Mom

"Mom" (who is, for the most part, rarely referred to by her own name, Park So-nyo) is the novel's central character, even though she is spoken about far more often than she actually appears. Her disappearance is the novel's central issue, the immediate after-affects of that disappearance on her family are the focus of much of the narration, and the contemplations that her family engages in as a result of those after-effects are the means through which the narrative explores its central themes. In other words, those contemplations trigger separate realizations in the novel's other characters of just how their perspectives on Mom and their respective relationships with her have been, essentially, empty.

In terms of Mom herself, it's important to note that for the most part, the reader's impression of her is gleaned from what the other characters say about her (the fact that she is almost...