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ginger_cricket 's review for:

The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim
4.0

I don’t like reading tragic novels. So when I can’t put down a tragic novel, it says something. Specifically, it says that this was a very compelling story.

It felt like watching a horrible accident but not being able to turn away. The characters were so human – aka: flawed – and set into difficult but realistic situations. The two converging timelines was a wonderful way of telling the story. Hearing the two internal dialogs provided necessary context and mirrored the external limitations of Mina and Margot to communicate directly due to language constraints. It also assembled the puzzle at a quick pace and allowed for some interesting parallels between Mina and Margot's life.

Considering the themes and events of the book, it ended on an optimistic note. Not joyful, obviously, but optimistic.

After finishing the book, I continued to ponder the characters' decisions. The tone of the book left a lot of room for the reader to consider, which I appreciate.

One complaint:
SpoilerThe author never explains how Mina/Mr Kim would have made the arrangement to meet in Las Vegas when Margot was young, but have not been able to contact each other during or after the planned visit.