This is not a book review. This has something to do with the realizations I had when I read the
novel.
This is only my OPINION though.
Please Look after Mother is one of the best eye opening novel. It talks about everything… from compassion,
life, death, love, regret, past, present, future.
The author wanted her readers to fully understand what she
wanted to emphasize. According to her… it’s COMPASSION. She used “Mother” as
the specific medium to actually express her thoughts and opinions.
“How far back does one’s memory of someone go?” ... memories will remain inside the
heart even if they fade in our mind.
“There are moments one revisits after something happens,
especially after something bad happens. Moments in which one thinks, I
shouldn’t have done that.” This passage talks about regret. In the novel… most
of the characters revisited their memories with “Mother” and all of them had
regrets that they wanted to change if they were given the chance.
“If there were no sea between you and me there wouldn’t be
this painful goodbye…” Goodbye is a beautiful pain. It ends something but it
also a sign of a new beginning.
“Most of the things in the world are not unexpected if one
thinks carefully about them. Even something one would call unusual – if one
thinks about it, it’s really just a thing that was supposed to happen.”
“How could you only do what you like? There are things you
have to do whether you like it or not.” Have you ever thought if your “Mother”
actually likes cooking, doing the laundry, cleaning the house, etc? Do
you think that they like what they do? Do they do these chores because they
want to or because it’s their obligation to us; their children, husband, mother
in law, sister in law, brother in law, niece, nephew? They do these things
because they NEED them to do it. Sometimes it is not the matter of LIKING what
you are doing… it is a matter of OBLIGATION.
“How can you live without trusting people there are more
people who are good than people who are bad?”
“Now I feel like I could say anything and everything but
there’s nobody to listen to me.” Regret. The “Father” regretted that he didn’t
treat his wife; the “Mother” kindly. He wasn't able to show her kindness. He had all the time in the
world to talk to her and treat his wife passionately and kindly but he wasn't able to. He let her suffer
alone because he didn’t want to listen to her words. He didn’t know that she
was in pain and that she needed someone to lean on. That is the duty of a
husband towards his wife but he wasn’t able to fulfill his duties to her.
“My mother raised me until now, and all that’s happened is a
role reversal – it’s only fair.” When we were still young, our mother
sacrifices lots of things… from her sleep to her freedom. I think it’s only
fair to take care of our parents when the time comes when they need us. This is
PAYBACK time. Although we are not oblige to do this but think of how much they
gave us… because of them… we are here right now.
The “Mother” in the novel had a huge impact on me and I can actually say that I finally realized how hard it is
being a “Wife” and “Mother”. I didn’t know that it is the toughest job on
earth. The Mother in Shin’s novel experienced a lot of things and she is the
very symbol of “Sacrifice”. She did everything she can to raise her children,
to support her husband, to follow her sister in law and to give everything they
needed amidst the unkind way they treated her…even if that means throwing away
her own dreams. Her children’s dream became her dreams. She unconsciously
shared their dreams and forced herself to believe that it was her dream too. She
suffered a lot in the novel and while reading it, I felt her pain, her sadness,
the remorse, her wish to “Please look after me…”. She was silently pleading.
And then when she went missing… That was the start of the “Revisiting”
process wherein everybody reminisced the past they had of her. They came to a
realization that the “Mother” they knew was not just a “Mother” but as well as a
woman who had needs and wanted to be taken care of.
Although they live in a
world where everything is possible… they felt the hopelessness when “Mother” went
missing. They have the money, luxury, fame but these things became part of nothingness
when they can’t do anything to find “Mother”.
Although the novel starts with “It’s been one week since
Mother went missing”… I saw the process of her disappearance in the novel.
There are things in this world that are important to us and
we unconsciously take them for granted. When they’re gone, that’s the only time
we realize how important they are. Then, come regret and sorrow. No matter how
busy our life is… try to stop for a little while and savor what we have instead
of worrying what we don’t have.
Advice:
1. Say what’s in your mind before it’s too late. Time is gold.
You’ll never know how long the important people in your life can stay beside
you.
2. Appreciate things around you. Savor them and focus with
“NOW”
Past, Present and Future are mixture. What happened in the
past is what you are now and what you are now will affect your future. Do the
things that you want to do. Don’t wait for the time where you will say “I
should have done that.”
3. Respect your PARENTS. Bear in your mind their sacrifices.
4. Be open-minded. You are not the only person who has
emotions. People around you are human too. Do not think that you are the only
one who’s capable of feeling the pain and sorrow.
Have a good day friends.
Things that made me happy:
> New Manga series that I am reading right now. Super hilarious.
> Finally I'm in page 250... "Don Quixote" book.
> Thank God! My Grandmother is not having some kind of mood imbalance.
> Cold Water. Lately... the weather here in the Philippines is becoming more and more HORRIBLE.
> A new day
> That I am still ALIVE
