Up-and-coming author Min Jin Lee describes herself as 'thoroughly an immigrant' and this is one of the themes of her debut novel Free Food for Millionaires, which has been described by Publishers Weekly as 'noteworthy' and is a New York Times editors' choice and a national best-seller.
'I think this will always be a part of who I am,' said the Korean-born writer who lives in Tokyo with her husband and son. 'I like it. I enjoy the flexibility of my identity.'
Lee sees the world as 'large and varied', but does not believe we are all that different. 'We want our basic needs met and we struggle with our metaphysical aspirations. This is comforting, too. Nevertheless, as for acceptance, I don't think that anyone is ever completely accepted.'
Acceptance has not come easy for the 40-year-old author, who has experienced being an immigrant, having moved to the United States at the age of seven, and has struggled for more than a decade to get her first novel published.
'I quit being a corporate lawyer in 1995 to write fiction. In 1996 I wrote a novel and sent the manuscript to a group of fancy publishers in New York. They all said no thanks,' she explained.
Undeterred by her first rejection, she continued with her writing and produced two more manuscripts, both of which she failed to complete. In 2001 she began to write Free Food for Millionaires, which she finished in 2006.