by Kyung-Sook Shin
transalated by Chi-Young Kim
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Published: 2012
Publisher: Vintage
Genre: Family, Korea
Paperback: 272 pages
Rating: 4
First sentence(s):
It's been one week since Mom went missing.
MAN ASIAN LITERARY PRIZE WINNER
When sixty-nine-year-old So-nyo is separated from her husband among the crowds of the Seoul subway station, her family begins a desperate search to find her. Yet as long-held secrets and private sorrows begin to reveal themselves, they are forced to wonder: how well did they actually know the woman they called Mom?
Told through the piercing voices and urgent perspectives of a daughter, son, husband, and mother, Please Look After Mom is at once an authentic picture of contemporary life in Korea and a universal story of family love.
My two-bits:
How well do we (can we) ever know close loved ones? This story presents the question through the voices of different family members in regards to a mother.
Spoken in first person mode with each family member, the inner feelings and reflections give a complete picture of the mother.
Snapshots of living in the city and countryside of South Korea provide some insight into the place and culture.
* part of Korean Book Challenge
