Free Food for Millionaires Review

My Rating: 3/5 Goodreads: 3.84/5 Google: 3.8/5

“What mattered was NOT what you could do, but what you believed you could do”

Free Food for Millionaires, Min Jin Lee

Free Food for Millionaires, published in 2007 was named ‘One of the Top 10 Novels of the Year’ by The Times, ‘A Notable Novel’ by the The San Francisco Chronicle, and New York Times‘ ‘Editor’s Choice’. Which in a nutshell means that I was very excited to read it and other people thought it was good.

The summary of the book is as follows: “The daughter of Korean immigrants, Casey Han has refined diction, a closeted passion for reading the Bible, a popular white boyfriend, and a magna cum laude degree in economics from Princeton, but no job and an addiction to the things she cannot afford in the glittering world of Manhattan. In this critically-acclaimed debut, Min Jin Lee tells not only Casey’s story, but also those of her sheltered mother, scarred father, and friends both Korean and Caucasian, exposing the astonishing layers of a community clinging to its old ways and a city packed with struggling haves and have-nots.”

I’ll be honest, I started reading this book because of how much I loved Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. It was one of those books that I thought would be a good idea to read just because I enjoyed the writing of the author so much in Pachinko. Min Jin Lee has a way of keeping the readers engaged just by the writing and storytelling regardless of whether you like the story or not.

Cut to me reading it….It’s Decent-ish. I liked and disliked some parts of the book. I just felt a little underwhelmed by it.

The Burning Questions:

1. What’s my Overall Rating?
   • Overall, I’d give it 3 stars out of 5.
2. Would I recommend it to someone?
   • Yes, I don’t think it’s a bad book. It reads quickly despite it being around 600 pages. The writing is very intriguing and the author does a great job of keeping you engaged throughout the book.
3. Would I read this book again?
   • No, I think once was enough for me. I don’t see myself reading it again.
4. Did I like the story?
   • It was an interesting story and overall, it was good. I like that we get the perspective of all the characters in the book which makes for a more expansive experience for the reader. However, I was let down by the ending. It seemed too abrupt without any conclusion.
5. How long did it take for me to finish this book?
   • It took me about a week to finish. Between my day job, home life, and other unpredicted events, that’s actually pretty good for me right now. Despite it not being a 5 star for me, I still wanted to know what happens with the characters and was hooked the whole time.

“Excessive modesty being vanity’s sister”

Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee

There are many Likes and Dislikes I have for this book. Below are some of the things that stood out to me throughout my reading that I felt needed to be mentioned.

Likes:

1. Kasey’s very loyal to her family and friends. I loved that about her. She doesn’t really judge her family and friends, maybe because of all the mistakes she’s made throughout her life, it makes it easier to not be so judgmental.
2. The writing of the author is spectacular. She makes you want to keep reading the book regardless of the storyline. I was hooked from the beginning to the end. I just really wanted to know what ends up happening to all the characters.
3. The author does a good job of portraying the double standards in the American Asian Community pertaining to Gender roles and Dating.
4. Kasey really wants her life to be her own even if it means taking a difficult path. For example, when Sabine says she would pay for her business school, Kasey declines. She doesn’t want to be beholden to Sabine if she takes that route. I respect that about Kasey.

Dislikes:

1. In the beginning, Kasey pretends to be this person that stand up for herself but as the book goes on, she makes awful decisions. No way around it. She stays with Jay even though he cheats on her and then decides to leave him because she can’t picture a future with him. The fact that Jay cheats on her is a very big reasons for many different bad decisions she makes throughout the book. What get’s me the most is that she (Kasey) herself then cheats on Unu, knowing the impact it has on the other person. Unu had been nothing but nice to her and she cheats on her.
2. Kasey makes horrible financial decisions throughout the book. She goes to Princeton and then decides to only apply to one firm for employment. Then, she feels dejected when they don’t hire her. She lives on the charity of her friend but still insists on buying materialistic things to fill a void, regardless of the consequences. She’s has $23,000 in credit card debt. She taken on a loan of about $50,000 to pay for her first year of school, only to decide on that she doesn’t want to go to Business school anymore.
3. Sabine, one of the biggest self-made millionaire women in the story, seems to act like Kasey is a charity case. No matter what she does, it comes with a price. Maybe that’s the goal of the author, that nothing is for free! I’m not really sure but I liked the idea of Sabine, maybe just not the execution.
4. Kasey’s selfishness knowns no bound! She missed her only sister’s graduation because she doesn’t want to see her parents. This is the same little sister that had supported her throughout her life, gave her money for an abortion, and give Kasey her last savings just so she would have something when she leaves home.
5. Dear God the cheating…sooo much cheating in this book. It’s like no one can keep it in their pants. Jay cheats on Kasey with two college girls. Ted cheats on Ella. Leah sort-of cheats on Joseph. Kasey cheats on Unu with Hugh, just because she wanted to. Mind you, this person doesn’t mean anything to her. She doesn’t love him or anything. She just wanted to… so she did.
6. Kasey asks her Mom (Leah) not to tell Joseph (Dad) about the events that happen to Leah. That’s a horrible thing to ask of someone who’s just been raped. ‘Don’t tell anyone’. Then, She takes it upon herself to confront the guy and what does she do? She takes his composed music. What is that going to do? Does that help anyone? Does that punish him for the things he did? NO!
7. The way she behaves with Hugh after she sleeps with him. She’s awful to him. She thinks Hugh isn’t capable of a deeper emotion and decides that she can’t obviously be with him because he watches Asian-centered porn. Personally, I think she just didn’t want to be with him but needed a reason not to be there.

Conclusion:

In summary, I’m glad I read this book but I don’t see myself reading it again. It was on my to-read for quite a while for multiple reasons. Overall, I was underwhelmed by the book. I didn’t find any character that stood out to me. Not to mention, the ending was abrupt. It leaves everything to interpretation. What will Kasey do next? Make hats? How’s she going to pay off her loans? Does she end up with Unu? What does he mean when he says ‘we’re far from even’ in the end? Was he referring to her cheating? I just was left with so many questions. All I can say is that it comes a full-circle and you learn nothing.

“Your truest feelings led you to greater and greater success in life”

Sabine, Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee