Book 14 toppled – a story of friendships, love and secrets

One of the types of books I get from my monthly used book subscription is literary fiction. It’s a type of writing which can be variable and not all is to my taste but I often find that the novel itself can be very different from its description and the praise which adorns the covers – this means that you really have to try it and see what you think. The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim has been hanging around on my to-be-read piles for ages because I thought that I wouldn’t enjoy reading yet another tragic story about the immigrant experience and racism. I am so glad, however, that I decided to tackle it as part of this challenge because it was an unexpected gem.

Margot Lee travels to Los Angeles to see her mother, Mina, but finds her dead in her home. The verdict of the police is that it is an accident but Margot is less sure, especially when she finds out that there has been arguing heard from the apartment on the night of her mother’s death. Margot and Mina never seemed to be able to communicate, Mina refused to speak English and her daughter is not fluent in Korean. Margot was ashamed of her mother’s poverty and moved away so that she wouldn’t be associated with the Korean immigrant community. As she lives in her mother’s home and researches the last days of her life she comes to understand her mother better and to realise how much of the past has been hidden from her.

The author tells this story by interspersing the chapters showing Margot’s quest to find the truth with the story of Mina’s life since she came to America. It’s cleverly done because quite often the reader is aware of things which Margot doesn’t know and can watch her jump to the wrong conclusion and find out things for herself.

Margot is stubborn and not terribly likeable at the start of the book, although she becomes more sympathetic as the story progresses. Mina is equally as stubborn and she makes decisions about what to do with information she has that the reader may not always agree with, even though we understand why she does what she does. This is a story about the immigrant experience, and racism, and the author is clear about how vulnerable Mina is. It certainly isn’t all tragic, however, and the love story is very poignant. This is a book about decisions, relationships, friendships and the ways that we show love. I found the ending very moving and certainly not what I had anticipated.

So, there is a lesson for me not to make assumptions about whether or not I will enjoy a book from the blurb and the cover – I really should know that already. I y enjoyed this story a lot. The copy I have is in excellent condition so I shall pass it to the Oxfam bookshop to resell.