PLEASE LOOK AFTER MOM

When their elderly mother goes missing at the train station in Seoul, her concerned family mounts an intensive effort to locate her. As they reminisce about her, they discover that many of their perceptions of her have been mistaken. The story is told from the introspective points of view of her family members. The four narrators inhabit the roles of the daughter, son, husband, and mother. They all capture the individual qualities of each character, in particular, the husband’s thoughtlessness and the daughter’s tempestuousness. The pacing of all the narrators is appropriately slow and thoughtful, reflecting the inner experiences of each character who is coping with Mom's disappearance. Korean writer Shin, long considered the voice of her generation, has vaulted to international renown with this novel. S.E.G. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2011]