Death and Literacy

I just finished reading Please Look After Mom by Shin Kyung-Sook. It's one of a few Korean books that I've read that's been translated from Korean into English. I think I've actually read more books in Korean. This one was conveniently available to me at the local library and after reading this racist review, I had to check it out for myself. I tried to get a Korean version of it in Garden Grove this past weekend but it was sold out!

The book was a quick weekend read. I did not find myself crying or feeling guilty about mistreating my mom. Rather, I found myself being drawn into the life of this woman who got lost in the city.

(spoiler alert)

I titled this post literacy and death because the two are intricately connected in this novel. It totally reminded me of The Reader, another book in which death and literacy are tied together. In both books, the illiterate person is ashamed of their illiteracy and goes to great lengths to hide this fact from those they love. In Please Look After Mom, the mom's illiteracy and lack of education contributes greatly to her getting lost and eventual death. Even the emotional distance between her and her eldest daughter can be attributed to her illiteracy, as the eldest daughter is a writer and assumes that her mom is not interested in any of her books, or supports her profession. Contrary, the reader discovers that the mom has had the daughter's book read to her. She was just too ashamed of her inability to read, to ask one of her four children to read it to her. The mother's husband was the only one who knew that she could not read... but he was too selfish before her death to think of reading to his wife.

Illiterate and suffering from the after effects of a stroke, the mom wanders the streets alone. She walks to her oldest son's past homes and workplaces but the children only hear about it several days after she wanders away. Through the eyes of her children, her husband, and through her own eyes, the readers gets a better glimpse of who this woman is, her motivation for living, and the events that shaped her being.

Filled with vivid descriptions, this book is a homage to all Korean mothers. Moms who sacrifice their entire lives for their children and don't even consider any other alternative. It gives a good kick in the ass to take a moment and express your love to your mom... before she is gone.

- Mary