eBook, 256 pages
English language
Published Nov. 5, 2021 by Alfred A. Knopf.
In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother’s particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother’s tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food.
As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band–and meeting the man who would become her husband–her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother’s diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning …
In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother’s particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother’s tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food.
As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band–and meeting the man who would become her husband–her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother’s diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her.
Vivacious and plainspoken, lyrical and honest, Zauner’s voice is as radiantly alive on the page as it is onstage. Rich with intimate anecdotes that will resonate widely, and complete with family photos, Crying in H Mart is a book to cherish, share, and reread.
(source)
This book really grew on me, the tone was honest and direct, it felt real, very personal and as if the author had put it down in one flow, effortless, which I'm sure it wasn't. Even though I knew her from the music she makes with her band Japanese Breakfast and it partly covers the starting out part of her career, it never becomes an artists bio, but you do get another perspective on some of her music..
Zauner reflects on her childhood and relationship with her mother through the lens of her mothers' death.
This is far from my favorite book, however, I think it's worth a read considering that Zauner handles tough subject matter with care, and touches on family, belonging, and identity as a multiracial person in America. It's great writing.
Zauner writes with love and self-awareness. Took me a little while to get through because it was so sad.
Deeply moving
"What we're looking for isn't available at Trader Joe's. H Mart is where your people gather under one odorous roof, full of faith that they'll find something they can't find anywhere else."
The author relates her story about growing up Korean American in a way that anyone, of any background, can find something in. She grew up in Oregon to a demanding mother, struck out on her own after troubled teenage years, and then returns to care for the same mom as she's fighting cancer. It's an honest look at self-image, grief, and identity that I absolutely loved to read.
Her way of writing was stellar even as she described the many different faces of grief and loss, and while I don't really cry from books, this one brought me close. And, I know this is a weird thing to bring up in a sober review like this, but the …
"What we're looking for isn't available at Trader Joe's. H Mart is where your people gather under one odorous roof, full of faith that they'll find something they can't find anywhere else."
The author relates her story about growing up Korean American in a way that anyone, of any background, can find something in. She grew up in Oregon to a demanding mother, struck out on her own after troubled teenage years, and then returns to care for the same mom as she's fighting cancer. It's an honest look at self-image, grief, and identity that I absolutely loved to read.
Her way of writing was stellar even as she described the many different faces of grief and loss, and while I don't really cry from books, this one brought me close. And, I know this is a weird thing to bring up in a sober review like this, but the food descriptions? Like, 5 stars, easy. 6 stars. All the stars.
Highly recommend giving this a read. Incredibly moving, incredibly powerful.
Crying In H Mart made me cry in my apartment. This book was really heavy but rlly real. What a beautiful way to immortalize someone.
This book feels like a fraught love letter to Zauner's mom, who died of cancer when Zauner was in her mid-20s, wrestling with all the things people go through when trying to find their footing in the world as an independent, functioning adult. She examines her bi-racial, bi-cultural identity and captures the complexity of mother/daughter relationships, all while making it seem effortless to write sentences that any MFA program would give a standing O. I hadn't realized she is also a musician until the end of the book, which then prompted me to go check out her band on twitter.
Most important and interesting memoirs are not this beautifully written. Thank you.
