Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.

From simple proverbs to personalized prophecies, fortune cookies have become an iconic finale to countless restaurant meals and takeout orders. But crack a cookie open and it might reveal more than you expect.

In Fortune Cookie, Darien Hsu Gee explores the origins of the fortune cookie and its place in popular culture, offering a different kind of immigrant story–one of adaptation and assimilation, of nostalgia tinged with hope for the future.

Tracing its disputed origins to its status as a global phenomenon, Gee examines themes of cultural exchange, appropriation, and identity, as well as the fortune cookie's unique position at the intersection of culinary tradition, chance, and the pursuit of the American Dream. Fortune Cookie reflects on how fortune cookies serve as unexpected touchstones in our lives, reflecting our personal and shared cultural narratives.