The Last Story of Mina Lee

“Many of them—with their blue eyes and tall noses—appeared intrinsically attractive because even white people who weren’t supermodels were at least white.” 

Margot views whiteness and Americanness as more attractive and valuable than her Korean complexion and heritage. As a child, she watches TV programs and wishes that she could be more American, but what she is thinking is that she wants to be white and rich. Her mother will believe that she is finally American once she has a gun.

“Movement for her mother was essentially an experience of loss that Margot, American-born, could never imagine.” 

Mina has no memories of movement that don’t connote sadness and loss. The war forced her to move away from her parents. Moving to America resulted in new heartbreaks. Her trip to Las Vegas ends in disappointment. Even her trip to the Grand Canyon is bittersweet, given Mr. Kim’s cancer. When Margot moves to Los Angeles, it is an adventure and an opportunity. She will never have to know what it means to be displaced from her country.

“Beauty is a construct, but theory is not at the reality we live, she thought. Theory didn’t live in the bones. Theory didn’t erase the years of self-scrutiny in a mirror and not seeing anyone at all, not a protagonist or a beauty, only a television sidekick, a speechless creature, who at best was ‘exotic,’ desirable but simple and foreign.” 

As Margot further reflects on her experience of growing up Korean American, the narrator describes the stereotypes she faced and how they affected her sense of self-worth. Later in the novel, Margot will realize how her own impressions of Koreans are also stereotypes, shapes by her limited understanding of her mother and other immigrants like her.

“[L]anguage itself was a home, a shelter, as well as a way of navigating the larger world.” 

Margot describes her mother’s relief when watching Korean language TV shows at the end of the day. Korean reminds Mina of home. Even refusing to improve her English is a testament to the sanctuary she finds in the Korean language. Learning American English would mean a tacit endorsement of American thinking and values. Language is a tool of thought.

“All of it would be shattered, too. Because their life would be part of the lie that this country repeated to live with itself - that fairness would prevail; that the laws protected everyone equally; that this land wasn’t stolen from Native peoples; that this wealth wasn’t built by industrious white men, ‘our’ founders; that hardworking immigrants proved this was a meritocracy; that history should only be told from one point of view, that of those who won and still have power. So the city raged. Immolation was always a statement.” 

Mina and Margot both feel betrayed by different versions of the American Dream. The riots showed that there were plenty of Americans who also felt that America was not for them but for the wealthy and privileged. The riots were a result of this unfairness. Throughout the story, change is tumultuous and violent, brought about by people who find the lie of their lives in America intolerable.

“And the whole world told women every day, if you are alone, you are no one. A woman alone is no one at all.”

Margot is frustrated that independent women are not taken seriously. A woman like Mrs. Baek, who distrusts men and has no interest in them, is a threat to men like Mr. Park. However, Margot sees this suspicion of independent women as systemic. They exist in a system that does not want them to thrive and that is undermined by female autonomy.

“At the same time, the idea of not receiving the little gifts, which often served as the highlight of her entire day, terrified her. Maybe it was the tiniest of things, at times, on a consistent basis, that kept us alive, and if she could not create such kindnesses for herself, couldn’t she allow someone else to do so for her?” 

Mina is better at caring for other people than for herself. When Mr. Kim treats her kindly, she begins to wonder if she might deserve kindness. She protects herself from her feelings because human connection has only led to suffering. Mr. Kim’s gifts are a reminder that she might be worthy of attention. Indulging his interest will mean admitting someone else into her life, leading to the potential for more loss.

“[S]omething I learned is you don’t have to know where you are going to, you know, enjoy yourself a little, have a good time.” 

Mr. Kim and Mina talk about the directions their lives have taken. They both deal with great uncertainties, but rather than being resigned and pessimistic, Mr. Kim tries to enjoy himself when he can. He views the company of friends and lovers as a destination worth pursuing. Mr. Kim is probably the most optimistic character in the novel. He takes his pleasures where he can and avoids the relentless grind that characterizes Mina’s life.

“A book was kind of like a mouth. Did stories keep us alive or kill us? It depends on who wrote them perhaps.” 

One of the recurring themes in the book is that only having one view of history is myopic and dangerous. Winners write the history books. In their stories, they are the heroes. For the war-torn refugees and the oppressed immigrants, those same books tell stories of their downfall. Each character in the book would have a different idea of what Mina’s story was. The version that survived would be the true story, as far as the rest of the world was concerned.

“I used to feel so much, you know? But feelings are dangerous.” 

Mrs. Kim is wealthy, beautiful, liberal, and privileged. She also admits to feeling hollow and to avoiding emotion whenever possible. Margot has no role models to emulate in terms of embracing healthy relationships. Mrs. Kim says that she wasn’t always so indifferent, however, showing that there is a progression that can probably be reversed with effort.

“Everyone needed art. Why else did her mother assign so much care into the fruit that she sliced, that long peel of skin, a ribbon that revealed the tenderness of the flesh inside? Or the tiny flick of her eyeliner that she angled perfectly in the mirror, the arrangement of the outfits that she hung on the walls of her store.”

Margot can’t explain her need to create to Mina; she doesn’t have the words. Art is often the attempt to express something inexpressible. Margot sees art in everyday life; she wants to create because she knows how moving—and essential—art can be. Making her own art is Margot’s only surefire way to do something that only she can do.

“She couldn’t help but cover her face, as if to shield herself from the kindness of someone else.” 

It is almost painful to Mina when Mrs. Baek is kind to her and brings her porridge when she feels sick. Mina has decided that she is unlovable. Otherwise, no one would leave her. Mrs. Baek’s attention challenges her assumptions that she doesn’t deserve kindness. It also reminds her that she is unkind to herself.

“She wanted to live like ‘real Americans’ on television with their clean surfaces, their walls without cracks and chipped paint, their dishwashers and shiny appliances.”

As a child, Margot’s ideas about what real Americans are is innocent and naïve. She sees her mother’s small apartment, her dented appliances, and the dirtiness of the swap meet as un-American. Margot’s concept of what is real betrays the inexperience of youth. She does not yet know that most people are simply trying to do the best they can, and that everyone struggles more than is obvious on television.

“In these rare moments of great tenderness and fragility, their sanity rattling like glass cups in a cupboard during a quake, Margot learned that families were our greatest source of pain, whether they had lost or abandoned us or simply scrubbed our heads.” 

Margot asks Mina where her father is when she is four years old. Mina starts crying, and Margot wishes she could take back the question. Her mother works so tirelessly that Margot forgets she is human. When she shows vulnerability, it wounds Margot even more because she is not used to her mother expressing emotions other than frustration and sadness.

“Wasn’t that the most heartbreaking thing for any parent in the world? To know their child was hungry” 

Mina cannot provide an opulent home for Margot, but she resolves that she will always have food. Her past deprivations give her perspective; she knows from experience that there are worse things than not being wealthy. Mina’s focus on food is one of the few parts of the novel that show her taking pleasure in anything. She can at least make sure that Margot is always nourished.

“What was the point of learning a language that brought you into the fold of a world that didn’t want you? Did this world want her? No. It didn’t like the sound of her voice.” 

Mina resists learning English because the parts of the world that speak English don’t want her. Learning the language would mean assimilating into the system and adopting pieces of a culture that is rigged against her. Language is a huge part of thought, and learning English would also lead to Mina thinking in different ways. Given her view of America, that is one more thing she wants to avoid.

“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.” 

Mina realizes that Mrs. Baek, whom she previously saw as free, happy, and unhaunted by a messy past, has experienced her share of misery and captivity. Mrs. Baek does not trust men and says she will never have a boyfriend. This view puts her at odds with Mr. Park, a man who believes women should be subservient. The system in which the women in the novel find themselves is heavily weighted toward men.

“Margot had always thought of Koreans as workaholics, religious and pragmatic, yet at times showy and status-oriented when they had the means. But studying those relaxed faces in the photographs, those dusty shoes, Margot could see someone else, Koreans—not Korean Americans, not immigrants hardened by the realities of living in a foreign country, who like her father in Calabasas had stubbornly ‘succeeded,’ achieving a sheen of perfection while obscuring his actual complexity, an isolation from the self.” 

When Margot sees the photo of her mother, her husband, and Margot’s lost sister, she sees the difference that simply living in one’s own country can make. Her only impression of her mother has been of the relentless worker with no time for herself and no patience for anything that doesn’t involve their survival. She sees that America can function as a pressure cooker for immigrants, changing them into something harder—and often less joyful—than when they arrived.

“Perhaps at the end of his life and toward the end of hers, she needed to hear his voice again. She needed to know that their time together was not an illusion that she had tucked away somewhere inside of her brain. She needed to know that it was all, in some way, real.” 

Mina gives in and returns Mr. Kim’s call. She has gone to such great lengths to avoid emotional attachments since he disappeared that she has isolated herself from meaningful relationships. His voice reminds her that she had a happy period in America and that the two of them loved each other. The memory is special enough that she wants to prove that it was real and that her time in America has not all been bad. She wants to validate her struggle and to prove that it wasn’t all for nothing.

“In this country, it was easier to harm someone than to stay alive. It was easier to take a life than to have one. Was she finally an American?” 

After Mr. Kim gives a gun, Mina is unsettled. The presence of the gun makes her think of cowboys and revenge. It gives her a feeling of youth and power. She wonders if this is what so many armed Americans feel, even though they are not in the military and have no immediate threat to defend against. Temporarily, gaining the capacity for lethal violence feels like the end of her evolution toward American assimilation.

“Choosing if and when and how to share the truth might be the deepest, most painful necessity of growing out into the world and into yourself.” 

Mina does not share her feelings often. Margot doesn’t share herself with her mother. Margot’s transition into adulthood comes when she realizes that she would rather know painful truths than to know none. Through her art, her move to Los Angeles, and her eventual call to her grandmother, Margot commits to living and sharing her truth from then on.

“Wasn’t that the thing with words? It wasn’t just their surfaces—sometimes serene and shimmering, others violent, crashing, and brash—but what they, when carefully considered, conveyed: we are more than friends. We’re family.” 

Despite the language barriers in the story, Margot understands that too much importance can be given to the superficial nature of words. Words convey thoughts and sentiments that don’t require fluency or florid articulation to be expressed. Families and friendships are units of truth that transcend linguistics.

“If she thought of the labor and resources that went into each piece of fruit—the water, the light, the earth, the training and harvesting of each plant—a box of apples could be special, a sacred thing. Perhaps in this land of plenty, of myth and wide-open spaces, trucks and factories, mass production. We lost track of that: the miracle of an object as simple as a pear, nutritious and sweet, created by something as beautiful as a tree.” 

Margot does not know the significance of the gifts that Mr. Kim gave to her mother, which were often small pieces of fruit. Now she is starting to understand that part of Korean tradition is an ability to appreciate the beauty of simplicity. Her mother’s most meaningful relationship in America—other than that of being Margot’s mother—began with simple pieces of fruit.