Thousands of prices just dropped across Thryft
Our price drop is now live! Find lowered prices on thousands of one-of-a-kind finds across Thryft
Free delivery on all orders above $30
Get 10% off all year round! Join Thryft Club
Get 10% off all year round and $10 off your next order! Join Thryft Club

Your cart

Your cart is empty

Check out these collections!

Bestselling Fiction
Bestselling Nonfiction
Bestselling Books for Children
Vintage and Rare Books
Vinyl Records
Women's Clothing
Men's Clothing

Find more of what you love

Get thoughtful picks from Thryft’s ever-changing collection of pre-loved books, vinyl and CDs—plus occasional sales and events.

By signing up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Thryft. You can unsubscribe at any time.

This item is sold out

Get an email when a matching copy is available again.

Still Life With Rice: A Young American Woman Discovers the Life and Legacy of Her Korean Grandmother

Helie Lee

Which copies would you like?
Condition and budgetAny condition · No price limit

Excludes delivery. This filters future availability alerts; it is not a price-drop alert.

We check inventory once a day. We’ll email you once when we find a matching copy. Copies aren’t reserved. This does not sign you up for marketing emails.
Sale

Still Life With Rice: A Young American Woman Discovers the Life and Legacy of Her Korean Grandmother

by Helie Lee
Save up to 20%
Compare to estimated retail price: S$28.64  

The item you've got your eye on is secondhand. You probably already know that, but just in case!

The estimated retail price shown next to any listed item represents the first-hand prices we've seen elsewhere, or the estimated original retail price of a comparable item of the same quality, construction and material offered elsewhere in new condition.

Still Life With Rice: A Young American Woman Discovers the Life and Legacy of Her Korean Grandmother
Still Life With Rice: A Young American Woman Discovers the Life and Legacy of Her Korean Grandmother

Intimate journey through a Korean grandmother's legacy.

If you're drawn to family sagas and cultural exploration, "Still Life With Rice" could satisfy that itch. Helie Lee intertwines the personal with the historical, inviting you into a narrative that feels both exotic and recognizable. It's for those who appreciate when a memoir goes beyond just personal anecdotes to capture the pulse of an era and address broader themes of identity and legacy.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.
Sale

Still Life With Rice: A Young American Woman Discovers the Life and Legacy of Her Korean Grandmother

by Helie Lee
Save up to 20%
Compare to estimated retail price: S$28.64  

The item you've got your eye on is secondhand. You probably already know that, but just in case!

The estimated retail price shown next to any listed item represents the first-hand prices we've seen elsewhere, or the estimated original retail price of a comparable item of the same quality, construction and material offered elsewhere in new condition.

Condition guide

Book Condition Guide

Books in Like New Condition

This book may contain very minor cosmetic defects, but it is in pristine condition. There should be no yellowing, no foxing, no water damage, and no annotations of any kind on the cover and the pages. For paperbacks, there should not be any crease marks on the spine. This book is good as new — lucky you!

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Very Good Condition

This book has been used, but it is still in a clean condition. There should be no foxing or annotations of any kind on the inner pages, but a sparse amount may be present on the cover, title pages, or outside edges of the book. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be light crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Good Condition

We do our best to ensure the quality of our books, but there is no escaping the wear and tear that comes with time. Slight foxing and some annotations may be present on the pages and the cover. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be several crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Well Read Condition

This is a well-read book, which means that the previous owner probably really enjoyed it! The cover and pages may include moderate foxing and annotations, but the text is not obscured and still readable. Moderate cosmetic defects and minor water damage may be present on the edges of the book. For paperbacks, there may be multiple crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

 

Find out more about our process here.

ISBN: 9780684827117
Author: Helie Lee
Publisher: Scribner
Date of Publication: 1997-04-08
Format: Paperback
Related Collections: Biographies & Memoirs, History
Related Topics: Biography, Memoir, Biography Memoir, Asia, War
Goodreads rating: 4.29
(rated by 1435 readers)

Description

A captivating memoir of a courageous survivor and a window onto the panorama of modern Korean history, this is a radiant and engaging story about a young American woman’s discovery of the life of her Korean grandmother. Helie Lee’s grandmother, Hongyong Baek, came of age in a unified but socially repressive Korea, where she was taught the roles that had been prescribed for obedient daughter, demure wife, and efficient household manager. Ripped from her home first during the Japanese occupation and again during the bloody civil war that divided her country, Hongyong fought to save her family by drawing from her own talents and values. Over the years she proved her spirit indomitable, providing for her husband and children by running a successful restaurant, building a profitable opium business, and eventually becoming adept at the healing art of ch’iryo. When she was forced to leave her country, she moved her family to California, where she reestablished her ch’iryo practice. Writing in her grandmother’s voice, Helie Lee recreates an individual experience in a unique culture that is both seductively exotic and strangely familiar. With wit and verve, she claims her own Korean identity and illuminates the intricate experiences of Asian-American women in this century.
 

Intimate journey through a Korean grandmother's legacy.

If you're drawn to family sagas and cultural exploration, "Still Life With Rice" could satisfy that itch. Helie Lee intertwines the personal with the historical, inviting you into a narrative that feels both exotic and recognizable. It's for those who appreciate when a memoir goes beyond just personal anecdotes to capture the pulse of an era and address broader themes of identity and legacy.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

Biographies & Memoirs

Shop all
The Utopians: Six Attempts to Build the Perfect Society
Anna Neima | Picador

The Utopians: Six Attempts to Build the Perfect Society

In one line

Historical utopias dissected; idealism meets reality.

Goodreads 3.77

Condition: Like New

$23.90 $16.90 29% off

62% off est. retail
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish: Advice for the Rest of Your Life - Classic Graduation Speeches
Random House | Wh Allen

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish: Advice for the Rest of Your Life - Classic Graduation Speeches

In one line

Wise, stirring send-off for life’s crossroads

Goodreads 4.22

Condition: Good

$10.90

顽皮故事集
顽皮故事集
侯文咏 | 北京十月文艺出版社

顽皮故事集

In one line

中国故事里的轻盈文化之旅

Goodreads 0.0

Condition: Well Read

$42.90 $18.90 56% off

All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America
Michael Wolff | Hachette Intl

All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America

In one line

Insider chaos from Trump’s wildest comeback

Goodreads 3.75

Condition: Like New

$13.90

Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
Michael Lewis | Penguin

Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon

In one line

Spectacular crypto tycoon's rise and catastrophic fall.

Goodreads 3.83

Condition: Well Read

$16.90 $10.90 36% off

78% off est. retail
Hark: How Women Listen
Alice Vincent | Canongate Books

Hark: How Women Listen

In one line

Rediscovering life's rhythm through mindful listening.

Goodreads 3.88

Condition: Very Good

$11.90 $8.90 25% off

64% off est. retail
Spare
Prince Harry | Bantam

Spare

In one line

Royal memoir revealing unprecedented personal struggles.

Goodreads 3.83

Condition: Good

$18.90 $12.90 32% off

74% off est. retail
Kingmaker
Sonia Purnell

Kingmaker

In one line

Glamour, seduction, and hidden political power

Goodreads 4.16

Condition: Like New

$13.90

50% off est. retail
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything
Elizabeth Gilbert | Bloomsbury Publishing

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything

In one line

Soul-searching journey to pleasure, devotion, balance.

Goodreads 3.64

Condition: Well Read

$7.90 $3.90 51% off

77% off est. retail
Yes Please
Amy Poehler | Harper

Yes Please

In one line

Candid, comedic insights into Poehler's life and career.

Goodreads 3.85

Condition: Well Read

$8.90 $5.90 34% off

History Books

Shop all
Until Proven Safe: The History and Future of Quarantine
Nicola Twilley, Geoff Manaugh | Picador

Until Proven Safe: The History and Future of Quarantine

In one line

Delve into quarantine's past, implications, and future.

Goodreads 3.94

Condition: Very Good

$8.90 $4.90 45% off

69% off est. retail
The View from the West - An Australian Monk Looks at Buddhism
Just Arrived
Shravasti Dhammika

The View from the West - An Australian Monk Looks at Buddhism

In one line

Buddhism Through an Unusually Curious Western Lens

Goodreads 3.33

Condition: Very Good

$11.90

Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule
Mahatma Gandhi | Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule

In one line

Reflections on Indian independence, modernity, and morality.

Goodreads 3.79

Condition: Very Good

$48.90 $20.90 57% off

Picking off new shoots will not stop the spring: Witness poems and essays from Burma/Myanmar - Thryft
ko ko thett, Brian Haman | Ethos Books

Picking off new shoots will not stop the spring: Witness poems and essays from Burma/Myanmar

In one line

Poetic defiance capturing Myanmar's turbulent spring.

Goodreads 4.61

Condition: Well Read

$5.90 $3.90 34% off

83% off est. retail
Kingmaker
Sonia Purnell

Kingmaker

In one line

Glamour, seduction, and hidden political power

Goodreads 4.16

Condition: Like New

$13.90

50% off est. retail
Spare
Prince Harry | Bantam

Spare

In one line

Royal memoir revealing unprecedented personal struggles.

Goodreads 3.83

Condition: Good

$18.90 $12.90 32% off

74% off est. retail
All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America
Michael Wolff | Hachette Intl

All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America

In one line

Insider chaos from Trump’s wildest comeback

Goodreads 3.75

Condition: Like New

$13.90

Declaration Universelle Des Droits De L'Homme Dans 6 Langues ONU
Various | Folio

Declaration Universelle Des Droits De L'Homme Dans 6 Langues ONU

In one line

Multilingual exposition of universal human rights.

Goodreads 4.5

Condition: Well Read

$3.90

The Complete Confucius: The Analects, The Doctrine of the Mean, and The Great Learning
James Legge, Confucius

The Complete Confucius: The Analects, The Doctrine of the Mean, and The Great Learning

In one line

Ancient wisdom for an examined, ethical life

Goodreads 3.8

Condition: Like New

$13.90

Tahiti & French Polynesia
Celeste Brash | Geoplaneta

Tahiti & French Polynesia

In one line

In-depth guide to idyllic Polynesian escapes.

Goodreads 4.08

Condition: Very Good

$10.90 $5.90 46% off

83% off est. retail

You might enjoy this if…

View book details