Please Look After Mom

Compare Eun-gyu Lee and So-nyo’s husband. How does each treat So-nyo? What happens to each man once So-nyo disappears? Why?

Why does So-nyo conceal and minimize her health problems? Consider what it would mean for her to admit the degree of her illness, and how her family members would react to her honesty.

Pick two or three scenes where So-nyo talks about flowers and/or animals. Why does So-nyo place emphasis on these flowers and/or animals?

Why does So-nyo’s trauma over her brother-in-law’s death express itself in her work at the Hope House orphanage and in her relationship with the boy Kyun there? Is she self-medicating? Why or why not?

Explore the novel’s title. What does it mean to look after Mom? Describe the scenes where the question of looking after Mom comes up and how each scene relates to guilt or sadness.

How does Chi-hon’s visit to Vatican City connect to the rest of the novel? Why does she explore the Vatican alone? Would the Pieta have had the same effect on her had she gone with her boyfriend? Why or why not?

Compare the novel’s view of city life versus country life. Why does So-nyo prefer one to the other?

How do the novel’s composition and point-of-view shifts tell a more complete story of So-nyo’s family? What other literary devices are in the novel and how do they further the narrative?