Nancy Jooyoun Kim

A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'I loved this book so much' REESE WITHERSPOON 'Suspenseful and deeply felt...raises questions about the reality of the American dream and illuminates stories that often go untold, in life as well as fiction' CHLOE BENJAMIN Reminiscent of Celeste Ng's page-turning meditations on identity, this searing mother-daughter story explores the diverse and unsettling realities of being an immigrant in America. Margot Lee's mother is ignoring her calls. Margot cannot understand why, until she makes a surprise trip home to Koreatown, LA. What she finds there makes her realise how little she knows about her mother, Mina. Thirty years earlier, Mina Lee steps off a plane to take a chance on a new life in America. Stacking shelves at a Korean grocery store, the last thing she expects is to fall in love. But that moment will have shattering consequences for Mina, and everything she left behind in Seoul. Through the intimate lens of a mother and daughter who have struggled all their lives to understand each other, Margot and Mina's story unravels the unspoken secrets that can drive two people apart - or perhaps bind them closer together. --- 'Painful, joyous... A story that cries out to be told' LA TIMES 'Carefully illuminates the two sides of the silence between a Korean immigrant mother and her Korean American daughter, a silence only too familiar to many of us - and emerges with a stunningly powerful and original novel' ALEXANDER CHEE 'A timely, important novel... Fans of Celeste Ng won't be able to put down this heartfelt, cross-generational novel about the powerful bond and fragility of family and what it really means to strive for the "American dream"' POPSUGAR --- Readers fell in love with Margot and Mina... 'Beautifully rendered. Achingly sweet. Enjoyable story with wonderfully realistic characters that you want to follow' 'An emotionally gripping story of loss and belonging' 'I LOVED THIS BOOK' 'This book is filled with wonderful characters, a story to please and mouth-watering Korean food' 'It speaks to all women who have been marginalized by their families or society at large'

the Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick

The Last Story of Mina Lee

Amelia

The waitress returned to the table with a platter full of raw meat-the marinated short ribs and porkto grill. Soy sauce and sugar, ginger and garlic caramelized, dripping fat into the fire. With an intense feeling of gratitude, Margot moved the galbi and slices of pork belly to keep them from sticking to the grill. How joyful, how abundant life could sometimes be—despite the disappointments, the tragedy. Every meal, even a somber one like this, was a celebration of what we had left, what remained on this earth to taste and feel and see.

cee 

Did stories keep us alive? Or kill us with false expectations? 

Something about this country made it easy to forget we needed each other.

The Last Story of Mina Lee quotes

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