Kyung-sook Shin, the first woman to win the Man Asian Literary Prize,
shares her thoughts on mothers, daughters and the loneliness of modern life.

ISSUE: Summer 2012

DEPT: Plugged In

STORY: Carol Park

PHOTO: Lee Byungryul

When Kyung-sook Shin wrote Please Look After Mom, she never dreamt it would be translated into multiple languages that span 32 countries. Its tale of a daughter, son and husband looking for their beloved mother and wife has connected with millions, while also collecting critical acclaim and awards. In March, it won the Man Asian Literary Prize, bestowed on the best novel, either written or translated into English, by an Asian writer. Shin is the first woman and the first Korean to win the accolade. Born in 1963, Shin published her first work of fiction, Winter’s Fable, in 1985. Today, Shin is a prolific writer and is recognized as one of South Korea’s most widely read and honored novelists.

Audrey Magazine: Is your mother an important figure in your life?
Kyung-sook Shin: When I was 16, way before becoming a writer, I took a train in the countryside with my mom to go to school. There was a night train, and I saw my mom in front of me and I thought about her. And I said to myself, “One day I’m going to write a novel about moms and dedicate it to her.” I worked on the actual novel in 2007 and 2008, but the reality is that it was being written in my mind since I was 16.

AM: What is the story about?
KSS: The story is about the reality of our world today, and how we’ve left our mothers to live lonely lives. As the reader reads the story of the son, daughter and father searching for the mother, the reader is able to connect to something that is in them. Also, as they read the novel, it makes them think about their mothers, whom they may have forgotten.

AM: How has the response been to the book?
KSS: I was surprised to see that the international reaction was the same as that of Korean readers. What pleased me the most was when I heard from readers who didn’t have good relationships with their mothers, telling me they re-examined those relationships and about who their mothers are.

AM: There was some controversy about NPR’s broadcast of Maureen Corrigan’s review of your book, where she said readers would be “reaching for the cheap consolations of kimchi scented Kleenex fiction.” What do you think about the comment?
KSS: I think it’s just a cultural difference. Those tears are not only just from sadness but also from the cleansing and purification of your self and soul.

AM: Did you feel there was anything lost in the translation of the novel from Korean to English?
KSS:I was very satisfied with the translation. Throughout the process, the translator [Chi-Young Kim] and everyone worked closely together.What was lost was the mother’s regional way of speaking that, of course, could not be translated. Even for Koreans, the mother’s way of speaking is not a language people from Seoul speak, so it was not possible to be translated.

AM: In the story, the mother asks the daughter for a rosary. Was there a specific reason?
KSS: The rosary symbolizes the mom’s prayer and peace; she was wishing for peace and consolation for other people. All of us forget the fact that our moms are also human beings, and they also need moms, too. They were not always mothers.

AM: What’s the universal thread or message of the novel?
KSS:If you look at the very beginning of the novel, there is a quote [from Franz Liszt]: “O love, so long as you can love.” This is the theme of the novel. I hope readers remember that quote.

Cat Seto is known for her whimsical aesthetic, which started out as a charming paper goods line and has now expanded into a boutique and studio. So when fellow mom and entrepreneur Meg Mateo Ilasco approached her about co-authoring a book, she jumped on board. The result, Mom, Inc.:The Essential Guide to Runninga Business From Home, draws on the pair’s own experiences, as well as interviews with successful mothers like DwellStudio’s Christine Lemieux, to reveal the ins and
outs of running a business while still staying focused on home and family.

ISSUE: Summer 2012

DEPT: Plugged In

STORY: Daisy Miclat

PHOTO: Ruby Press

Audrey Magazine: How did you and Meg come up with the idea for the book?
Cat Seto: Meg’s known for this very popular series of crafting books, and she knew I started a whole bunch of businesses. I had stationary cards, wedding invitations, my own shop and a website dedicated to entrepreneurial women. She looked at my website, MomIncDaily.com, where a community of women get together to talk about biz how-to’s on topics from production to design. She knew that I would have some great tips and be helpful in creating a book about business for mothers.

AM: What were some memorable experiences while writing this book?
CS: There were definitely “mommy” moments during conference calls. My son would be yelling while Meg’s kids were falling and creating banging noises. Our calls would be really funny, but were really productive.

AM: What was your inspiration for Mom, Inc.?
CS: This book was inspired by both of our mothers. They were both workaholics who loved their families and took joy in doing what they love to do. My mother passed away while I was a pregnant with my son Nolan. It was a very difficult time for me. But it was very helpful to be supported by this community of women who went through similar experiences and were able to get through it. This book helped me to preserve the memory of my mother for both my- self and my son.

— Daisy Miclat

Mini Review: Legend 

ISSUE: Summer 2012

DEPT: Plugged In

STORY: Kanara Ty

 

Dystopian young adult novels are all the rage thanks to the popularity of The Hunger Games, but Marie Lu serves up a novel that brings something new to the table: an Asian American literary male character who packs a lot of swag, has major ass-kicking skills with a heart of gold, and charms the socks off the leading female character (myself included!). How’s that for your lead character in a debut novel? With two warring states (the Republic and the Colonies) set as its backdrop, Legend follows two teenage star-crossed lovers, Day (the AA hero) and June, who each come from very different backgrounds — one is a wanted criminal with not-so-malicious intentions, while the other is a rising elite military officer. They cross paths in a cat-and-mouse chase, as Day is framed for the death of June’s older brother, Metias. Eventually, the two join forces to uncover the mysteries of his death and the secrets of the Republic, the governing body of the West Coast.

— Kanara Ty

THROUGH THE EYES OF BABES: During the four years of the genocide committed by the Khmer Rouge,
a small child is witness to daily horrors — as well as everyday humanity — in Vaddey Ratner’s
autobiographically-inspired novel, In the Shadow of the Banyan.

ISSUE: Summer 2012

DEPT: Plugged In

Story: Susan Soon He Stanton

How does one write about atrocities? Can there be good amongst all the evil? Vaddey Ratner’s debut novel, In the Shadow of the Banyan, answers these questions. The book reflects upon the Cambodian genocide of the 1970s, a nightmarish time during which 2 million Cambodians perished (almost a third of the population.) Ratner’s story is drawnfrom her own personal history; Ratner was 5 years old and a member of a royal family marked for execution during the Khmer Rouge regime. Disguised as a peasant, she survived years of forced labor, starvation and near execution, finally escaping and living long enough to tell a story not of despair but of hope.

The story is told from the point of view of Raami, a 7-year-old child crippled by polio. Thanks to this disability, she was often ignored and forgotten by those around her, allowing her to become a keen observer of her rapidly shifting world. The novel begins in the idyllic days before the fall of Phnom Penh, at Raami’s luxurious family home. Despite the epic turn of events, In the Shadow of the Banyanserves as a delicate character study, and the reader observes each family member through Raami’s watchful eyes. The characters who emerge most vividly from the narrative are Mama, who begins the story looking like “a butterfly preening herself” and smelling of jasmine, and Papa, known as the Tiger Prince and an emotional pillar of strength in the novel. Throughout the difficult times, Papa is able to retain his humanity, embodying the qualities of both a philosopher and a leader. Distinct but minor players are Big Uncle, who is larger than life, and Grandmother Queen, who suffers from dementia, living more in the past than in the present. Raami and her large extended family are forcibly relocated several times, and eventually separated.

Curiously, for all of the atrocities witnessed and hardships experienced, Ratner’s story is filled to an even larger extent with optimism and beauty. Ratner’s gift is her exquisite descriptions of the careful details of daily life, such as planting rice or observing a turtle swimming in a stream. Most of the accounts in the book concern these mundane details rather than focus on the lurid atrocities. The decline of Cambodia is painted in a hundred subtle ways: in the beginning, Papa remarks that their basil-seed dessert was not properly sweetened; near the end of the novel, Mama shares a water bug with Raami, who devours it ravenously. Through the novel’s slow pace, Ratner’s vision of the genocide becomes more real and disturbing. The Khmer Rouge’s four years of hell were not just an epic series of events but an accumulation of long and difficult days. Since the novel is told through the eyes of a child, certain larger political aspects of the time are not discussed in depth. However, Ratner subtly takes the reader through the reasons for the regime and the many ways the people were killed, including execution, starvation and malaria.Yet simultaneously, Ratner constantly finds opportunities to inject moments of surprising kindness or beauty throughout the story, reminding readers of the goodness of human nature.

In her author’s note, Ratner describes her desire to memorialize the loved ones she lost with an enduring work of art. Shehas done just that; hers is a beautiful tale with considerable poetry and restraint. In the Shadow of the Banyanis an important novel, written by a survivor with unexpected grace and eloquence.

ANATOMY OF A MURDER: In The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino, reviewer Susan Soon He Stanton discovers that a fascinating study of the human psyche can also be an easy read.

ISSUE: Spring 2011

DEPT: Plugged In

STORY: Susan Soon He Stanton

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