Memphis Reads Archive

Fiction/Mainstream

Andrea Bledsoe reviews FREE FOOD FOR MILLIONAIRES by Min Jin Lee (Warner Books, 2007)

The year is 1993 and Princeton graduate Casey Han is feeling stifled by her parents. Trying to stay loyal to her immigrant Korean parents’ values as well as trying to spread her Westernized wings in Manhattan is causing all kinds of turmoil in Casey’s life.

At the beginning of the novel, readers are introduced to the Han family eating dinner together. Subservient wife Leah and Casey's younger sister are so excited that she is finally out of school. Unfortunately, strong-willed Casey and her hot-tempered father, Joseph, get into a violent fight, and Joseph throws Casey out of the house and out of his life.

The years go by and Casey falls in and out of love, moves in and out of different people’s homes, decides and re-decides what to be when she grows up, and accrues more and more credit card debt. It seems every time Casey gets a leg up financially or emotionally, she makes some kind of hasty decision that throws everything back into a tailspin.

I did enjoy reading about Casey and those around her since she and I are around the same age and have experienced some of the same life events-but, definitely not all of them. I also related to being the headstrong older daughter. This was a fascinating book.


Andrea Bledsoe, Poplar-White Station Branch Library

Labels: Mainstream Fiction, Reviews by Andrea King