The Cooked Seed: A Memoir

"Anchee Min’s follow-up to her memoir, Red Azalea, about her life in China under the Cultural Revolution, picks up the narrative 20 years later — when Min arrives in America, with a mere $500 in her pocket and a plan to study art in Chicago. How she goes from terrified student who could barely speak English to best-selling author is a gripping tale — the kind of memoir you’ll find yourself talking about at dinner parties in a fever of inspiration. It’s the ultimate immigrant story — but its power lies in how much it lays bare the odd paradoxes of this country, even as Min struggles to find her place."