Crying in H Mart: A Memoir

I lost my mother suddenly at 16 and have spent the subsequent 30 + years chasing who I am without her and compared to her. This book really encapsulates the beauty and pain of that search. Although I didn't have the national divide between my mother and I, the generational, educational, and somewhat cultural differences really rang with me. The search for family identity with food is so very poinient and familiar. Do I want, like, or desire fried potatoes or liver with onions? Doesn't matter, my mother did and to keep that memory of her, it happens. Thank you Michelle for being the rebellious surviving mama's girl. I don't wish it on anyone but it's horribly beautiful not to feel alone. Janell

I am Asian American and have recently lost my mother. I love how the author Michelle Zauner is so descriptive with her words that one can taste what she is writing. It is multi layer in how it touches the heart for any mother daughter relationship. The book also celebrates a beautifully Asian food culture that I am so grateful is my own as well. This legacy is one that for every Asian American should be proud of sharing to the world who does not know of this. I hope this book sparks the curiosity to explore one’s heritage especially if you are born in America and have felt othered. I was moved deeply reading through the pages that I didn’t want this book to end and when it did it left me yearning for My Mother.

I was so enamored by this beautiful and touching memoir that I have recommended it to all of my reader friends. It is both touching and eye opening for its honesty and look into a young woman who grew up in two cultures and without a realization of how important family and food are to our lives--often until it's too late. A true classic!

My brother recommended this book to me. Being that my partner is mixed race- Korean and White- he thought I would like it. I never imagined how much I would like it. Within pages of starting this book I started seeing similarities between Michelle's Umma and my own mother in law. Things I thought were arbitrary and off the wall things that she will tell me are actually 100% Korean cultural things that she does. I am blown away at the amount of insight into Korean culture, that I previously only had from one point of view. This book had me crying from start to finish. It's beautifully written. Throughout the book I would stop and ask my partner what certain things were (some he knew, some he didn't), and with some I got an anecdote from his childhood about how his Halmoni would make him certain foods. I feel more connected to, not only my partner through this book, but also my in laws. Absolutely recommend if you are interested in learning about Korean culture, don't mind crying, and overall want to read a really good book!

If you like me have lost your mother, this will bring you back to the time when the loss was fresh & you tried to find your way. If your Mom is still with you, I hope reading this reminds you to treasure the memories you make together. Persuade her to let you take photos of the two of you.This book was totally engrossing, poignant, I felt the author’s emotions deeply, & couldn’t put it down.

I bought the audiobook for my book club, which I highly recommend. Zauner voices it herself and you can hear the emotion in her retelling so well, and it's a huge bonus to hear the Korean pronunciation if you're not Korean yourself. Overall I thought this book was very real, and showed all of the lovely parts of her relationship with her mother and the pain alongside it. I loved the food motif throughout the book and think many people will find it relatable. I love Korean food, but for a few people this was their first introduction to the cuisine and culture, and it got them to try Korean food for the first time. This book will probably make you cry!!The only critique I had of it was I thought it was a little too unstructured. I listened to it with my partner and they found the first opening chapters hard to get into since Zauner starts off with a very wide view of her story/relationship with her mother/her feelings. Once she gets into the chronological-ish parts you get totally roped in. Don't expect a "satisfying" ending, because there is no "close" to her story. Her life is obviously ongoing and there are still feelings she's grappling with. It would be impossible to wrap up neatly!Loved it!!

I swear, the first chapter had me in tears. I lost my Korean mom in 2014 and I feel like I'm reading my own words. This book is so well written. Even if I couldn't relate I would still enjoy this story. Love it!

The author turns all the special cruising of Korean into a beautiful tribute to honor her mother and to honor her Korean heritage. Very very well written! I would have loved to taste some of the dishes she created, especially Kinchi

Heartbreaking reading about how our relationship with our parents became the key of who we are. It’s amazing how Michelle Zauner describes food; makes you drool all the time. Also, very insightful into Korean culture.

A capa comum não é muito boa, ela tem um material bem molinho. O livro é perfeito, Michele zauner é perfeita 💖

je l’ai lu en 2 jours (parce que je devais dormir) donc je le recommande vivementce n’est pas une lecture sur laquelle on doit se poser des questions existentiellesjuste se détendre et lire

Enjoyed the book. Interesting story about the author's life and how she managed grief through food.

I liked the book so much that I couldn’t stop reading it. It is basically the story of the author’s relationship with her mother and Korean food, and she relates them with such force that you almost feel you know her mother and can taste the food. The book is filled with information about Korean food, but otherwise her insights into Korean culture are pretty much limited to what she experienced in the apartment of her relatives during summer vacation and her mother’s cooking. She notes almost in passing that many Koreans where she grew up in Oregon were Christians, but never gives a thought to the reason nor does she even mention the two great traditions of Confucianism and Buddhism in Korea, not to mention the indigenous religion of Korea, Shamanism, in which women have the dominant role. In Korea, her descriptions are mainly of the food markets and the food she eats. It’s a shame that her mother did not speak Korean with her when she was growing up, since she would have had more insight into the culture. But then that was not the author’s goal, and we hear nothing else about Korean life. She even admits that she is not very familiar with K-pop although she performed a concert in Seoul with her band. She did relate a little bit about the lives of her aunts in Korea, which sounded very different from what divorced or single women had experienced years before.When I taught in Korea for a couple of years, my students often talked about their mothers, but rarely about their fathers. Fathers worked long hours and were much less often at home, and most women lost their jobs after marriage (at that time; no sure how the situation is now) and consequently were homemakers, as was her mother. Her descriptions of growing up with a housewife mother obsessed with Korean food (and if you aren’t familiar with that fantastic cuisine, this book will give you the urge to try it!) and her alcoholic, philandering father are very vivid and make them come alive, but her mother is the centerpiece. The author downplays her abilities, e.g., how did she get admitted to Bryn Mawr College if her performance in high school was that bad? But she did admit that she graduated with honors from it. Her mother certainly did not sound like a typical Asian “Tiger Mom”, pressuring her child to be the best in everything, although she did insist that Ms. Zauner attend college (neither parent had).She touches on the subject of being half-Asian in the USA, but as her mother said to her: “You are an American”, and I can’t imagine her living permanently in Korea and feeling at home. She seems more conscious of her heritage than others at times.Ms. Zauner has found her calling as an author, and the book is of much higher quality than her music although she has a beautiful voice. I had never heard of the band Japanese Breakfast, and I have to admit that I was surprised that it has had such success as well as European and Asian tours. I guess a lot of people like it, but I find that lacks moments of surprise, unexpected twists, an unexpected note or chord, that somehow fits right in and makes you sit up and say “Wow!”. Hopefully, she will devote herself to writing in the future!And I wish there were an H Mart near where I live and I could take a cooking class with her!