Please Look After Mom
by Kyung-sook Shin
Original Title : Omma rul put’akhae (Korean)
Edition : Paperback (272 pages)
Publisher : Vintage (2012)
Genre : Fiction, Contemporary
Date Read : June 14, 2012
My Thoughts
How much do you know your mother? Are you often mad at her because she’s irritating? Does she always ask you to do some household chores? Or are you considering her as the witch in your own fairytale?
Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin is about the disappearance of an illiterate and elderly mom in a crowded Seoul train station without his husband’s knowledge. Her family, including her four adult children, is desperately trying to do everything to find her and as they continue searching, they realize how little they know about their mother, like they don’t even have a recent photo of her, and they starts to blame themselves for giving her less attention.
The novel is divided into different parts and each one was narrated by the family members including Chi-hon (the eldest daughter and a novelist), Hyong-chol (the eldest son and the favorite one), the neglectful husband and mom herself. Mom’s background reveals through flashbacks as the novel continues. All her sacrifices for her children, how she handles her unfaithful husband and her generosity not only towards her family but also to other people.
„Mom was the kitchen and the kitchen was Mom. You never wondered, Did Mom like being in the kitchen?“ – p. 60
The participation of the reader is present by the author’s way of using „you“ (second person) in this novel and though it’s quite perplexing in some parts, it still works well. It demands us to ponder and ask ourselves if we are also like one of mom’s children or the husband. Shin has done a great job on reminding us the importance of honouring not only our mother, but also the people who have done a lot of selfless things for us. The changes of the woman’s role are also present by showing how different mom’s life before compared to her children who are living in the present time. (On the last page of the book, I wrote a short letter for my mom.)
A certified Korean tear-jerker. I had a hard time to finish reading this novel because it’s hard to read when your eyes are filled with tears. From what I’ve read, Shin has won countless awards in her homeland for her works and Please Look After Mom won the Shadow MAN Asian Literary Prize 2011. This book is also her first novel to be translated into English. And I personally would like to thank Chi-Young Kim for expertly translating this amazing novel so it can be appreciated by readers, including me, from different countries.
I recommend this to those who are into deep emotional stories (like me) and also if you are interested in learning about some Korean cultures like The Full Moon Harvest.
It’s never too late, right? I’ve been in a blogging slump (if there’s a thing like that) these past few weeks. So forgive me for the late updates.
in November
Crown of Midnight by Sarah Maas – 4/5 stars
Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover – 5/5 stars
Tate Collins meets Miles Archer in a very odd situation. She is a registered nurse studying for her masters and he is a pilot who happens to be a good friend and neighbor of her brother. When they’ve both realized that they have something in common, they make a „friends with benefits“ kind of arrangement and Miles has two rules for Tate: 1) Never ask about the past and 2) Don’t expect a future.
A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED BY AGATHA CHRISTIE – 4/5 STARS
The first book in the Miss Marple series. Since I was quite disappointed with the appearance of Miss Marple on A Murder Is Announced, I expected that this book will show more of her or will tell me more about her but it doesn’t. This one is quite different from the other books I’ve read from Agatha Christie (this is my third) because this book was written on the Vicar’s (main character) POV. It shows us his thoughts about the other characters including Miss Marple. I still enjoy reading this book and guessing who the real suspect is. I actually guessed the right one but I wasn’t 100% sure about it.
This is part of our (me and Joyce) October TBR. It’s quite hard for me to write a decent review for this book because I don’t know where to start. This is the kind of book (series) that you have to read and see for yourself. Cress is a fairytale retelling of Rapunzel with a twist. I think Cress is so far my favorite from the series. It’s a mix of action, comedy and romance. Great characters and the world building is astounding. It is definitely a must-read. I can’t wait for Winter!