Free Food for Millionaires

Min Jin Lee
Warner Books (2007)
ISBN 0446581089
Reviewed by Cherie Fisher for Reader Views (6/07)

Min Jin Lee’s debut novel “Free Food for Millionaires” is masterful storytelling.   She cleverly weaves complex relationships into a story about success, high fashion, competition, heartbreak and introspection. 

The story begins when Casey Han returns home to her small family apartment in New York after she graduates from Princeton.  Casey and her family are from Korea and her parents have worked hard at their jobs to ensure that both of their daughters would be able to get a wonderful education and have great careers.  Casey has been accepted into Law School but has decided to defer her entrance for one year to get some life experience.  Her father disagrees with this decision and this leads to a terrible falling out.  Casey figures that she will move in with her boyfriend Jay, but things fall apart there too when Casey walks in on him doing the unthinkable.  So she strikes out on her own with help from Ella, a friend who has always looked up to Casey. 

With assistance from Ella’s fiancé, Casey lands a job with Kearn Davis as a sales assistant and she continues to work for her friend Sabine who owns an upscale department store.  Casey loves expensive things and continually gets herself in over her head financially throughout the story.  As Casey spends more time in the world that she worked so hard at school to join, she begins to question the shallowness of it and is not sure that the money earned is worth the sacrifices that a person must make. 

“Free Food for Millionaires” is not just about Casey Han.  Min Jin Lee also writes from the perspective of the people closest to Casey; this gives the book additional depth and perspective.  She shows human beings at their best and worst and still manages to make them very likable. 

I found this book to be very well-written and rich in culture and human dimension.  Women of all ages will enjoy this story.  I look forward to more books from the author.  I think that “Free Food for Millionaires” would also make a great movie. 

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