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Moms
An outrageously funny book about middle-aged women that reexamines romance, lust, and gender norms
Lee Soyeon, Myeong-ok, and Yeonjeong are all mothers in their mid-fifties. And they’ve had it. They can no longer bear the dead weight of their partners or the endless grind of menial jobs where their bosses control everything, down to how much water they can drink. Although Lee Soyeon divorced her husband years ago after his gambling drove their family into bankruptcy, she finds herself in another tired and dishonest decade-long relationship with Jongseok, a slimy waiter at a nightclub. Meanwhile, Myeong-ok is having an illicit affair with a younger man, and Yeonjeong, whose husband suffers from erectile dysfunction, has her eye on an acquaintance from the gym. Bored with conventional romantic dalliances, these women embrace outrageous sexual adventures and mishaps, ending up in nightclubs, motels, and even the occasional back-alley brawl.
With this boisterous and darkly funny manhwa, Yeong-shin Ma defies the norms of the traditional Korean family narrative, offering instead the refreshingly honest and unfiltered story of a group of middle-aged moms who yearn for something more than what the mediocre men in their lives can provide. Despite their less-than-desirable jobs, salaries, husbands, and boyfriends, these women brazenly bulldoze their way through life with the sexual vulnerability and lust typically attributed to twenty-somethings.
Lee Soyeon, Myeong-ok, and Yeonjeong are all mothers in their mid-fifties. And they’ve had it. They can no longer bear the dead weight of their partners or the endless grind of menial jobs where their bosses control everything, down to how much water they can drink. Although Lee Soyeon divorced her husband years ago after his gambling drove their family into bankruptcy, she finds herself in another tired and dishonest decade-long relationship with Jongseok, a slimy waiter at a nightclub. Meanwhile, Myeong-ok is having an illicit affair with a younger man, and Yeonjeong, whose husband suffers from erectile dysfunction, has her eye on an acquaintance from the gym. Bored with conventional romantic dalliances, these women embrace outrageous sexual adventures and mishaps, ending up in nightclubs, motels, and even the occasional back-alley brawl.
With this boisterous and darkly funny manhwa, Yeong-shin Ma defies the norms of the traditional Korean family narrative, offering instead the refreshingly honest and unfiltered story of a group of middle-aged moms who yearn for something more than what the mediocre men in their lives can provide. Despite their less-than-desirable jobs, salaries, husbands, and boyfriends, these women brazenly bulldoze their way through life with the sexual vulnerability and lust typically attributed to twenty-somethings.
376 pages, Paperback
First published December 24, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 184 reviews
November 13, 2020
This comic is really really good! (Sorry, my review skills don't go further than this, but needed to share at least this!)
September 26, 2020
I wish I liked this more than I did. I love that this looks at middle- to older-aged Korean women, but I wanted more stories that weren't about the men in their life. Even the ones that dealt with autonomy/not relationships felt like they quickly ended once men were removed from the situation, which was dissatisfying. I want a story that these women deserve, not what they were given.
September 26, 2023
Primer manhwa que leo en mi vida, Mamás es el reverso realista de aquella obrita de Satrapi llamada
Bordados
que reseñé hace tiempo. Me ha gustado mucho más la versión popular y mundana de estas heroínas cuarentonas y cincuentonas que, de acuerdo a todos los esquemas, han fracasado en la vida. Una versión mucho más humana del mismo tema, con espacio para el humor, el amor y la crítica social. Molongo.
December 3, 2023
3.5
Bardzo dobra, szalenie smutna, ale też wciągająca.
Bardzo dobra, szalenie smutna, ale też wciągająca.
November 7, 2021
Graphic novels and memoirs are not something I'm all that familiar with. I picked this one up because it focuses on the inner lives of 50-something Korean women. Their stories are told in vignettes with glimpses into their struggles with men, children, friendships, happiness and finding jobs that both pay the bills and provide a modicum of respect.
I was surprised to see this was written by male author, but digging in a bit more I learned he asked his mother to journal about her, and her friend's lives. Yeong-shin Ma writes that the project helped to deepen their relationship.
Ma's simple black and white illustrations crackle with energy and emotion. However, I can't help but wonder why Ma's mother doesn't have a writing credit on this one. 🤔
I was surprised to see this was written by male author, but digging in a bit more I learned he asked his mother to journal about her, and her friend's lives. Yeong-shin Ma writes that the project helped to deepen their relationship.
Ma's simple black and white illustrations crackle with energy and emotion. However, I can't help but wonder why Ma's mother doesn't have a writing credit on this one. 🤔
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March 20, 2021▪️MOMS by Yeong-shin Ma, tr. Janet Hong, 2020
In this manhwa, writer/artist Ma traces the lives of his own mother & her group of friends/frenemies: Korean women in their mid to late 50s.
Most of the "moms", like his mom Lee Soyeon, are divorcees with work dramas, family stuff, and dating lives.
Some frustrating, yet "real life" moments, when some women keep returning to cheater partners, but also some fun vignettes of friendship. The book primarily focuses on the love lives of the women and various antics around dating...
Perhaps it is telling that my favorite part was when Soyeon works to unionize her fellow cleaning ladies at the workplace... 🤷🏼♀️ guess I'm not much of a romantic.
A fun dalliance.
In this manhwa, writer/artist Ma traces the lives of his own mother & her group of friends/frenemies: Korean women in their mid to late 50s.
Most of the "moms", like his mom Lee Soyeon, are divorcees with work dramas, family stuff, and dating lives.
Some frustrating, yet "real life" moments, when some women keep returning to cheater partners, but also some fun vignettes of friendship. The book primarily focuses on the love lives of the women and various antics around dating...
Perhaps it is telling that my favorite part was when Soyeon works to unionize her fellow cleaning ladies at the workplace... 🤷🏼♀️ guess I'm not much of a romantic.
A fun dalliance.
November 15, 2023
3,75
Zaskakująco smutne i gorzkie to było 😳
Zaskakująco smutne i gorzkie to było 😳
October 11, 2020
It's "Real Housewives of Seoul!" All the infighting, infidelity, and invective, but with none of the glamour, glitz or gold.
The author asked his divorced fiftysomething mom to write up daily notes about her dating life and that of her similarly aged friends and co-workers, and then he adapted it into this graphic novel. So Soyeon works a dead-end cleaning job, let's her musician son live in her apartment rent-free so he can play video games all day, and dates a guy who cheats on her just like her ex-husband used to. Her big dream is to marry a rich guy who she can maybe cheat on.
The storyline meanders slice-of-life style a bit too long, but I slowly became vested in the sad sack main character even as I resented her for making so many wrong choices in her life.
The author asked his divorced fiftysomething mom to write up daily notes about her dating life and that of her similarly aged friends and co-workers, and then he adapted it into this graphic novel. So Soyeon works a dead-end cleaning job, let's her musician son live in her apartment rent-free so he can play video games all day, and dates a guy who cheats on her just like her ex-husband used to. Her big dream is to marry a rich guy who she can maybe cheat on.
The storyline meanders slice-of-life style a bit too long, but I slowly became vested in the sad sack main character even as I resented her for making so many wrong choices in her life.
November 4, 2020
"Moms" is a deftly told series of interlocking stories that illuminate the lives of a group of middle-aged Korean women friends struggling with sex, family, and money. There are so many incisive and well-crafted elements to this comic, that I will only choose one for my brief review: how Ma (the artist) illustrates the interior lives of these women. Mild spoilers (basic plot points) ahead.
There are many instances where the medium of the comic is used in effective and moving ways. For example, on page 108, Soyeon is watching Tomb Raider in a cinema. After depicting Angelina Jolie's taut body on the screen, we pan back to her expression, squinting to read the subtitles, and thinking "Boy, don't I wish I had a face and bod like that..." (In this moment, I also want to note translator Janet Hong's wry and witty dialogue translation).
On page 143, Soyeon eagerly waits for her lover to arrive after texting him to come over for a home-cooked meal. When he never arrives, Ma suddenly etches the frame in layers and layers of black ink hatching, illustrating Soyeon's loneliness, the night getting darker, and her disappointment growing. Later on page 148, Soyeon recounts a story with her stingy boss, where the moment is illustrated within her speech bubble (of him snatching a nice drink away from her at a company party). On page 167, we see two women confronting a man trying to date both of them glaring at each other, a triangulated tense gaze refracting from all three of the people involved.
After reading this book, I had every faith this story is meant to be told as a comic. The various episodes of different women's lives are woven together thoughtfully and largely seamlessly (though there were occasional moments where I flipped back to clarify sequences of events). In addition to the dramatic lovers' arguments, this book also explored the emotional impacts of class and financial disenfranchisement in powerful ways. The sequences of women janitors standing up to their traitorous team leader and lecherous boss are amongst the most memorable in the whole book.
Final notes: social media is explored well here too, specifically text messaging and Instagram posts. And boy, do I love these scenes. Hearing Soyeon's snippy commentary on her friends' performative posts and comments as she lies on her side in bed, scrolling into the night, I had to laugh at how relatable it was.
5 stars isn't enough.
There are many instances where the medium of the comic is used in effective and moving ways. For example, on page 108, Soyeon is watching Tomb Raider in a cinema. After depicting Angelina Jolie's taut body on the screen, we pan back to her expression, squinting to read the subtitles, and thinking "Boy, don't I wish I had a face and bod like that..." (In this moment, I also want to note translator Janet Hong's wry and witty dialogue translation).
On page 143, Soyeon eagerly waits for her lover to arrive after texting him to come over for a home-cooked meal. When he never arrives, Ma suddenly etches the frame in layers and layers of black ink hatching, illustrating Soyeon's loneliness, the night getting darker, and her disappointment growing. Later on page 148, Soyeon recounts a story with her stingy boss, where the moment is illustrated within her speech bubble (of him snatching a nice drink away from her at a company party). On page 167, we see two women confronting a man trying to date both of them glaring at each other, a triangulated tense gaze refracting from all three of the people involved.
After reading this book, I had every faith this story is meant to be told as a comic. The various episodes of different women's lives are woven together thoughtfully and largely seamlessly (though there were occasional moments where I flipped back to clarify sequences of events). In addition to the dramatic lovers' arguments, this book also explored the emotional impacts of class and financial disenfranchisement in powerful ways. The sequences of women janitors standing up to their traitorous team leader and lecherous boss are amongst the most memorable in the whole book.
Final notes: social media is explored well here too, specifically text messaging and Instagram posts. And boy, do I love these scenes. Hearing Soyeon's snippy commentary on her friends' performative posts and comments as she lies on her side in bed, scrolling into the night, I had to laugh at how relatable it was.
5 stars isn't enough.
October 15, 2021
Watch my review on YouTube - www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFnOQGlfDsw
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“For #KoreaBookClub, @BarryPWelsh brings the #graphicnovel "Moms" by Yeong-shin Ma, translated by @JanetHong333. Tune in to hear how three mothers in their mid-fifties are fed up from the dead weight of their partners and the endless grind of their menial jobs. #마영신 #엄마들”
#KBSWORLDRadio #KBS월드라디오 #Korea24 #코리아24 #책추천 #bookstagram #북스타그램 #책스타그램 #KoreanLiterature #한국문학
(https://lnkd.in/gxkU6aW) #book #reading
KBS Korea 24 @KBSKorea24
19:10-20:00 KST, Mon-Fri on KBS WORLD Radio.
Download the KBS Kong / KBS WORLD Radio Mobile apps
or subscribe to the Korea 24 podcast for your daily updates!
“For #KoreaBookClub, @BarryPWelsh brings the #graphicnovel "Moms" by Yeong-shin Ma, translated by @JanetHong333. Tune in to hear how three mothers in their mid-fifties are fed up from the dead weight of their partners and the endless grind of their menial jobs. #마영신 #엄마들”
#KBSWORLDRadio #KBS월드라디오 #Korea24 #코리아24 #책추천 #bookstagram #북스타그램 #책스타그램 #KoreanLiterature #한국문학
(https://lnkd.in/gxkU6aW) #book #reading
November 10, 2020
The harsh realities of middle-aged dating in Korea (although I'm sure that a lot of the challenges may be familiar around the world). I appreciated reading a story centred a population that is not usually represented in graphic novels (usually side characters in the stories of their children) but these are some strong independent women out to get theirs. Sometimes it felt that they were just getting beat down so much that it became hard to read but who I am to deny their reality.
April 3, 2023
A pretty brilliant look into the life of a single Korean mom and her friends. It's written by Yeong-shin Ma based on notes written by his mom. I'm unclear how much of this is memoir or if it's mostly fiction. But Yeong-shin Ma is not portrayed very nicely as the son (until near the end when he gets a job)!
I found some of it to be a bit boring and perhaps a bit long at nearly 400 pages.
But I can't deny this is a unique and often hilarious and a bit tragic look at the lives of older unmarried Korean moms. They battle with terrible jobs, sexual harassment, shitty boyfriends, internal jealousies and conflicts - one ending in a fist fight on the streets! It's a topic I don't think I would have read about anywhere besides a graphic novel - which is why I love this medium so much.
I found some of it to be a bit boring and perhaps a bit long at nearly 400 pages.
But I can't deny this is a unique and often hilarious and a bit tragic look at the lives of older unmarried Korean moms. They battle with terrible jobs, sexual harassment, shitty boyfriends, internal jealousies and conflicts - one ending in a fist fight on the streets! It's a topic I don't think I would have read about anywhere besides a graphic novel - which is why I love this medium so much.
February 19, 2023
Dotychczas wszystkie koreańskie powieści graficzne, jakie czytałem, były świetne i "Mamuśki" ten trend podtrzymują. To kapitalna obyczajówka z elementami parodii stworzona na podstawie notatników matki autora, która opisała swoje doświadczenia, problemy, kobiece przyjaźnie i perypetie miłosne na prośbę syna, po czym ten przełożył je na język komiksu.
Yeong-shin Ma na ponad 300 stronach pokazuje jak bardzo los kobiet w ostatnich dziesięcioleciach był w Korei zależny od tradycji i obyczajów podporządkowanych patriarchalnej wizji świata. Począwszy od aranżowanych małżeństw, powszechnego pijaństwa mężczyzn, aż po notoryczne żerowanie na kobietach, któremu towarzyszy kompletna bezradność partnerów, często będących na utrzymaniu swoich ciężko pracujących żon i kochanek. Dochodzi problem młodzieży, która nie garnie się do samodzielności, kwestie molestowania seksualnego, a także brak podstawowych praw pracowniczych. Sporo tego, a jednak całość nie przytłacza, a czasami bywa rozładowana specyficznym poczuciem humoru (w najbardziej spektakularnej odsłonie jest to epicka walka pań o kochanka, przy której zawstydziłby się niejeden bohater ringu). To komiks bardzo ciekawy pod kątem specyfiki odmiennej dla nas kultury i - mimo ważnej tematyki - rozpisany lekko, co gwarantuje wciągającą lekturę. "Mamuśki" mówią o szukaniu "czegoś więcej" niż oferuje społeczeństwo bardzo marginalizujące szczęście i spełnienie kobiet. Ostatecznie jest to również dowód, że pisanie komiksów może być dobrym panaceum na życiowe niepowodzenia, bo autor wpadł na ten pomysł zarabiania w momencie, gdy stracił swoje wszystkie oszczędności po załamaniu rynku kryptowalut
PS. Nie wiem na ile jest to kwestia tłumaczenia, a na ile specyfiki odmiennego kręgu kulturowego, ale mimo dwukrotnej lektury są tu kadry, kwestie i sceny, które były dla mnie niejasne i wydawały mi się błędem w tłumaczeniu, błędnym umieszczeniem danej kwestii w dymku lub błędem leksykalno-składniowym. Nie chce przesądzać nie znając oryginału, ale mam podejrzenia, że pod tym kątem można to było zrobić lepiej
Yeong-shin Ma na ponad 300 stronach pokazuje jak bardzo los kobiet w ostatnich dziesięcioleciach był w Korei zależny od tradycji i obyczajów podporządkowanych patriarchalnej wizji świata. Począwszy od aranżowanych małżeństw, powszechnego pijaństwa mężczyzn, aż po notoryczne żerowanie na kobietach, któremu towarzyszy kompletna bezradność partnerów, często będących na utrzymaniu swoich ciężko pracujących żon i kochanek. Dochodzi problem młodzieży, która nie garnie się do samodzielności, kwestie molestowania seksualnego, a także brak podstawowych praw pracowniczych. Sporo tego, a jednak całość nie przytłacza, a czasami bywa rozładowana specyficznym poczuciem humoru (w najbardziej spektakularnej odsłonie jest to epicka walka pań o kochanka, przy której zawstydziłby się niejeden bohater ringu). To komiks bardzo ciekawy pod kątem specyfiki odmiennej dla nas kultury i - mimo ważnej tematyki - rozpisany lekko, co gwarantuje wciągającą lekturę. "Mamuśki" mówią o szukaniu "czegoś więcej" niż oferuje społeczeństwo bardzo marginalizujące szczęście i spełnienie kobiet. Ostatecznie jest to również dowód, że pisanie komiksów może być dobrym panaceum na życiowe niepowodzenia, bo autor wpadł na ten pomysł zarabiania w momencie, gdy stracił swoje wszystkie oszczędności po załamaniu rynku kryptowalut
PS. Nie wiem na ile jest to kwestia tłumaczenia, a na ile specyfiki odmiennego kręgu kulturowego, ale mimo dwukrotnej lektury są tu kadry, kwestie i sceny, które były dla mnie niejasne i wydawały mi się błędem w tłumaczeniu, błędnym umieszczeniem danej kwestii w dymku lub błędem leksykalno-składniowym. Nie chce przesądzać nie znając oryginału, ale mam podejrzenia, że pod tym kątem można to było zrobić lepiej
January 11, 2021
This is an incredibly funny, well told story about the inner lives of mums with grown up children. Dating later in life... The bar and club scene later in life... Your kids leeching money off you and living rent free in your apartment... 55+ mum stuff!
It's hilarious, in some places outrageous, and is so surprisingly political. Hidden in this seemingly innocent book about mums is a story about exploitation of labour, bootlicking middle management, and unionising. Yeong-shin Ma really captures the current moment and the universal strife of the older woman.
It's hilarious, in some places outrageous, and is so surprisingly political. Hidden in this seemingly innocent book about mums is a story about exploitation of labour, bootlicking middle management, and unionising. Yeong-shin Ma really captures the current moment and the universal strife of the older woman.
Read
June 25, 2023I really enjoyed this book, as depressing as it was. It was nice to get a glimpse of normal life in South Korea, from a demographic (old women) you don't usually hear from. I especially appreciated how the author asked his mother to keep a diary, and he used that to create this comic. Next, he should get her to draw!
December 23, 2020
“When I was in fourth grade, my teacher asked us to write letters to our grandparents. And she told us to end the letter with this line…‘When I grow up, please come live with me. I promise to take care of you’.”
There appears to be a recent surge in the quality and availability of Korean graphic fiction, or maybe I am just suffering from Baader-Meinhof syndrome?...
This is really nicely drawn and well-written too and explores some deep probing issues into the complications of middle age relationships among a group of Korean women. Friendships are tested and hearts are broken as we watch these women consistently make one appalling choice after another when it comes to the men in their lives and they seem to cope through a combination of self-delusion, good company and hard work.
The men turn out to be parasites and liars, dreamers and bullies and all of them take, take taking as they abuse their power and when they women aren’t doing the Korean jitterbug at the Colatec or hanging out at the monkfish restaurant they are enduring the latest lies, scams and scrounging from the men in their lives.
To be honest there were times when I found this difficult to read in that the amount of BS these women would put up with had me yelling at them to grow a spine and stand up for themselves as they continued to allow these awful weak and childish men exploit them time and time again to the point that sympathy and pity turned to anger and contempt.
This is a really enjoyable story with good, strong art work and some highly entertaining strands running through it and overall I was pretty impressed by this.
November 10, 2020
This graphic novel is not what I was expecting. It was hard to keep the different women apart when they weren't in the panel (when their names were being mentioned in conversation) so I should have paid more attention to that. It definitely gives a different look at middle-aged women in Korea than what most people would expect.
March 1, 2021
i was so engrossed in this series of vignettes in the lives of 50-something Korean women navigating work, love, and lazy sons. This is largely a slice of life tale which is not to diminish its merits, but to commend Ma for the care and labor he put towards rendering the lives of ordinary women. There's a lot of pain and humor in these stories, and I'm definitely gonna revisit this on a low day.
March 16, 2021
Yeong-shin Ma's tribute to, and book about, his mom, and her friends, written in comic form. Fun read.
November 18, 2021
“Moms” by Yeong-shin Ma had been languishing on my TBR for a while and I was quite happy to finally get to it on Scribd.
“Moms” is based on journal entries by Ma’s mother upon his request. It gives a true to life, on the ground picture of Korean society through the perspective of a few middle-aged women including Ma’s mother.
Soyeon dates a philanderer, works at a low-paying job with abject working conditions. He drinks heavily, two-times Soyeon, and frequently disappears on her. Yet, she can’t seem to leave him for good, her resolve dissolving each time he comes back. Her friends, too, have equally complicated, unfulfilling relationships with men.
The men are, without exception, callous, pathological liars and bullies. The women are, without exception, prone to making one appalling choice after another, weak in front of a male presence, and naïve to a great extent. This is contrasted with their otherwise spirited and positive personalities. They put themselves through the wringer but are able to preserve an enthusiasm for life evident in their funny quips, wry humour and ability to see things with a comic view.
There’s loneliness and depression by the sackful but somehow, I wasn’t able to feel a lot for them. This is where I struggled with the book. Despite the fact that these women have genuine issues I found it a very frustrating read and tough to truly get into the book.
In the end, I did get a gritty picture of South Korean society. It’s a well-composed manhwa with black and white illustrations to emphasise that grittiness. But it wasn’t an entirely fulfilling read for me.
Have any of you read this? What’s your take?
“Moms” is based on journal entries by Ma’s mother upon his request. It gives a true to life, on the ground picture of Korean society through the perspective of a few middle-aged women including Ma’s mother.
Soyeon dates a philanderer, works at a low-paying job with abject working conditions. He drinks heavily, two-times Soyeon, and frequently disappears on her. Yet, she can’t seem to leave him for good, her resolve dissolving each time he comes back. Her friends, too, have equally complicated, unfulfilling relationships with men.
The men are, without exception, callous, pathological liars and bullies. The women are, without exception, prone to making one appalling choice after another, weak in front of a male presence, and naïve to a great extent. This is contrasted with their otherwise spirited and positive personalities. They put themselves through the wringer but are able to preserve an enthusiasm for life evident in their funny quips, wry humour and ability to see things with a comic view.
There’s loneliness and depression by the sackful but somehow, I wasn’t able to feel a lot for them. This is where I struggled with the book. Despite the fact that these women have genuine issues I found it a very frustrating read and tough to truly get into the book.
In the end, I did get a gritty picture of South Korean society. It’s a well-composed manhwa with black and white illustrations to emphasise that grittiness. But it wasn’t an entirely fulfilling read for me.
Have any of you read this? What’s your take?
January 3, 2022
The graphics in this novel are of the simpler kind that shows the actions and emotions and is quite effective. I found it difficult to separate the characters. Their black & white drawings and their stories were all very similar.
I was perturbed by the situations portrayed for these 50-odd year old women. All of them, every single one, has only one wish: to marry a rich man who will take care of them. They are married, single, divorced, with or without grown children. Their boyfriends (yes, even the married women have them) use these women for sex and money.
These women work hard, demeaning jobs with poor working conditions. It's sad that they work so hard and spend the money on loser boyfriends who cheat on them openly.
In the end, one character has perhaps started to believe in herself and find her path for herself but, all in all, I found this a sad commentary.
I was perturbed by the situations portrayed for these 50-odd year old women. All of them, every single one, has only one wish: to marry a rich man who will take care of them. They are married, single, divorced, with or without grown children. Their boyfriends (yes, even the married women have them) use these women for sex and money.
These women work hard, demeaning jobs with poor working conditions. It's sad that they work so hard and spend the money on loser boyfriends who cheat on them openly.
In the end, one character has perhaps started to believe in herself and find her path for herself but, all in all, I found this a sad commentary.
February 12, 2021
Very enjoyable book. Follows most closely on Lee Soyeon, the main mom, but ventures into her close friends (other 50 something adult women) and their private lives. Lots of romance and romantic drama, friendship and friend drama, work and work drama (and the struggle to unionize which was awesome to see), and made me laugh with them, yell at them, all of it. I liked the art style and the fact it was split into chapters. A nice read for sure
January 11, 2021
Once I got used to the grim reality of these characters' lives, this was a pretty good read. It follows the lives of several moms, who are trying to work and socialize but suffer from a lack of money and rights. Lots of fight scenes and profanity, this was a fun change from K-drama world.
June 11, 2021
Ihanat ajummaäidit porskuttaa tässä manhwa-sarjiksessa, vaikka riippakivenä on alkoholiongelmaisia poikaystäviä, kotona asuvia kolmekymppisiä lapsia, pettäviä aviomiehiä, kilpailevia rakastajattaria, lääppiviä pomoja ja juoruilevia työkavereita. Hetkittäin karua, välillä koomista, jotenkin niin elävästi näen silmieni edessä nämä metron istuinpaikan valtaajat, äänekkäät ja kipakat ystävykset, jotka tarpovat päivästä toiseen eivätkä anna periksi.
January 20, 2021
What a touching look at the lives of a group of middle aged women dealing with heartbreak, aging, shitty jobs, and the intensity of friendships that are strained and strengthened by all of the above.
January 3, 2023
it feels like a representation of the relationships I have with the women in my life— ranting about men, kids, work, etc. I feel like i’ve had these exact conversations with my own mom, my coworkers, my friends…
feeling a little less lonely in these thoughts!
feeling a little less lonely in these thoughts!
May 17, 2022
personally, i found the art and characters to both be unpleasant. however, the story was still engaging. i appreciate the focus on the inner lives of 50-something moms who tend to be treated as invisible.
January 25, 2021
Een dikke graphic novel over verschillende vrouwen in Korea. Heel tof, al is het jammer dat al die vrouwen zich verhouden tot hun gezin en 'vriend', terwijl ze allen ook erg zelfstandig zijn. In een volgend boek graag iets meer lostrekken van die partnerships en meer focus op het leven van de vrouwen zelf, zonder afhankelijkheid van een tweede persoon. Wat dan weer wel goed is: zo. veel. affaires. en. lovers. en feelings. Toffe tekenstijl ook. einde
October 17, 2020
The author asked his mother to fill out a blank notebook detailing her life and thoughts and from that he created this graphic novel - a response to the question what is it like to be a middle-aged woman (in South Korea). The women, the mums of the title, move through their lives that involve night clubs and picket lines as well as navigating rubbish boyfriends and adult children who still live at home.
The black and white drawings are detailed and atmospheric and full of the emotional landscape of the friends/rivals of the main character Lee Soyeon.
Translator: Janet Hong
The black and white drawings are detailed and atmospheric and full of the emotional landscape of the friends/rivals of the main character Lee Soyeon.
Translator: Janet Hong
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