Please Look After Mother by Kyung-sook Shin

Please Look After Mother

 This book was originally written in Korean by popular author, Kyung-sook Shin. When this book first came out, it became best-seller for a year (or even more than that) and still this book recognized as her master piece. I didn't read the Korean book yet, but I can sure that translation was good enough. Although English couldn't express certain dialect of Korean, but I think the translation is successful. (It's quiet interesting to compare original one and translated one)

1. The book is about finding missing mother in different perspective. The point of views are keep changing; first daughter to first son (older brother), husband, and finally mother herself as a bird. The interesting thing is, it is written in your view, means narrator describes the scenes and "you"(reader) became the daughter, son, husband, and mother. I like the kind of books that using the change of perspective, and it is not usual. I didn't know this book was like this, and it was so glad to meet the second chapter as in son's view.
 Different narrators show the reader various aspects or descriptions in one story. Sometimes it comes annoying or messy, but if author have ability to handle this, the story become more interesting and plentiful. And I'm sure Shin is one of the few authors who can use the change of view in perfect place for perfect time.

2. Mother. In Korea, mothers used to be very dedicated to family before because of the  patriarchal aspects. Well, not only in Korea but also in most of other cultures, mother is the one who always look for the sake of family. They feed their kids and husband, raise and teach the kids, do the house works, some of them even have their own job. I can feel mother's touch everywhere in my house, clothes, bed, or kitchen.
 However, since mother become to recognize as a word of dedication and willingness, many people forget to thank for their mother these days. People accept mum's devotion as natural thing. I, myself, forget how much mum does for me and my family sometimes. But there are no certain rule or law that makes mum the one who do all the things for you. It is never allowed to say do your favour "because you are mum". It is so simple and obvious thing, but everybody forget this.
 I guess this is what Shin wanted to point out from this book. Mum has done everything behind your back, but you never notice it. Only after she disappeared, you feel the emptiness and everything is messed up.

3. Sometimes, not only mum, but people also forget the importance of lots of things that are always with them. And we never notice it before we lost it. Humans are so stupid and selfish sometimes.

4. Readers couldn't know what happen to mother until they reach the final chapter, the mother's point of view. Because she looks down her house and daughters, so we can guess she passed away, but I didn't expect that she became the bird. After she lived where she used to be, she came back anyway and tries to look after her families.
 In many literature, bird symbolizes the freedom. Maybe mum finally became free from her burden physically, but her mind is still remaining on the surface of the earth.

5. Mum, grandmother, grand-grand mother, and so on... Every mother is daughter of their mother at the same time being their daughter's mother. There is one popular phrase in Korea, "You can only understand your parents after you become them" I wish I can look after my mum now and think about her before she leaved me and I lost my chance.

Kitchen by Yoshimoto Banana

 Kitchen
 Yoshimoto Banana. I heard her name many times and my Japanese teacher asked me that had you read any of her works before. Her name, Banana, was dragged my interests, so I came to read the "Kitchen" in our school library. As like her name, the novel was soft and sweet.

1. Juxtaposition in characters
 The name of book is "Kitchen" but it includes two stories, 'kitchen' and 'moonlight shadow'. The interesting thing is that these are two totally different stories but they have some similar points. First, main character of both stories are the woman who lost their lovers. In 'kitchen', Mikage lost her grandmother at the beginning and Satsuki from 'moonlight shadow' lost her boyfriend Hitoshi by car accident. Both of them suffered with great pain.
 Also main male character lost their lover too. In 'kitchen', Yuichi's mother, who had been his father once a while, was killed by customer, and Hirragi, the brother of Hitoshi, also lost her girlfriend and his brother at the same time. So all characters from this novel stuck in sorrow mood and terribly suffered. However, in each story heroine and male character helps to save each other. Mikage and Yuichi shared memories with Mikage's grandmother and Yuichi's mother, Eriko. Every time they missed the time with grandmother and Eriko, they depend on each other and get hopeful feeling back. Also Satsuki and Hitoshi shared their lovers memories too.
 Additionally, the most interesting character to me is the Eriko. After her(his) wife dead by cancer, she decided to live like woman and after a long time she killed by the man in her shop. She missed her wife so much, that she also reminded me Hirragi from 'moonlight shadow', who dressed up her dead girlfriend's school uniform everyday.

2. Juxtaposition in events
 Mikage ate Gatsudon in diner in the hotel. Satsuki ate tempura in another(or maybe same) diner with Hirragi. Both foods looks like be made by special skills and nicely prepared, and helps two heroines took rid of their pain.
 In many Japanese art works, they leave the important meaning on food. They believe the food made out from heart (?) delivers deep happiness and impression to one who eat it. I think that's true, and with that crispy foods, Mikage and Satsuki could forget their sorrow for a while.

3. Mystery
 I felt like that whole stories in this book used mysterious and beautiful mood. The things that usually can't happen or can't be believed appears in the story, for example, Mikage and Yuichi dreamed same thing once and Mikage decided to visit Yuichi in the midnight, even they were in far distance. Mikage also took risk of sneaking in hotel and crossing over the roof to meet Yuchi, who she didn't sure she loves him or not right before.
 In 'moonlight shadow', the more mysterious events happened. Urara, the super-mysterious women met Satsuki and Urara looked like she understood what Satsuki had been through and what she felt now. Also thanks to Urara, Satsuki could meet Hitoshi again and say good bye, and at the same time, Hirragi met her girlfriend again for short time too. Totally unbelievable and fictional, but I like the way it is. I think most readers feel same with me, whether it is true or not is not important, it is fiction anyway. The events make the story beautiful and that's enough.

4. However...
 The story was soft and dreamy, and even though it was English translation, I can feel the beauty of vocabularies and expressions that writers chose. However, I think the power of the message is little weak. And I realize some of other Japanese film or novels feel like the same way too. They are beautiful work and warmhearted, but because of some reason, the stories are weak. I don't mean to say badly about Japanese work, but it just feel like they depends on beauty too much sometimes. Maybe I'm still young to understand this novel fully yet. But it will be better to develop how they feel in mind deeply, or how they overcome their pain and how they feel afterward, - the ending of 'kitchen' was , kind of, so sudden - or how the food give effect on them more. I don't know, maybe I expect too much about the food before I read this novel - it's because of the title, but I'm little confused while I was reading the book.
 Anyway, it was sweet novel and it was the first time to read Japanese novel in English, and it was like really impressive experience. Maybe I try another work of Banana later.