I really enjoyed reading The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim. It's a touching and suspenseful novel about a mother and daughter who are both immigrants from Korea. The story alternates between the past and the present, revealing the secrets and struggles of Mina Lee and her daughter Margot. The book explores themes of identity, family, culture, and grief with sensitivity and grace. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery and a moving family drama.

This is a moving account of the immigration experience
There are dual timelines
The mystery element of the story was poor. The ending was very moving though

I just finished this book and it left me (unfortunately) rather depressed and unsatisfied.
The book tells the story of a Korean woman (Mina Lee) who arrives in the US, with a plan to stay as an undocumented immigrant to start over with life. Here’s the first problem I had with this book — while there are a lot of reasons to immigrate to another country, I never quite understood her own reasons. Perhaps it was the prospect of a better life, but due to the depressing voice of this character, I never for one second believed she was happy to have left, nor found what she was looking for.
I generally found the relationship between the different characters often off, especially the mother-daughter relationship. Even after the death of the mother, it was missing the full-circle moment that would’ve rounded up the story. I couldn’t help but feel that due to miscommunication and bad choices that were made, it left little room to empathise with any character.
The book touches on several historically significant events both in Korea and the US, such as the divide of Korea or the LA riots. While some of these events were properly explored in their grief, it was often still missing the necessary emotional depth to connect with the story. Perhaps it was the author’s intention to spotlight exactly this theme — falling short of reaching the American Dream and feeling lonely. However it failed to explore the shimmers of hope that would’ve brought in life to the story, instead introducing new unnecessary storylines that added even more unsatisfying endings.
Nonetheless, the book kept me intrigued at all times and it was refreshing to read a story that tries to depict poverty and social struggles as an ethnic minority in a raw way.

I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this, but it ended up being a really beautiful tale of the bond between mothers and daughters, and the resilience of love even through physical distance and withheld secrets. The pacing of this in the beginning was great, as Mina's journey as an immigrant moving from Korea to America is paralleled by her daughter's journey back to her childhood city of LA after not being able to get in contact with her mother. I enjoyed the mystery element behind Margot's discovery of her mother's secrets, and learning about who her mother was when not solely being a maternal figure in the eyes of her daughter, but I found the actual twist towards the end to fall quite flat for me, and I almost didn't need to know that there was a reason behind Mina's death, as that didn't feel like the most important part of the story.

The book is dual narrative, spanning 1987-2014, and told from the perspective of both Mina Lee and Margot, her daughter. The story starts with Mina Lee, not returning Margot’s calls - which is strange. Unfortunately, when Margot finally pays her a visit, her mum has been dead for several days. If you are squeamish or have recently lost a relative, this book might not be for you. The scene when 23yr old Margot finds her mother’s body, is very descriptive and, of course, upsetting.

Nevertheless, I never quite warmed to Margot, which made reading feel a bit laborious. I thought she was horrid to her mum, but it’s an interesting (and real) insight into how the desire to assimilate into American society can make you resent the life, culture and family you’ve been born into. Margot, as a child, detests that they are so poor, hates the food they eat and begrudges her mum for making her help at the kiosk - in turn, she blames her mum and, when given the chance, leaves L.A and never looks back.

The discovery of Mina’s body and the suspicious circumstances surrounding her death, sends Margot digging through her mother’s 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 her. As the story progresses Margot comes to understand her mother much more and in many ways herself. I only wish it didn’t feel so repetitive and meandering. While the reluctance the police have in investigating the circumstances of her mother's death is jarring (and heartbreaking), the mystery itself isn't overly compelling, it's all very drawn out and anti-climatic.

However, 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. There is a lot to be said about this title’s depiction of displacement in LA - particularly for first and second generation immigrants. The fact that Koreans in KOREAtown are being relocated due to the area’s gentrification, goes to show what a con the American dream is - elite capitalism is propped by the work of hardworking immigrants forced to take low-wage jobs with no social security.

While, it was eye-opening to experience the effects of second and first generation immigration through severe alienation and societal disregard, I just didn’t connect with this book the way I anticipated. Something was lacking in the prose and I felt the plot was clunky and lacking in any real pace.

I received an E-Copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

THE LAST STORY OF MINA LEE tells a heart-wrenching dual timeline story of a mother and a daughter finding their place within the world. It not only shows us the life of Mina, and her constant attempts to find herself and create a life in a foreign country whilst deep during the midst of grief.

But it also takes us forward to the aftermath with Mina’s daughter Margot and her experience with grief after losing her mother not only suddenly but also unexpectedly. We are transported back and forth as each woman is attempting to come to terms with the new lives they are faced with and their struggles with adapting to this change.

The story is beautifully written, one which I was able to take my time reading, it was a slow read for me, but one I cherished all the same.

I have always found stories surrounding North Korea interesting and this was no exception. Not dissimilar to the exploration of immigration and the impact this has on ones relationship with their changing culture as discussed in Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. Highly recommend for the beautiful writing and moving plot.

An interesting, well researched story. The characters were interesting, the storyline flowed well...all in all it was an enjoyable read.

A great first read of 2021. I found it easy to get into it as it was very well researched and I found myself unable to put it down. I was still reading at 3am

I received a copy of this book to review from Netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity.
A fascinating and in depth picture of family, love and immigration. This book is multi faceted and very well writing. I enjoyed the dual narrative and being able to see both perspectives. I felt I could sympathise with both, being an immigrant. These stories need to be told and it was a pleasure to read this one.

3.5 Stars.

I have a feeling I would have liked this story more if we saw more of the mother daughter relationship rather than being told it was strained. Overall, I'm glad I got the chance to read this one, but it won't have a lasting impact on me.

This was a lovely story with interesting characters who grew throughout the book. An honest take on life as an immigrant over different generations and the difficulty and affect this has on key relationships. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

If the cover of this book isn’t enough to entice you then the story definitely will be. Exploring the complicated relationship between mother and daughter, the novel weaves through time, with chapters in the present from Margot (the daughter), and then reaches into the past with chapters from Mina’s (the mother) perspective. Gradually piecing together a heartbreaking tale and devastating realities of being an immigrant in America. As Margot searches for the truth of what happened to Mina as a Korean War-orphan & undocumented immigrant, she discovers a hidden past and depth of reality that will change her outlook on life.

Exploring identity, love, family relationships, hidden secrets, and much more. It is a powerful and moving story that shows the ways in which love, whether between mother & child, friends, or lovers, is a force beyond imagination.

Emotionally gripping story of loss and belonging seen through the eyes of a Korean mother and daughter struggling to survive and find their place in American culture that both dazzles and alienates.

Thanks to Headline and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book tells the story of Mina, a South Korean immigrant to the United States and her daughter Margot. The story is told from two different viewpoints, Mina in the past and Margot in the present day. The story chronicles Mina’s life as an immigrant and Margot’s journey to find out the cause of her mother’s unexpected death.

Mina’s story is definitely the stronger of the two, but I enjoyed Margot’s too. The narrative explores the dark side of the American dream and the challenges faced by undocumented immigrants and the Korean diaspora in the United States which makes for some tough reading at some points. The novel also delves into the enduring effects of past trauma, grief and loss and was often desperately sad.

Running through the narrative is also Margot’s attempt to solve the mystery of her mother’s death which added a kind of whodunnit element. I’m not sure how well this was achieved as it felt a little incongruous and unnecessary and I don’t think it added anything to the story.

It’s not all doom and gloom though, I promise. The descriptions of food and the centrality of Korean cuisine to the lives of the characters was written in an incredibly mouth-watering and evocative way. You WILL be hungry after reading this book. I also really liked the friendship between Mina and Mrs Baek and the bittersweet love story which ran through Mina’s story.

There were a lot of different issues explored in this book, but it didn’t feel shoehorned which stands as a testament to the quality of the writing. It could probably have done without the mystery element, but it didn’t detract anything from my overall enjoyment of the book.

I want to say that it's not the book, it must be me. I was really looking forward to reading The Last Story of Mina Lee; I'd heard great things about it. My apologies because it just didn't do it for me. I spent so long Googling Korean foods mentioned that I kept losing track of the story. Why no helpful translation at the end? For me, it felt like all that happened is they ate a lot, (at times I thought I was reading a Korean cook book) and worried a lot. I didn't buy into the idea that Mina and Margot couldn't communicate because if Mina only spoke to Margot in Korean, then Margot should have had an understanding of the language. It just felt very slow, with a great deal of food and not a lot of action. I didn't engage with any of the characters and so wasn't invested in the outcome. But again, I reiterate I have seen more people loving this book than not, so it's not you - it's me. Sorry.

When Margot Lee’s mother, Mina Lee, stops responding to her calls, Margo flies from Seattle to her home in Koreatown, LA, where she finds her mother dead. What follows is an intertwined narrative between a mother and daughter. Mina, 1987, has just arrived in the US and is working in a grocery store where she meets Mr Kim. Margot, 2014, is trying to grapple with the shock and mystery surrounding her mother’s death.
To say this is Nancy Jooyoun Kim’s debut novel, I am blown away! The style is that of a seasoned writer; her descriptions of mouth-watering Korean foods, and observations on family and culture, are the standout features of this book for me. Multicultural and multigenerational books are among my favourite themes to read about, and I was pulled into the story early on.
I found that I was more moved by Mina’s story and looked forward to reading her chapters. For most of the book, I found Margot very unlikable and could not understand her animosity towards her own mother. I also thought that Margot’s side of the story could have been developed more (I would have loved to have seen more of her with Officer Choi or some other positive aspect to Margot’s story), as I found Mina’s story had much more depth to it. Towards the end of the book, I warmed to Margot’s character and was surprised by the ending (like the addition of a bow around an already lovely present).

This was so sad, wow my heart is a little bit broken right now. It tells the story of both Mina and Margot Lee, a mother daughter pair who have a strained relationship. Mina's story of arriving in L.A. is intense as she struggles to find a place to live and a job, eventually finding her way at a supermarket where she befriends Mr Kim. In the present, Margot lives in Seattle, but turns up in L.A. to find her mother dead.

This is such a complicated story. Mina's life is so complicated, with her strange romantic relationship with Mr Kim, becoming a single parent, her grief over her dead family back in Korea. Her death is suspicious to Margot so she starts investigating herself after getting no help from the police. Her investigations give her insight into her mothers life that she never had an incline about before, and connects with her more than she ever did when Mina was alive.

This is a wonderfully diverse book with Korean and Latinx characters that you can really empathise with. I did forsee the ending, but it didn't really take away from the story. Also - men are awful, but this one in particular has a very satisfying end.

Took too long for me to fully immerse myself in the story. I did not feel an instant connection to the plot or characters and for that reason I could not read past the first few pages.

I had seen this book being talked about on Book Twitter so was eager to dive in when I received the ARC. As much as I did like parts of this book, I was overall a little disappointed.

I must say that I did enjoy the depiction of the ‘American Dream’ in the book. The Last Story of Mina Lee really captures the reality of the American Dream as elusive and often unattainable. The struggles and fears of those left in the dust by this dream are well-depicted and really highlights the life of the people who have moved to America and have not yet (or ever will) found a new, golden life.

The theme of food as a safe and warm reminder of home, even when one is escaping from said home, was also interesting. Food was also depicted as a comfort and a safety net in the novel; when the characters were sated, so too was the narrative. The novel was most alive, friendliest and vibrant when characters were eating. Kim’s description of banchan…grilled gulbi…kkakdugi etc. was impeccably described and tinged the character’s POV with warmth.

However, I felt that the end was too neat and clinical; everything was explained, concluded, tied up in a pretty bow and it felt disingenuous to the rest of the novel which was practical, and honest. The reveal of ‘who-dunnit’ was unexpected but the fallout was underwhelming. During the entire reveal I was thinking to myself that the reaction of the characters was strange and didn’t sit right with me.

Additionally, I didn’t like the character of Margot. I get that she was struggling between identities and culture (and I liked that nuance) but she has almost no redeeming features or story-points. Her mother Mina’s chapters were a lot more interesting and human but I feel like these chapters could have had *something* happy or life-affirming occur; it is inundated with suffering and almost chokes the reader with it. Yes, Mina’s life as an undocumented immigrant was difficult but she did have a daughter, and a lover, and friends. An occasional break from anguish is necessary to give the reader a chance to breathe and in this occasion, to wish even more so for Mina to succeed in this new country. Every new hurdle and barrier towards Mina’s dream was therefore expected and did not have much emotional impact as we were already braced for it.