Book Review: "The Last Story of Mina Lee" by Nancy Jooyoun Kim
“The Last Story of Mina Lee'“ by Nancy Jooyoun Kim
Synopsis: Margot Lee's mother, Mina, isn't returning her calls. It's a mystery to twenty-six-year-old Margot, until she visits her childhood apartment in Koreatown, LA, and finds that her mother has suspiciously died. The discovery sends Margot digging through the past, unraveling the tenuous invisible strings that held together her single mother's life as a Korean War orphan and an undocumented immigrant, only to realize how little she truly knew about her mother.
Interwoven with Margot's present-day search is Mina's story of her first year in Los Angeles as she navigates the promises and perils of the American myth of reinvention. While she's barely earning a living by stocking shelves at a Korean grocery store, the last thing Mina ever expects is to fall in love. But that love story sets in motion a series of events that have consequences for years to come, leading up to the truth of what happened the night of her death.
Rating (out of 5): 3.5
Review: I definitely enjoyed “Mina Lee” but found it had some deficits in plotting. The book begins with Margot on a roadtrip with her best friend Miguel, discovering her mother’s body in her apartment. She has died under somewhat suspicious circumstances, leaving Margot to discover what ended her life, and trying to piece together her past, of which she knows little.
The narrative then splits between Margot and Mina’s stories, more than 25 years apart. I admit I was much more compelled by Mina’s portion, and felt that the difference in voices failed to be clearly articulated. I quite enjoyed the bulk of the book, where the mystery regarding Mina’s death and her American past emerged. However, the last chapter spiraled with a great deal of loose threads, and those that were tied up seemed less than satisfying or even implausible.
I enjoyed the elements of this book that focused on Korean culture. I know embarrassingly little about Korea, and did a bit of Googling as I read to inform myself a tiny bit. I appreciated the effort taken in exploring a culture that is neglected in American literature, and did quite enjoy the experience of reading the book.
I will definitely read Kim’s next book, as I feel her writing has a great deal of promise.
TL;DR: A mixed-bag of a debut from a promising author. Starts slowly and ends abruptly with a flurry of information, but there are lovely moments.
If you liked this, try:
“Everything I Never Told You” by Celeste Ng (Bookshop | Kindle)
“The Middlesteins” by Jami Attenberg (Bookshop | Kindle)
“All Things Cease to Appear” by Elizabeth Brundage (Bookshop | Kindle)
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