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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
This book is a well written, interesting and intelligently structured novel that is exceptionally well translated (from the original Korean). It is a commentary on how life is changing in South Korea in the relative present, as it was written in 2008, and is a cautionary tale for all children to not take your mother for granted and to remember that they too have hopes, dreams, hobbies, and a life outside of being a "mom". That being said, it wasn't the right pick for me. As a child-free-by-choice 40-something, this book illustrates exactly why I didn't want to become a parent. My belief is that if you have children, you give up a huge portion of yourself for them, and you can easily lose yourself in the process. While raising children can be very rewarding, this story is proof that it is extremely easy to become a martyr for your children, sacrificing everything for their happiness and success, including your own identity. Of course, this isn't true for all parents, but I felt it would be true for me if I had children, so reading about two individuals who did just that was not enjoyable. On top of that, the children and especially the husband very much took Mom for granted in this book, and often treated her terribly and as something in the background, not as a loving mother. There were definitely communication issues between all the family members, Mom included, that could have helped their relationships be smoother as well. Overall, this book was too sad and frustrating for me as a reader. My book group overwhelmingly enjoyed it, so I may be an outlier here.
Note: I also posted a review of this book on the Manchester, CT Goodreads account.
Note: I also posted a review of this book on the Manchester, CT Goodreads account.
(apologies - not a real review, just some notes)
Second person narrative - very difficult to sort out. I don't know how this reads in Korean - if this is as awkward in Korean as in English. I imagine it's meant to be intimate and even confrontational, but at times I found it distracting.
Characters - I could relate to all of the characters. I saw some comments where readers felt they were being beaten over the head with guilt but I thought everyone's actions and reactions were reasonable, if imperfect.
The book is overall very moving, particularly the mother's narrative. It's a very slow and quiet book and pleasant enough to read while I was reading it, but I don't think I'd read it again.
Second person narrative - very difficult to sort out. I don't know how this reads in Korean - if this is as awkward in Korean as in English. I imagine it's meant to be intimate and even confrontational, but at times I found it distracting.
Characters - I could relate to all of the characters. I saw some comments where readers felt they were being beaten over the head with guilt but I thought everyone's actions and reactions were reasonable, if imperfect.
The book is overall very moving, particularly the mother's narrative. It's a very slow and quiet book and pleasant enough to read while I was reading it, but I don't think I'd read it again.
Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com/2012/07/please-look-after-mom.html
Please Look After Mom is a book translated from Korean. Kyung-sook Shin is an acclaimed South Korean author, and this is her first book that has been translated into English.
It is the story of a family. Rather, it is the reflections of one family. The premise is simple - Mom is missing. She went missing at a subway station when Father let go of her hand and lost sight of her. She is elderly and ill. The family is looking frantically for her, but she is nowhere to be found.
Who is the family? It is Father and the three children. The book is in four parts and presents reflections on the life of the family over the years from different perspectives. The elder daughter, the only son, the father/husband, and finally Mom herself mixed in with glimpses of the younger daughter who is herself a mother.
The complexities of the relationships explored and the emotions felt are beautifully expressed in this book. Essentially, it is a book of regrets. Things that should have been done and said. Actions and people or really the person who should never have been taken for granted. Expressed in a cliche, this book is all about the fact that "you don't know what you've got until it's gone." Expressed in a song lyric, this book would be about the fact that "I just wish I could have told him [her] in the living years."
I absolutely loved this book and walked away to call the people in my life and let them know my love and appreciation for them. What a wonderful debut translation of this author's. I hope we are fortunate enough to read more.
Please Look After Mom is a book translated from Korean. Kyung-sook Shin is an acclaimed South Korean author, and this is her first book that has been translated into English.
It is the story of a family. Rather, it is the reflections of one family. The premise is simple - Mom is missing. She went missing at a subway station when Father let go of her hand and lost sight of her. She is elderly and ill. The family is looking frantically for her, but she is nowhere to be found.
Who is the family? It is Father and the three children. The book is in four parts and presents reflections on the life of the family over the years from different perspectives. The elder daughter, the only son, the father/husband, and finally Mom herself mixed in with glimpses of the younger daughter who is herself a mother.
The complexities of the relationships explored and the emotions felt are beautifully expressed in this book. Essentially, it is a book of regrets. Things that should have been done and said. Actions and people or really the person who should never have been taken for granted. Expressed in a cliche, this book is all about the fact that "you don't know what you've got until it's gone." Expressed in a song lyric, this book would be about the fact that "I just wish I could have told him [her] in the living years."
I absolutely loved this book and walked away to call the people in my life and let them know my love and appreciation for them. What a wonderful debut translation of this author's. I hope we are fortunate enough to read more.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I CRIED
I had mixed feelings about this novel. It is a story about the life of an elderly woman who gets lost at a train station. The story is told from the perspective of various family members (daughter, son, father), and eventually from the woman's own perspective. I found the first half of the novel pretty hard to get through - the daughter and son's recollection of their mom felt scattered/bare/surface-level and it took me a while to get used to the writing (which was in third-person). This was likely Shin's intention, but I was not able to fully appreciate it.
Once the novel turned towards the perspective of the husband, I was more interested. There were layers of self-reflection involving the mistreatment, ignorance, and selfishness that he admits was representative of his relationship to his wife. I was moved by his realization of all that his wife truly did for him and sacrificed for him - it was almost a moment of redemption for his unlikable character. When the novel turned to the perspective of the woman herself, my attention peaked. Shin did a great job of adding complexity to her character as we delved into a mother's favoritism, secret relationships, and the reflections and interpretations of the hardships that she faced throughout her life. It was interesting to see how the woman's own perspective on her hardships differed from the interpretations of her family members.
I would recommend the novel with the caveat that it didn't knock me off my feet. It does provoke reflection about my own family dynamics and the fact that I know little about my mom.
Once the novel turned towards the perspective of the husband, I was more interested. There were layers of self-reflection involving the mistreatment, ignorance, and selfishness that he admits was representative of his relationship to his wife. I was moved by his realization of all that his wife truly did for him and sacrificed for him - it was almost a moment of redemption for his unlikable character. When the novel turned to the perspective of the woman herself, my attention peaked. Shin did a great job of adding complexity to her character as we delved into a mother's favoritism, secret relationships, and the reflections and interpretations of the hardships that she faced throughout her life. It was interesting to see how the woman's own perspective on her hardships differed from the interpretations of her family members.
I would recommend the novel with the caveat that it didn't knock me off my feet. It does provoke reflection about my own family dynamics and the fact that I know little about my mom.
I really enjoyed Kyung-Soon Shin's novel about a family that loses its matriarch. The glimpse of contemporary life in South Korea was fascinating, and the characters were full, complex, and interesting. I can't wait to discuss this with my book club!
medium-paced