A story narrated through different perspectives, showing familial relationships between characters, the significance of banal everyday events taken for granted and questioning how much we know the ones we love.
I thought that the story and style of narration was powerful, emotional, sentimental and somewhat melodramatic but I think these kinds of feelings are what Koreans can relate to in terms of family, relationships and life in general. The heavy emotions reflect the level of sacrifice and generosity that Korean mothers tend to give their children and the heavy obligation and guilt that people feel towards each other. The sense of self-sufficiency, hard work and aspirations of those who grew up in the countryside in the Korean war aftermath are explored as well as the increasing generational and cultural divide between Koreans of different ages and backgrounds.
As I've become very cynical, it was hard to get very involved in the story but near the end, I did end up tearing up a bit.
There are also spiritual aspects to this story, especially near the end... beyond the Christian references. The mentioning of ancestral rites and the awareness of spirits by certain characters, for example. The narration through a character, the mother, who you're not sure is living is quite eery and effectively puts all these reflections into perspective. The profundity of the situation sinks in and you can't help thinking about your own connections to other people and if you are giving as much as you are receiving. As well as what others will think of you when they've/you've passed.
I think this book is worth it to read for its exploration of relationships in Korean society, the subtle, emotional interactions between people and realizations on parenthood, mothers, love and relationships. The concept of motherhood is definitely integral to Korean nation-building/unity.