The Last Story Of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim | Audiobook Review

I received this book for free from Library, Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Riveting and unconventional, The Last Story of Mina Lee traces the far-reaching consequences of secrets in the lives of a Korean immigrant mother and her daughter
Margot Lee's mother is ignoring her calls. Margot can’t understand why, until she makes a surprise trip home to Koreatown, LA, and finds that her mother has suspiciously died. Determined to discover the truth, Margot unravels her single mother’s past as a Korean War orphan and an undocumented immigrant, only to realize how little she truly knew about her mother, Mina.
Thirty years earlier, Mina Lee steps off a plane to take a chance on a new life in America. Stacking shelves at a Korean grocery store, the last thing she expects is to fall in love. But that moment leads to repercussions for Mina that echo through the decades, leading up to the truth of what happened the night of her death.
Told through the intimate lens of a mother and daughter who have struggled all their lives to understand each other, The Last Story of Mina Lee is a powerful and exquisitely woven debut novel that explores identity, family, secrets, and what it truly means to belong.
HIGHLY ANTICIPATED BY FORTUNE · POPSUGAR · PUREWOW · BETCHES · GMA.COM · VULTURE · BUSTLE · THE MILLIONS · LITHUB · BOOKRIOT · BOOKISH
“Painful, joyous... A story that cries out to be told.” —Los Angeles Times
“Kim is a brilliant new voice in American fiction.” —Alexander Chee, author of How to Write an Autobiographical Novel
“Suspenseful and deeply felt.” —Chloe Benjamin, author of The Immortalists

The Last Story Of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim appealed to me, honestly, because the cover was pink. Then I saw that it was picked for Reese’s Book Club and knew I had to get to it sooner rather than later. You see, I give into hype a lot. As expected, this audiobook was well worth my time.

What’s The Story Here?

Nancy Jooyoun Kim’s The Last Story Of Mina Lee is basically a parallel timeline sort of book. We get the story, obviously of Mina Lee, basically what her past was like as an orphan who had come to America as a refugee from the Korean War through stocking shelves at a Korean grocery store and falling in love. Meanwhile, we also get the present day story of Mina’s daughter Margot. Margot has come home to visit her mother and finds her dead in her apartment. Margot wants to get to the bottom of what happened. But also, Margot has got some pretty big life decisions to make and it seems like she just isn’t happy with her life choices or lot in life. Anyways, when Margot finds her mother, she comes to the realization that there is so much that her mother has hidden from her.

What Did I Think?

I felt like The Last Story Of Mina Lee was quite unique from what I’ve read so far this year. Granted, family secrets are not exactly a new thing. However, the way that Nancy Jooyoun Kim wove the story felt fresh to me. This felt different from the thrillers and romance I’ve been consuming this year. Maybe it is because this book would fall more under the women’s fiction genre? Regardless, the story is so compelling and I just felt for both Margot and Mina and it is sad, realizing Mina is dead and won’t have the same connection with Margot that maybe they could have had if Margot had known Mina’s full story and past. That’s life though. On the whole, this story is superbly plotted and woven. It is absolutely worth the read.

How’s The Narration?

Y’all, finally an audiobook with a new to me narrator! The narrator is Greta Jung and she does a perfect job. The audiobook is 10 hours and 44 minutes long. I listened to it sped up to 1.25-1.5x and that was ideal. I felt like Jung’s narration was timed really well. Her voice flowed perfectly with the story. There were even times that I was compelled to listen despite not driving or being in the middle of moving around or in a chore. I think audio is a great way to experience The Last Story Of Mina Lee, especially if it is a priority for you to read this book.

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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