Free Food for Millionaires Paperback – June 5, 2018

I read Her other best seller first and like it, so I wanted to try this book. It was not good. It was like juvenile writing, and as if the author was writing about characters she wished she could be - Ella is beautiful and wouldn't hurt a fly think of Melainie Wilkes in,Gone with the Wnd, Casey the main character has a mother who is the most beautiful woman everyone had ever seen, and is niave,and innocent. Casey has a benefactor who is uber rich,and generous, etc, etc. The banter/dialogue between Casey and her co-workers or descriptions of interactions feel flat. I do not recommend this book, but the other one I do.

I read Pachinko last year and loved it. Based on that, I decided to read Ms. Lee’s debut novel Free Food for Millionaires. It also received a lot of critical praise. I am ambivalent about this book because while I found it compulsively readable, I did not really enjoy the story and I did not like or relate to the characters. I even considered not finishing it. I say it was compulsively readable because despite not liking it very much, I really wanted to find out what happened to the characters and how the book ended. I think this speaks to Ms. Lee’s gift as a story teller—you are hooked even if you don’t like the book!Free Food takes place in New York City in the 1990’s. Casey Han, oldest daughter of Korean immigrants, has just graduated from Princeton with a degree in economics and no job. She has a successful white boyfriend, an abusive father, and a younger sister who is the perfect child headed off to medical school. Casey covets beautiful and expensive things, cannot afford them, but buys them anyway. She has wealthy friends and a very wealthy mentor, but many of these relationships also have a price. Casey has talent as a hat designer, but thinks that working on Wall Street is the only way to succeed. The novel also focuses on one of Casey’s friends who chooses a husband and baby over a career; Casey’s passive and unhappy but musically gifted naive mother; her self-made mentor; and various co-workers and boyfriends. Everyone is searching and no one seems happy in work or romance. The ending was happy for most of the characters and it was a bit predictable.I found it interesting to read Ms. Lee’s novels in reverse order. You can really see the growth and maturity of the writer. The multi-generational story in Pachinko is better written, I cared about the fate of the characters even if I did not like them, and the prose was gorgeous. I also thought that the Korean immigrant experience was better articulated in Pachinko than in Free Food for Millionaires. Free Food seemed more like a soap opera to me. On the strength of Pachinko, I am eagerly awaiting her third book!

Stumbled upon this and so glad I did. This is a smart read with characters that are developed and compelling. The author's perspective on relationships and their impact on personalities is spot on. After reading dozens of books that appear to have similar story lines, this was a breath of fresh air. I could not put it down. Our Korean protagonist who is in turmoil about friendships, romance, education and finance becomes more and more likeable as the story goes on. She suffers the pangs of her own family dysfunction while trying to stand on her own two feet. The writing is excellent, the pacing keeps you wanting more. This is literary without being the least bit stuffy. You are in for a great read.

I am a Korean American, and I've never read a novel that described my world until this one. Well, I don't know as many rich people or bankers, but I know some. But more than the people, I found the description of the life in the church, the parental strife, complicated interracial relationships...etc an accurate and compelling depiction of my world. It has more sex than I'd like it to, but the characters and the world make it a book you don't want to out down until finishing.

“Free Food” was the author’s first novel. Because I read Min Jin Lee’s second novel, Pachinko, first, I was very disappointed in “Free Food for Millionaires”. The protagonist was not sympathetic to the reader; I rarely cared if she would succeed or fail. The author & main characters are Korean Americans, but I do not think my critical opinion is based on a personal lack of cultural understanding. If anything, the author paints her characters with a broad sterotopical brush. Perhaps it was her purpose to present us with Korean personalities she thought we might recognize: stoic angry Asian father, long suffering closed/mouth wives, 30-something ivy leaguers discarding there ideals along with their culture in pursuit of money & sex (lots of sex). And some of this might have worked if the characters ultimately seemed aware of their actions. Yes, there is conflict, but very little resolution. “Free Food...” is an acceptable summer read. But if you are interested in a glimpse, however small, into Korea and her people, skip this book and go right to Min Jin Lee’s second work, “Pachinko”.

I enjoyed Lee's second novel, 'Pachinko', but this - her first novel - failed to impress me. An overlong, sprawling and ultimately directionless story about Korean-Americans living in New York in the 1990s, I was counting down the pages until I finished. The principal character, Casey, is very hard to like and irritated me greatly. A recent graduate with apparently good prospects, she manages to sabotage herself at every turn. The novel is only saved from one-star status by the subplots involving some nicer supporting characters.As a white British person, I found the Korean cultural elements far easier to comprehend than the wealthy American culture. I could understand the struggles of the poorer immigrant families, whereas all the talk of golf, conspicuous spending and 'B school' (an expression that isn't explained anywhere and took me a while to work out) and the corporate culture that goes with it, felt completely alien. Rather than drawing me in and enabling me to understand though, it left me just as baffled and contemptuous as when I started. I simply can't comprehend people who spend crazy money on clothes full stop (even if they have it) and certainly not when they are flat broke. Despite Casey not even being from a privileged background, her sheer lack of gratitude for the opportunities she was given made me want to yell at her.There is nothing more frustrating than a book character who constantly repeats the same stupid mistake over and over again, and Casey must be the epitome of this phenomenon. She managed to snatch failure and defeat from the jaws of victory and opportunity over and over again. Over the course of nearly 600 pages, she throws away a degree from Princeton, a relationship with a lovely well-matched man, the support of an implausibly rich and generous mentor, the love of well-meaning parents, and even the affection of her saintly friend. She seemed willing to work hard, but never stuck with anything. I honestly felt she got better than she deserved throughout, whereas the much nicer supporting characters seemed to contend with unfairness at every turn.At best you could say this gave me a glimpse into an unknown world - New York banking - but to be honest I'd rather not have seen it.

I loved this book! Read her second book,Pachinko, which I really enjoyed.Bit hard to get into but once getting into the story I couldn’t wait to get to the end of the book to see how the various lives progressed.Can’t wait for her third to be published

I did not particularly connect with Casey, the main character of this book, so therefore didn't love the book. It did give an insight into the life of middle class Korean immigrants in New York and a young person trying to break away and lead their own life. Was probably a little too long and 'wordy' but beautifully written.

I read Pachinko and was captivated; an absorbing novel and a great read.I assumed that Free Food for Millionaires would be in the same class. It is not even at the same school! Don't waste your time on this book, I could hardly believe it was the same author.By all means try Pachinko, but leave this one well alone.

The author uses words paint so many brilliant pictures and to draw you into the lives of the characters. It was a slow read because of the fullness of her descriptions but so enjoyable - please read it!