Free Food for Millionaires

In Min Jin Lee's captivating debut, "Free Food for Millionaires," we meet Casey Han, a sharp-witted and ambitious Korean-American woman navigating the glittering yet unforgiving landscape of 1990s Manhattan. Though raised in Queens by first-generation immigrant parents who tirelessly run a dry cleaning business, Casey yearns to transcend her modest beginnings and carve out a space in the city's exclusive inner circles. Fresh out of Princeton, she finds herself immersed in a glamorous lifestyle she can ill-afford, constantly striving to project an image of success while secretly struggling with debt and the chasm between her aspirations and her reality. As she grapples with the expectations of her traditional family and the allure of privilege, Casey’s journey exposes the intricate dance of ambition, identity, and the relentless pursuit of wealth. The novel delves deep into themes of intergenerational strife, the immigrant experience, and the stark social and economic divides in a city where status is everything, and even millionaires are drawn to 'free food.'