This great lump of a book (600+ pages) was Min Jin Lee's first published novel and was the product of years and years spent learning the craft of writing. The author says in the front of the book that she wanted to be sure to hone her skills before putting a book together, and seems to have taken a very scientific approach to understanding form and construction. You have to admire anyone who can work through a book of this size, however long they have been writing, and she neatly brings together Korean and American cultures and explores the different ways of thinking. A Korean immigrant family living in New York is at the heart of the book and the eldest daughter, Casey, is testing the limits of what her father will allow as she reaches an age when she can either continue her studies or go out and get a job. Her family run a dry cleaning business and Casey's father is desperate for his two daughters to get a solid American education and go on to do greater...