Please Look After Mother

The million copy Korean bestseller

WINNER OF THE MAN ASIAN LITERARY PRIZE

'An authentic, moving story that brings to vivid life the deep family connections that lie at the core of Korean culture'
Gary Shteyngart

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

'A raw tribute to the mysteries of motherhood'
New York Times

'The most moving and accomplished, and often startling, novel'
Wall Street Journal

When sixty-nine-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

Reseñas de la Crítica

A moving Korean novel questions the reliability of memory

Kyung-Sook Shin's tale... has hit a nerve'

shin's prose, intimate, and hauntingly spare, powerfully conveys grief's bewildering immediately . . . A raw tribute to the mysteries of motherhood

A moving portrayal of the surprising nature, sudden sacrifices, and secret reveries of motherhood

The most moving and accomplished, and often startling, novel in translation I've read in many seasons ... Every sentence is saturated in detail ... It tells an almost unbearably affecting story of remorse and belated wisdom that reminds us how globalism-at the human level-can tear souls apart and leave them uncertain of where to turn

A captivating story, written with an understanding of the shortcomings of traditional ways of modern life. It is nostalgic but unsentimental, brutally well observed and, in this flawlessly smooth translation by Chi-Young Kim, it offers a sobering account of a vanished past. ... We must hope there will be more translations to follow

An extraodinary novel about regret and our relations with those we love

Affecting . . . Poignant and psychologically revealing . . . Readers should find resonance in this family story, a runaway bestseller poised for a similar run here

Kyung-Sook Shin's tale of an elderly woman who goes missing on the Seoul underground has hit a nerve

Please Look After Mother made me want to phone my mum

The Universal Guilt of Neglecting Those We Love

Please Look After Mom by Shin Kyung-sook is a beautiful and deeply emotional novel. The story begins when Park So-nyo, an elderly woman in poor health, goes missing in a crowded Seoul subway station. As her family searches for her, the story is told from their different perspectives, uncovering the pain of losing someone before truly appreciating them and revealing the hidden life of a mother who quietly carried her family’s burdens.

The book explores themes of regret, love, and sacrifice, capturing the universal guilt of feeling we can never fully repay what our mothers do for us. It also highlights the devastating consequences of neglecting those we love, showing how easy it is to take a mother’s sacrifices for granted until it’s too late. Park So-nyo, who started as a flawed young girl marrying a man who tried to steal her bicycle, becomes a larger-than-life figure through her selfless motherhood. Her sacrifices, struggles, and resilience are both heartbreaking and inspiring.

Two of the most striking questions from the book linger in the reader’s mind: “Do you know what happens to all the things we did together in the past?” and “Wouldn’t they have seeped into the present, not disappeared?” These lines beautifully capture the novel’s reflection on memory, the enduring impact of shared experiences, and the universal experience of losing someone before fully understanding or appreciating them. They remind us that the love and sacrifices of a mother never truly fade but shape us in profound ways.

Shin also reflects on the later stages of life, the loneliness of a mother’s unacknowledged needs, and the horror of her disappearance without closure. The family’s realization of how much they overlooked her is poignant and relatable.

Through simple yet moving prose, Please Look After Mom offers a powerful portrait of a Korean mother’s life. It’s a touching reminder to value and understand loved ones while they’re still with us. A must-read for anyone who has ever reflected on the sacrifices and love of a parent. 5/5 stars.

Struggled to finish

A book club read, and I found it a bit dull and struggled to finish. I think the main message was about taking time to appreciate the people in your life while you can, a worthy message. And I did find a book set in Korea had some interest, but otherwise the book was not for me.