The Last Story of Mina Lee: the Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick

Description

A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'I loved this book so much' REESE WITHERSPOON --- In 1987, Mina Lee flies from Seoul to Los Angeles to start a new life. Thirty years later, Margot Lee speaks to her mother for the last time. Between these two moments extends a lifetime of secrets. These are stories of unexpected loves and devastating losses. Of choices made and those left behind. Of a mother and daughter who have always struggled to understand each other. These are stories waiting to be told, before it's too late. 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. --- 'Suspenseful and deeply felt... raises questions about the reality of the American dream and illuminates stories that often go untold' CHLOE BENJAMIN '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'

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Nancy Jooyoun Kim is a graduate of UCLA and the University of Washington, Seattle. Her essays and short fiction have appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Guernica, NPR/PRI's Selected Shorts, The Rumpus, Electric Literature, Asian American Writers' Workshop's The Margins, The Offing and elsewhere.

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 A stunningly powerful and original novel about social class, immigration and family -- Alexander Chee A beautiful debut novel that is unafraid to delve into the scary, deeply vulnerable places of our hearts -- Kristen Arnett Haunting and heartbreaking, troubled threads between a mother and daughter blend together in a delicate and rich weave * Booklist, STARRED review *