The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim
4 Stars
My Review
The Last Story of Mina Lee is a powerful and emotional novel that explores the complicated bond between a mother and daughter. When twenty-six-year-old Margot Lee stops hearing from her mother, Mina, she returns to her childhood apartment in Koreatown, Los Angeles—only to discover her mother dead inside. This heartbreaking moment sets Margot on a journey to uncover the secrets Mina kept hidden throughout her life.
Told through a dual timeline, the novel alternates between Margot’s investigation in the present and Mina’s story years earlier, from her immigration from Korea to building a life in Los Angeles as a single mother. I absolutely adored this novel—it felt deeply personal and moving. The relationship between Mina and Margot is both tender and filled with tension. I loved how the story captures the struggles of immigrant mothers who sacrifice everything for their children, and the misunderstandings that often arise between generations, trying to bridge two cultures.
As Margot pieces together her mother’s past—through old paperwork, memories, and the help of friends like Miguel and Mrs. Baek—she begins to understand who Mina truly was. In learning about her mother’s hardships, courage, and secrets, Margot also starts to discover more about herself: her identity, her roots, and the quiet strength she inherited.
The secondary characters were so well written. Miguel, Margot’s friend, brings warmth and compassion as he helps her navigate her grief. Mrs. Baek’s friendship with Mina offers beautiful glimpses into the past and reminds us how community shapes identity.
The ending completely took me by surprise—it was shocking yet tied everything together in a bittersweet, beautiful way. Nancy Jooyoun Kim’s writing is tender, reflective, and full of emotional depth. The Last Story of Mina Lee is a story about love, loss, and the unspoken connections that bind families together. I truly loved this novel and will definitely be reading more from this author.
“She wondered how many women had been trapped – in terrible marriages, terrible jobs, unbearable circumstances – simply because the world hadn’t been designed to allow them to thrive on their own. Their decisions would always be scrutinized by the lives at which they were able to sacrifice themselves, their bodies, their pleasures and desires. A woman who imagined her own way out would always be ostracized for her own strength.”
Nancy Jooyoun Kim
Other Books by the Author
Some of Nancy Jooyoun Kim’s other acclaimed works include What We Kept to Ourselves.
Literary Pairing
Like The Last Story of Mina Lee, The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan explores the complex bond between an immigrant mother and her American-born daughter, uncovering long-buried family secrets through a dual timeline. Both novels reveal how understanding a mother’s past—shaped by hardship, love, and survival—helps the daughter better understand herself, weaving themes of identity, cultural heritage, and reconciliation across generations.
Shelf To Table
Bibimbap: A warm white rice topped with an assortment of sautéed and seasoned vegetables, sliced or ground meat (often beef), a fried egg, and a dollop of gochujang (spicy red chili paste).
“A trip. A fall. A horrible way to die. To have survived all those traumas, those hardships—a war, an orphanage, immigration, being a single mother in a foreign country—only to die by something as mundane as a slipper or a shoe. It was terrible. It was all so very terrible.”
Nancy Jooyoun Kim