American Hagwon

If there is one book I want to press into the hands of every person I know this fall, it is American Hagwon. I missed Pachinko, but for those of you who didn’t, I can see why you have been feverishly anticipating Min Jin Lee’s next book.

This is a big, sweeping novel about family, immigration, education, ambition, sacrifice, and what we think we owe our children. But for all its scope, it feels incredibly intimate. These characters became people I worried about, rooted for, and hated leaving behind.

NPR called it a book that appeals “to the head as well as the heart,” and that feels exactly right. It is smart, moving, and completely absorbing. I loved it.

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