Father and Daughter Fight the Korean War, Again
The New York Times presented the first chapter of a newly-published book by a Korean-American woman, Min Jin Lee, entitled Free Food for Millionaires. Years ago, I read both Chang-Rae Lee and Susan Choi, but, according to Liesl Schillinger's review, Lee's novel looks as if it has the historical gravity and personal depth worthy of a serious read. Although I'm skeptical of the claim that han «...by general consensus, applies chiefly to women», just tackling that issue is quite a feat.
It would be remarkable if she had simply written a long novel that was as easy to devour as a 19th-century romanceâ€â€packed with tales of flouted parental expectations, fluctuating female friendships and rivalries, ephemeral (and longer-lasting) romantic hopes and losses, and high-stakes career gambles. But Lee intensifies her drama by setting it against an unfamiliar backdrop: the tightly knit social world of Korean immigrants, whose children strive to blend into their American foreground without clashing with their distinctive background. It’s a feat of coordination and contrast that could kill a chameleon, but Lee pulls it off with conviction.
Read the excerpt, too. If nothing else, Korean War-era Pusan is mentioned as a backdrop. But, there's nothing like family tension in the first scene to set up a good read!
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