Min Jin Lee
Min Jin Lee is a critically acclaimed Korean American novelist whose long-awaited second novel, Pachinko, was recently published to rave reviews. Lee’s first novel, Free Food for Millionaires, was released in 2007 and was quickly embraced by readers and critics alike. Her work is often lauded for its lush writing style, sophisticated story structures, and brilliant character development.
Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1968 and moved to Queens, New York as a seven-year-old in 1975. She experienced first-hand the culture shock of becoming a new immigrant and her writing often deepens readers’ understanding of this experience. Lee went on to attend Yale University for her undergraduate degree and later obtained her Juris Doctor at Georgetown Law Center. After a short stint practicing law, she began writing and has never looked back.
Lee’s debut novel Free Food for Millionaires follows the story of a young Korean American woman named Casey Han, as she navigates her way through love and finding a career in New York. Casey has graduated from Princeton and been offered a high-paying job in finance, yet she vacillates over whether or not to take it, wrestling with the internal conflict between following the expectations of her hard-working, immigrant parents and staying true to her own desires. Lee takes readers on a journey as Casey deals with the pressures of achieving the “American Dream,” her relationships with family, friends, and lovers, and her connection to her Korean identity.
Pachinko, Lee’s second novel, was released in 2017 and quickly gained acclaim from critics and readers alike. The novel explores the lives of four generations of a Korean family starting in Japanese-occupied Korea in 1910, who then move to Japan to escape the Nazis. Through a cast of unforgettable characters, Lee explores the complex issues of immigration, class, race, and culture. Pachinko was awarded the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Award for Best Novel, named a New York Times Notable Book, and was a finalist for the National Book Award.
Lee has won numerous awards and fellowships, including an Arts and Letters Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Radcliffe Fellowship from Harvard University, and a Guggenheim Fellowship in Fiction. She has also been awarded an American Book Award, a Stegner Fellowship in Fiction from Stanford University.
In addition to her novels, Lee has contributed to publications such as the New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, and The Atlantic. Lee is currently a writer-in-residence at Amherst College and lives with her family in New York.
Min Jin Lee is a wonderfully talented and prolific author whose groundbreaking and insightful works explore the complexities of the immigrant experience in America. Her novels are abundant in humanity and full of detail, creating a vivid and honest portrait of family and belonging. With the tremendous success of both Free Food for Millionaires and Pachinko, readers can count on more powerful stories from Lee in the years to come.
