Author Min Jin Lee’s novels have received accolades and awards, but they’ve also gotten some horrified responses from readers. “They would cite a page where something really terrible happened to one of my characters,” she said. “I've had people tweet at me, like, ‘@minjinlee, what the f**k?’” 

Lee’s characters may sometimes suffer horribly, but her writing is fueled by tenderness. “I'm going to sound so strange for saying this, but I want you to know how much I love you,” she told Tim. “I want people to know how much I love my characters and how much I love my reader.”

Even though the worlds she creates are not friendly, sanitized places, her novels are still full of beauty and empathy. Lee takes on big political questions about discrimination, assimilation, and racism. Her characters are often overlooked and oppressed. The goal is to touch readers’ hearts, so maybe, just maybe, they’ll want to be better people. It’s not an easy task. Lee says it’s already hard enough to tell a good story. “And then, somehow, can I get you to do the right thing? Ooh, gosh, that's even tougher, right?” In this episode, Lee talks with Tim about how she’s able to walk the fine line between writing complicated moral lessons and preaching at us

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Min Jin Lee is the author of “Free Food for Millionaires” and “Pachinko”. You can find out more about Min Jin Lee’s work at her website: minjinlee.com

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Our theme music was written by Andy Ogden and produced by Tim Lauer, Andy Ogden and Julian Raymond. All other music that you hear in this episode is courtesy of Epidemic Sound. 

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