Looking for a feel good memoir that will make you hungry and make you cry at the same time? This fabulous book is for you. Here is my book review Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner.

Family, Food and Finding Peace

I have wanted to read this book for months and I am so glad I finally got it on the top of my list. It’s a fabulous memoir of a mother daughter relationship. It’s also a love story, an education about Korean culture, and a mouthwatering look at Korean cuisine.

Korea

I’m lucky to have spent several weeks in Korea a decade ago. I find the country and the food fascinating. But I really don’t know many people who have traveled to Korea. You should. And maybe by reading this book you will understand the culture a bit more.

Michelle Zauner was born to a Korean mother and American father in 1989. She was raised in Eugene Oregon, where she had few Asian Americans in her school. Her mother, very strict with high expectations was Michelle’s closest companion, since they lived many miles out of town. In her teens, Michelle rebelled against her mother and the strict Korean rules in the house, even while loving her mother and loving the annual trips to Korea to visit her grandmother. She was conflicted about her Korean heritage and identity.

Identity

Michelle flees to the East Coast for college, where her fledgling band has a few gigs, she works in a restaurant and meets Peter her future husband. Far from her mother Michelle is able to put her “Koreanness” at arms length, even though she craves the foods of her childhood.

It’s not until her mother’s cancer diagnosis that Michelle reckons with her heritage and all she has learned from her mother.

You’re Gonna Cry

This reckoning and mother daughter relationship as Michelle’s mother is dying is a real tear jerker. Beautifully written throughout but particularly honest during this process, Zauner is a exceptional storyteller. Combining so many elements and anecdotes from her childhood, Crying in H Mart will make you go call your Mom, and crave some noodles.

Book Review Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

*****Five stars for Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. You definitely should read this one. Thank you for reading my book review Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. See last week’s book review The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong here.

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