Please Look After Mother cover art

Please Look After Mother

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Please Look After Mother

By: Kyung-Sook Shin
Narrated by: Bruce Turk, Janet Song, Mark Bramhall, Samantha Quan
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About this listen

Winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize, 2012.

When 69-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 Mother?

Told through the piercing voices and urgent perspectives of a daughter, son, husband and mother, Please Look After Mother is at once an authentic picture of contemporary life in Korea and a universal story of family love.

With an introduction by Banana Yoshimoto

A W&N Essential

©2011 Kyung-Sook Shin (P)2022 Orion Publishing Group Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction

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Critic reviews

"Kyung-Sook Shin's tale...has hit a nerve." (Guardian)

"A raw tribute to the mysteries of motherhood." (New York Times Book Review)

"The most moving and accomplished, and often startling, novel." (Wall Street Journal)
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I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’m so glad I took the chance. Life gets so busy and we can all fall into a trap of taking loved ones for granted. Don’t wait until tomorrow, hug them, call them, go see them.

Harrowing but relatable

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I really enjoyed this book. I wasn’t sure if I would as it seemed complicated at first but the story is wonderful and sad at the same time. It follows the families journey. It will make you think about your own relationship with family.

Thought provoking

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Loved the book. The audio helped distinguish the different character’s point of view. The description of how mum was, and how strong she is, is truly breathtaking.

Heart strings :)

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Wonderful story and beautifully told. Honest and sensitive insights around the neglect of a selfless woman.

Beautiful book

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Such a sad story of regrets and the pain of loss. The woman who became a wife, mother, and sister in law who was not fully seen or heard by those closest to her. It was really interesting to hear how strong and insightful she was and she endured so many trials.

A powerful story told from 4 perspectives. The author used a writing style that was new to me but once I got used to it I felt it fitted the story being shared. I look forward to reading other books by this author.
The narrators were able to bring out the voices of those they represented which was not easy and they also had to adopt different genders and ages at times.

A story of the unsaid

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No real story unfortunately. I understood the premise of the story but it just didn't move along for me.

laborious

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