Please Look After Mom (Kyung-Sook Shin)

A look at contrasting values and cultural divides, Please Look After Mom is a look at not just the role of a mother but at generation, cultural and value gaps. The story centres on Park So-nyo, an elderly woman who is separated from her husband at the subway station when they both go to Seoul to visit their children. A search ensues and during that search each member looks into his or her own conscience to revisit how Park has been treated by each one of them.

Often accused of descending into maudlin sentimentality, the book is nevertheless takes a good look at the changing values of the current generation, not to mention the staleness and inherent quiet cruelty of the earlier values: the former being represented through her neglectful children and the latter through her unfaithful husband. The book is divided into four major sections, each concerned with one character. As each character reminisces about Park, we see a woman who has had it tough since she turned 17 and continued that way for the next 50 years. But we also see a woman of quiet strength who does what she believes in but also compromises for the sake of her family.

S.H. Lee

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