found the reader’s intonation quite irritating - was about to switch to reading and quit listening to the audiobook many times throughout.

bad narration

The way the narrator read the book made it difficult to focus on the story. It got somewhat better later on but the way she spoke the Korean English was offensive and insulting to Koreans.

A beautiful perspective

I learned so much from the perspective of a beautiful culture mixing with the American culture as a whole. Thanks

Amazing

Loved this book and shows you a lot about American Korean culture. Fabulous story. I highly recommend it.

Engrossing multi-generation novel

I chose this novel because I enjoyed Pachinko by the same author. This novel is about the lives of Korean immigrants and their children in the 90’s, but, as the author’s post script points out, it is a story about our country and our lives as immigrants or descendants of immigrants. Beyond that it is a well-told story about peoples’ struggles to live and make choices. Well worth a credit!

Beautifully written

The author has a brilliant way of making mundane characters into interesting, multi- dimensional stars. The spoken performance was stellar. I have severe ADHD and won’t sit down long enough to read a book. I listen to audiobooks and podcasts at 1.4x speed to hold my interest. The pitch of the narrator can get distorted in some books at a higher speed, but not with this one. Wonderful book. I would love to see it adapted as a tv mini-series.

cool content, too long

This book has a lot of interesting moments, but not a lot of tension pulling them together. the themes felt scattered; picked up and dropped throughout the meandering plot. Often the author will narrate in great detail about an outfit or other description which didn't feel very impactful or could have been achieved with a metaphor. Overall I wish that the story was delivered in a tighter, more focused way.

Wonderful story

I enjoyed the story very much, I related to a lot of the characters even though I am not Korean, I am an immigrant like the Author loves this country as many faults it might have. Overall, I will recommend this book. It is a beautiful story.