Kyung-sook Shin: Background information when reading Please Look After Mom

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reading Guide |  Reviews |  Beyond the Book |  Read-Alikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

Please Look After Mom

A Novel

by Kyung-sook Shin

Please Look After Mom by Kyung-sook Shin X
Please Look After Mom by Kyung-sook Shin
  • Critics' Opinion:

    Readers' Opinion:

  • First Published:
    Apr 2011, 256 pages

    Paperback:
    Apr 2012, 288 pages

    Genres

  • Rate this book


Book Reviewed by:
Kim Kovacs
Buy This Book

About this Book

Kyung-sook Shin

This article relates to Please Look After Mom

Print Review

International bestselling author Kyung-sook Shin has garnered unprecedented levels of success for her novel, Please Look After Mom. Originally published in South Korea in 2008 and having sold over a million and a half copies, it is the first of her books to be translated into English and has been published in nineteen countries worldwide.

Kyung-sook Shin Born in 1963 in Jeolla Province in South Korea to a large family, Shin left home at age 16 to pursue an education in Seoul, as her parents were subsistence farmers and did not have the financial means to send her to high school. She attended the Seoul Institute of the Arts as a creative writing major, taking classes at night and working during the day, and in 1985 she published her first novella entitled Winter's Fable, which earned her the Munye Joongang Literary Newcomer's Prize.

However, Shin's work didn't receive public attention until 1993 when she published a short-story collection entitled Where the Harmonium Once Stood. It is considered a landmark book and a turning point in Korean literary style; before its publication, Korean literature was heavily charged with political themes, whereas Shin's book explored the depths of humanity.

According to Korean Modern Literature in Translation, "Her writing is characterized by a profound and unique point of view focusing on the human mind, featuring colorful prose utilizing symbolism and metaphor that captures the minute details of life's subtle trials and tribulations. Shin is also known for her expressive and heartfelt narrative style."

The following is a list of some of the awards Shin's books have won:

  • 1985 The Munye Joongang Literary Newcomer's Prize for Winter's Fable
  • 1993 The Hankuk Ilbo Literary Award for Where the Harmonium Once Stood
  • 1995 Hyundae Literary Award for Whenever I Take A Deep Breath
  • 1996 Manhae Literary Prize for A Lone Room
  • 1997 Dong-in Literary Award for When Will He Come
  • 2000 21st Century Literary Prize for The Place Where He Doesn't Know
  • 2001 Yi Sang Literary Prize for Buseok Temple
  • 2006 Oh Young-soo Literary Prize for Linden Tree in Front of the Castle Gate
  • 2009 Prix de l'Inaperçu for A Lone Room

Filed under Books and Authors

Article by Kim Kovacs

This "beyond the book article" relates to Please Look After Mom. It originally ran in May 2011 and has been updated for the April 2012 paperback edition. Go to magazine.

This review is available to non-members for a limited time. For full access become a member today.
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Become a Member

Join BookBrowse today to start discovering exceptional books!

Find out more


Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: The Postcard
    The Postcard
    by Anne Berest
    Anne Berest's The Postcard — with an elegant translation from the French by Tina Cover &...
  • Book Jacket
    Elektra
    by Jennifer Saint
    Few cultures in history mastered the art of tragedy quite like the ancient Greeks. And very few ...
  • Book Jacket: Salvage This World
    Salvage This World
    by Michael Farris Smith
    In the near-future universe of Michael Farris Smith's Salvage This World, life-threatening ...
  • Book Jacket: Where Coyotes Howl
    Where Coyotes Howl
    by Sandra Dallas
    Where Coyotes Howl may appear to be a classically conventional historical novel — a wide-eyed ...

Book Club Discussion

Book Jacket
The First Conspiracy
by Brad Meltzer & Josh Mensch
A remarkable and previously untold piece of American history—the secret plot to kill George Washington

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    The Little Italian Hotel
    by Phaedra Patrick

    Sunny, tender and brimming with charm, The Little Italian Hotel explores marriage, identity and reclaiming the present moment.

Win This Book
Win Girlfriend on Mars

30 Copies to Give Away!

A funny and poignant debut novel that skewers billionaire-funded space travel in a love story of interplanetary proportions.

Enter

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

Y S M Back A I'll S Y

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.