I really was impressed with this novel about Korean-Americans, since it dealt so squarely with the importance of money in people's lives (as does Middlemarch, the great 19th c. novel which Min Jin Lee so clearly admires). The book, essentially realistic, was slightly marred by some improbable touches more suitable to a romance novel,and I wasn't quite as taken with the lead character as everyone seemed to be (there was occasionally a whiff of chick-lit about her); also the story didn't have the elegance or stylistic distinction of "The Namesake," for example. However, it had charms of its own, including an extraordinarily compelling plot and a wide range of lively characters. I look forward to future books by this author. (SR - 2007)