Crying in H Mart
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- Create Date：2021-05-01 03:30:58
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Michelle Zauner
- ISBN：B08FMVVQGF
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Summary
From the indie rockstar of Japanese Breakfast fame， and author of the viral 2018 New Yorker essay that shares the title of this book， an unflinching， powerful memoir about growing up Korean American， losing her mother， and forging her own identity。
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 the only Asian American kid 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 pancreatic 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。
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 the only Asian American kid 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 pancreatic 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。
Reviews
John Oakley
，
Near perfect。 It’s just so tender and sweet， it touches on these universal human emotions and never falls into anything corny。 It’s all sincere and honest and gives you a full picture of her relationship with her mother， who Zauner is trying to remember and grieve after she has passed at the same time she figures out how to live her own life。 The conclusion of this book is perfect: we get a beautiful couple scenes showing how exactly her mother’s legacy lives on with Zauner and her mother’s sist Near perfect。 It’s just so tender and sweet， it touches on these universal human emotions and never falls into anything corny。 It’s all sincere and honest and gives you a full picture of her relationship with her mother， who Zauner is trying to remember and grieve after she has passed at the same time she figures out how to live her own life。 The conclusion of this book is perfect: we get a beautiful couple scenes showing how exactly her mother’s legacy lives on with Zauner and her mother’s sister， how the people we have lost can impact us even after they’re gone， and how we can make them proud even if they’re not there 。。。more
Erica
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4。5/5 Stars。This is a very touching memoir about death and family。 It was especially poignant to me as I continue to grieve my grandfather。 Definitely a good read！
Bajidc
，
I forget that good song writers are logically good plain old writing writers。 Cases in point: Carrie Brownstein and Jeff Tweedy （not you， Morrisey）。 This is less an account of Michelle Zauner’s music career and more a moving memoir about her turbulent love for her mother and the way Korean food （buying it， cooking it， sharing it） acted as an expression of it。 It is excruciating watching a parent die by inches but what gets you through is knowing you’ve done everything you can to ease their pain I forget that good song writers are logically good plain old writing writers。 Cases in point: Carrie Brownstein and Jeff Tweedy （not you， Morrisey）。 This is less an account of Michelle Zauner’s music career and more a moving memoir about her turbulent love for her mother and the way Korean food （buying it， cooking it， sharing it） acted as an expression of it。 It is excruciating watching a parent die by inches but what gets you through is knowing you’ve done everything you can to ease their pain and revisiting the good memories。 I think about my father every time I see my kids show kindness， perform something， or ace a test， knowing that he would be thrilled with their accomplishments。 I am lucky I can still form great memories with my mother。 After this book， I won’t be able to visit H Mart again without thinking of her， especially when perusing the vegetable aisle for the right sized okra and stocking up on bulk spices。Superb blurb:Though my mother and I hadn’t parted on good terms， once a month， huge boxes would arrive， reminders I was never far from her mind。 Sweet honey-puffed rice， twenty-four packs of individually wrapped seasoned seaweed， microwavable rice， shrimp crackers， boxes of Pepero， and cups of Shin ramen I would subsist on for weeks on end in an effort to avoid the dining hall。 She sent clothing steamers， lint rollers， BB creams， packages of socks。 A new “this is nice brand” skirt she’d found on sale at T。 J。 Maxx。 The cowboy boots arrived in one of these packages after my parents had vacationed in Mexico。 When I slipped them on I discovered they’d already been broken in。 My mother had worn them around the house for a week， smoothing the hard edges in two pairs of socks for an hour every day， molding the flat sole with the bottom of her feet， wearing in the stiffness， breaking the tough leather to spare me all discomfort。 。。。more
Anne Bogel
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I loved this book。 Review to follow。
Shannon Hunt
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How does one write a memoir about their mother's losing battle with cancer in a way that will have you aching with recognition and raw emotion without invoking endless maudlin cliches？ Michelle Zauner will show you how。 She takes you on a deeply emotional journey and explores her Korean identity and complicated relationships with her parents through memories of her family life and reminds us how tightly woven our emotions are with the food we consume beside the ones we love （and the ones we some How does one write a memoir about their mother's losing battle with cancer in a way that will have you aching with recognition and raw emotion without invoking endless maudlin cliches？ Michelle Zauner will show you how。 She takes you on a deeply emotional journey and explores her Korean identity and complicated relationships with her parents through memories of her family life and reminds us how tightly woven our emotions are with the food we consume beside the ones we love （and the ones we sometimes struggle to understand）。 She brings you into those quiet， private moments of grief， the ones we all experience when dealing with mortality but never speak about， in a way that makes you feel privileged to be there。 I loved this book so much， I felt myself slow my reading speed to thoroughly live within its pages a little longer。 Perhaps the best memoir I've ever read。 Now excuse me while I go call my mom。。。 。。。more
Jessica Woodbury
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This is not your usual grief memoir and it's better for it。 It considers not only the loss of a loved one， but the loss of the author's connection through her mother to her Korean roots。This absolutely goes on the list of books you should not read while you're hungry。 From the very first chapter， which is indeed a kind of grieving walk through H Mart， taking in all different types of foods， there is so much great food writing。 Zauner is a patient and faithful describer of food， laying out for yo This is not your usual grief memoir and it's better for it。 It considers not only the loss of a loved one， but the loss of the author's connection through her mother to her Korean roots。This absolutely goes on the list of books you should not read while you're hungry。 From the very first chapter， which is indeed a kind of grieving walk through H Mart， taking in all different types of foods， there is so much great food writing。 Zauner is a patient and faithful describer of food， laying out for you each dish， what is in it， and what types of occasions it's associated with。 It is no surprise when she begins to work through her grief through cooking。The specificity of this memoir， like most good memoirs， is what really makes it sing。 Zauner was brought up by her Korean mother and American father， mostly in Eugene， Oregon。 She admits that she was a difficult and rebellious teenager， and that by the time of her mother's cancer diagnosis in Zauner's mid-20's， they have just started to figure out how to have a less tumultuous relationship。 With her mother's potential death looming， Zauner never really gets to reckon with the ways her mother's parenting was difficult， but she can try to rectify the ways she made things harder by being a perfect daughter to nurse her mother back to health。 The bulk of the book takes place during her mother's illness， which is described in detail， so keep in mind if that's a difficult topic for you。I did the audiobook， which Zauner reads。 Like many memoirists who read their own work， it isn't as animated a read as from a professional actor， but I like hearing people read their own writing so I didn't mind it。 I also like hearing books that contain a lot of a language or accent I don't recognize， because it brings it to life in a way I never can just looking at it on the page。If you are looking for another book in the very small subgenre of death and food memoirs， I'd recommend FROM SCRATCH by Tembi Locke。 。。。more
Keatyn
，
This was one of my favorite audio books in a while。 I loved how food played a pivotal part in the author’s memories of her life and of her mother。 A beautiful and heartbreaking memoir about family and loss。
Sophie
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alhoewel non-fictie niet echt mijn ding is， ben ik zo blij dat ik dit boek ben tegengekomen， want crying in h mart is echt zo prachtig en hartverscheurend tegelijk。 het gaat over de relatie （en vooral de liefde） tussen michelle en haar moeder， een relatie die niet altijd de makkelijkste was， en dat was zo herkenbaar dat ik er af en toe bijna van moest janken。 ik heb het geluk dat ik nog nooit het verlies van een ouder heb hoeven meemaken， maar dit wordt in het boek zo waanzinnig goed en mooi bes alhoewel non-fictie niet echt mijn ding is， ben ik zo blij dat ik dit boek ben tegengekomen， want crying in h mart is echt zo prachtig en hartverscheurend tegelijk。 het gaat over de relatie （en vooral de liefde） tussen michelle en haar moeder， een relatie die niet altijd de makkelijkste was， en dat was zo herkenbaar dat ik er af en toe bijna van moest janken。 ik heb het geluk dat ik nog nooit het verlies van een ouder heb hoeven meemaken， maar dit wordt in het boek zo waanzinnig goed en mooi beschreven， dat het me echt enorm wist te raken。het is daarnaast ook een food memoir， waarin bijna alle herinneringen verbonden zijn aan een bepaald gerecht of de bereiding daarvan。 de beschrijvingen van het koreaanse eten zijn gewoonweg om bij te watertanden。 voor mij draait mijn leven ook om eten en dat heeft in mijn （indo） familie ook altijd een grote rol gespeeld， dus dat was echt iets waar ik enorm mee kan relaten。ik vind het verder moeilijk om te reviewen， omdat het natuurlijk niet echt een plot of personages heeft， het is gewoon iemand herinnering van een bepaalde tijd， maar wat is het toch geweldig beschreven allemaal。 echt: lees dit boek。 。。。more
Roshi
，
holy shit
Soyoon Kim
，
I got chills drawing the parallels between my mother and Chongmi; their mannerisms， philosophies on death， the precision in preserving clothing for years， housekeeping。。。all of that。 There is some universal 엄마ness that unites Korean mothers and endears them to their 딸。 It's something quite unexplainable， but somehow Michelle translates these feelings in her memoir， the feeling of reverence， fear， aspiration， and deep desire to please 엄마 and earn her approval。 I admire the way she's able to flesh I got chills drawing the parallels between my mother and Chongmi; their mannerisms， philosophies on death， the precision in preserving clothing for years， housekeeping。。。all of that。 There is some universal 엄마ness that unites Korean mothers and endears them to their 딸。 It's something quite unexplainable， but somehow Michelle translates these feelings in her memoir， the feeling of reverence， fear， aspiration， and deep desire to please 엄마 and earn her approval。 I admire the way she's able to flesh out portraits of all of her relations—mother， father， grandmother， aunts—with such a deep generosity。 She releases her past and ongoing resentments to the people she loves while acknowledging their biographies， these specific circumstances and contexts that might help explain the way they are。 It goes without saying that she applies this same generosity to herself; admitting past wrongs， sharing perverse confessions。 Michelle captures well the feeling of tension between otherness and belonging as an ethnic-Korean in America， as an Asian-American in Korea， and shuttling between these two states。 And while I am so grateful to see published this story that captures the frustrations， pain， joy， and levity found in Asian-American girlhood， I hope that Michelle is "keeping her 10%" from us， or at least continuing to do so。 Idk if this makes sense but she's given so much of herself already; I just want for her to rest and enjoy herself。 I welcome all that she has to offer the world and hope she that she puts herself first no matter what she does。 I could go on， but I will let simmer these thoughts a bit longer。 I LOVE YOU MICHELLE， thank you。 。。。more
Daniel Torres
，
My grief comes in waves and is usually triggered by something arbitrary。
Sean Loughran
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I cried several times while reading this book。 The last time， at the very end， I cried so much into the first Korean food I had eaten in 9 years。 This book was heartbreaking for me because the love that Michelle felt for her mother was the same I felt for my grandfather， and I felt we were grieving at the same time。 It was similar， but different。 I noticed so many feelings and emotions that were buried deep within bubbling to the surface while reading this beautiful memoir of loss， loss， and lif I cried several times while reading this book。 The last time， at the very end， I cried so much into the first Korean food I had eaten in 9 years。 This book was heartbreaking for me because the love that Michelle felt for her mother was the same I felt for my grandfather， and I felt we were grieving at the same time。 It was similar， but different。 I noticed so many feelings and emotions that were buried deep within bubbling to the surface while reading this beautiful memoir of loss， loss， and life。 I'm grateful to Michelle for telling her story， and for this book， to which I feel gave me the opportunity and space to grieve for my grandfather。 This one is staying on the shelf， while I purchase other copies for friends who are experiencing grief and loss。 Full review is here: https://www。avocadodiaries。com/2021/0。。。 。。。more
Megan Oliveros
，
made me cry and hug my mom for a very long time， 10/10
Steve Ayden
，
Gorgeously， unflinchingly written， this memoir manages to communicate Zauner’s experiences in a way that feels universal， while never straying from the point: reconciling loss of a loved one and a culture you were always just able to touch， but not quite able to grasp。 In grappling with the loss of her mother， Zauner pens wisdoms and questions that resonate with macrocosmic meaning。 There is so much to this book; and I can’t count the amount of times I cried at her impeccable ability to convey p Gorgeously， unflinchingly written， this memoir manages to communicate Zauner’s experiences in a way that feels universal， while never straying from the point: reconciling loss of a loved one and a culture you were always just able to touch， but not quite able to grasp。 In grappling with the loss of her mother， Zauner pens wisdoms and questions that resonate with macrocosmic meaning。 There is so much to this book; and I can’t count the amount of times I cried at her impeccable ability to convey pain， devastation， suffering with singular sentences that slice sharper than any knife one might find at H Mart。 I adore this book。 。。。more
Jeff Goodman
，
I don’t know what else to say other than this book is beautiful。 It is raw， emotional， genuine， and powerful。 The audiobook s read beautifully by the author （I may read it in print now too）。 Mostly， it will make you want to eats lots and lots and lots of Korean food。
Margie
，
Review to come
Jennie
，
Crying in H Mart is a touching and heartfelt memoir about the wonderful and complicated relationship between the author and her late mother。 Food was one of the things that connected Zauner to her mom and her Korean culture。 She takes you into her grief as she struggles with her mom's cancer diagnosis and ultimately her death。 A devastating and beautiful read。Thank you to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my review。 Crying in H Mart is a touching and heartfelt memoir about the wonderful and complicated relationship between the author and her late mother。 Food was one of the things that connected Zauner to her mom and her Korean culture。 She takes you into her grief as she struggles with her mom's cancer diagnosis and ultimately her death。 A devastating and beautiful read。Thank you to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my review。 。。。more
Sara
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A beautiful and sad memoir that will stick with you。 Be prepared to cry a lot。
Colette
，
i'm cry i'm cry 。。。more
Cady Siregar
，
This book was amazing。 So honest， raw， and beautifully written。 I am still reeling from it so my brain is full of mush and my thoughts very incoherent atm。 😭 Michelle Zauner writes about （among other things） grief， the struggles of diaspora， and the confusing nature of Asian-American identity in a way that I really haven't read before。 I am so grateful this book exists 🥺 This book was amazing。 So honest， raw， and beautifully written。 I am still reeling from it so my brain is full of mush and my thoughts very incoherent atm。 😭 Michelle Zauner writes about （among other things） grief， the struggles of diaspora， and the confusing nature of Asian-American identity in a way that I really haven't read before。 I am so grateful this book exists 🥺 。。。more
Valerie
，
i feel like i've been looking forward to reading this for ages！ and it did not disappoint。 i always jokingly refer to michelle zauner as "ms breakfast" bc i know her first and foremost as a musician but that feels kind of weird here lol。 i'm not much of a memoir reader whatsoever but i love zauner's music and was excited to get to know more about one of my favorite artists of the last few years。 her writing is so evocative of emotion and it just seems to leap off the page。 this was no surprise s i feel like i've been looking forward to reading this for ages！ and it did not disappoint。 i always jokingly refer to michelle zauner as "ms breakfast" bc i know her first and foremost as a musician but that feels kind of weird here lol。 i'm not much of a memoir reader whatsoever but i love zauner's music and was excited to get to know more about one of my favorite artists of the last few years。 her writing is so evocative of emotion and it just seems to leap off the page。 this was no surprise since her original new yorker essay of the same name did just that too， but i was really impressed by how no feeling or thought or argument was too ugly to be written down。 in a way it was kind of hard to read， not at all because anything was bad or poorly written， but because you could feel the grief and the dread in the chapters leading up to her mother's death， which is many kids' worst nightmares， myself included。 i actually ended up trading off reading chapters of this with a light-hearted fantasy novel to balance my emotions out LOL。 all in all， i loved having the chance to read this and know more about zauner and her mother， who sounded like such an incredible woman， and their relationship to one another， food， and korean culture。 even if you're not a big memoir reader like me， definitely pick this one up and give a listen to her music too！！ 。。。more
Anita
，
I've read other memoirs that still feel like I am being kept at arm's length， but somehow Michelle Zauner made this book feel so personal and filled with emotion as she describes her relationship with her mother and the food they experienced together。 Hearing about Michelle's experience as a mixed race child and finding her identity through understanding her mom and Korean food as well as her experience with a sick parent left me overwhelmed with feelings。 This book is perfect and I am grateful I've read other memoirs that still feel like I am being kept at arm's length， but somehow Michelle Zauner made this book feel so personal and filled with emotion as she describes her relationship with her mother and the food they experienced together。 Hearing about Michelle's experience as a mixed race child and finding her identity through understanding her mom and Korean food as well as her experience with a sick parent left me overwhelmed with feelings。 This book is perfect and I am grateful to be let into something this raw and full of poetry in how it all weaves together。 。。。more
Gail Heaney
，
Wonderful memoir about grief and her relationship with her mother。
Shannon
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This honest and illuminating memoir really captured the complexity and enormity of grief。 Zauner brought her mother to life through vivid descriptions of her skincare routines， parenting style， and， of course， her cooking。 She described all of the food and ingredients so beautifully that I found myself searching for recipes as I read along。 Not only was I introduced to Zauner's mother and her lovely family， but also to a culture and cuisine that I did not know much about。 You do not have to be a This honest and illuminating memoir really captured the complexity and enormity of grief。 Zauner brought her mother to life through vivid descriptions of her skincare routines， parenting style， and， of course， her cooking。 She described all of the food and ingredients so beautifully that I found myself searching for recipes as I read along。 Not only was I introduced to Zauner's mother and her lovely family， but also to a culture and cuisine that I did not know much about。 You do not have to be a fan of Japanese Breakfast to be truly moved by this memoir， but I'm sure you will be once you have read it。 。。。more
Tricia
，
a deeply raw， heartbreaking memoir so beautifully told。 i'm currently listening to （and loving） psychopomp and i'm very upset i haven't heard of michelle/japanese breakfast before a deeply raw， heartbreaking memoir so beautifully told。 i'm currently listening to （and loving） psychopomp and i'm very upset i haven't heard of michelle/japanese breakfast before 。。。more
javi
，
i devoured this。 i would give it 10/5 stars if i could。 i don’t think i’ve ever cried so much reading a book。 it was beautiful， painful， and so intimate and personal。 a memoir completely stripped to the bone， and such a delightful reading experience。 i’m aching to hug my mother。 this has quickly become one of my favorite books of all time。
Jenny
，
Michelle Zauner has this beautiful way of making me cry but also want to eat a table full of Korean food at the same time。Her albums really got me through a tough time of grieving， and although it wasn’t the same grief， there’s something so personal about the way she writes experiences that really makes both her music and first book special。
Hannah Borison
，
As a huge fan of Japanese Breakfast and of Michelle Zauner’s short essays， I have been excited to read this memoir since it was first announced。 In some ways I’ve never felt so seen while reading a memoir。 As a fellow half-Korean， half-white woman， I was struck by how much I related to her， despite our very different life circumstances and personal relationships with our parents。 From her slices of life， like eating midnight snacks in relatives’ apartments in Seoul， to her more complex analyses As a huge fan of Japanese Breakfast and of Michelle Zauner’s short essays， I have been excited to read this memoir since it was first announced。 In some ways I’ve never felt so seen while reading a memoir。 As a fellow half-Korean， half-white woman， I was struck by how much I related to her， despite our very different life circumstances and personal relationships with our parents。 From her slices of life， like eating midnight snacks in relatives’ apartments in Seoul， to her more complex analyses about her claim to her Korean identity in light of changing external factors， I really felt a deep personal connection to the author。 And I think many mixed people and children of immigrants can relate similarly to her different representations of the push and pull of having a part of your cultural identity feel completely intertwined with your relationship with your parent。 That being said， I also think that the book is something that can be enjoyed by any reader， regardless of cultural background。 There were many parts of the book in which I did not have similar personal experiences， but I was moved and touched nonetheless。 Michelle Zauner is an excellent storyteller and her insights on tougher areas of her life are intimate， poignant， and powerful。 I admire her， at times， painful honesty when it comes to her relationship with her parents in particular。 I also appreciate how though the topic is heavy， it is an easy， smooth read， punctuated with moments of levity。 I found myself crying and smiling throughout。 Overall I think this is a book that I’ll be thinking about for a long time。 。。。more
* Anjuli *
，
😭😭😭GO BUY THIS BOOK AND READ IT RIGHT NOW。 coherent review to come ❤️ Thank you， Michelle for sharing your life and words。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Crying in H Mart
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Crying in H Mart&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Crying in H Mart&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0