How well do we truly know those we love?
Margot has never quite “gotten” her mother, Mina. Growing up she was always a little embarrassed of how hard her mother had to work to keep them afloat, she was embarrassed by their rundown apartment, and the fact she never really made an effort to learn much English.
Still, when her mother doesn’t answer her home or work phones for several days, Margot worries, and when she and a friend get to her apartment, they find Mina on the floor, dead, from an apparently accidental stumble.
Margot is devastated and wants to understand what happened to her mother, especially when she learns that Mina had been seeming sad lately. As she goes through her mother’s papers and possessions, she realizes there was so much about her mother she didn’t know, so much that made her who she was and shaped her relationship with Margot.
The book is narrated by Margot in the present as well as Mina, tracing the time period from when she arrived in the U.S. until just before her death.
I liked The Last Story of Mina Lee, particularly Margot’s discoveries about her mother. Margot herself isn’t the most sympathetic character, but you certainly understand her actions. Mina’s story was a sad one, but probably one which mirrored many immigrants’. Nancy Jooyoun Kim is definitely a talented storyteller and this is an impressive debut.
The “mystery” part of the plot didn’t really work for me. I found a lot of the connections to be coincidental and a little too unbelievable. Still, on the whole, it was a well-written and compelling book.
I was honored to be part of the blog tour for this book. NetGalley and Park Row Books provided me a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!
The Last Story of Mina Lee publishes 9/1!
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