Author: Michelle Zauner
# of Pages: 341 (ebook)
Genre: Nonfiction, Biography
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis: In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humour 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, 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.
Review: No one told me that singer Michelle Zauner (aka singer under the name Japanese Breakfast) could write!
Crying in H Mart caught my attention from the title alone - who is this person, and why is she crying in the iconic Korean grocery store? Little did I know that this book is actually a heartfelt memoir about her mother's battle with her cancer AND Zauner's struggles with identity, culture, and relationships.
I can't exactly criticize the story. Zauner's complicated yet close relationship with her mom is likely relatable to many people, especially Asian Americans growing up with immigrant parents. For those who can't relate, it provides insight into what it's like growing up as a halfie and how closely food ties into her relationships on her Korean side of her family/family friends.
That being said, while I was reading this book BEFORE realizing Zauner is Japanese Breakfast, I didn't think this story was particularly notable despite being pretty well written. It's an unfortunate reality that many people know of a loved one who battled cancer, and Zauner's struggle with identity is not too different from other books I've read relating to growing up Asian American, as a minority. It's because it's NOT a very unique story that there's a large audience of people who's hearts it can easily touch from being so relatable.
This aside, the only minor complaint I have is how non linearly the story is told. Jumping back and forth between her parents' past as well as her own past maybe the story a lot less gripping for me, and I found myself not feeling the urge to pick up the book again for days.
If the topic of Crying in H Mart sounds interesting to you, definitely give it a shot. I almost gave this book 4 stars because I have no regrets reading this book, but I didn't cry over it (at most slightly teared up if I thought hard enough about it) and didn't feel invested in the story. It's also cool to hear more background on the person behind Japanese Breakfast even though I don't listen to the artist's music.
