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Please Look After Mother

The million copy Korean bestseller

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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

'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 Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction

Critic reviews

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
All stars
Most relevant
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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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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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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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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