Crying in H Mart

A Memoir

De: Michelle Zauner

Narrado por: Michelle Zauner

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 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, Crying in H Mart is a book to cherish, share, and reread.

Broken Korean

I can’t really describe in words what this book means to me. As a first generation Korean American, Michelle Zauner’s memoir is more than her life and losing her mom at an early age. “Crying in H Mart” is a sentiment to all first generation Korean American raised in America. We are neither Koreans or Americans because our birth place is different from our ethnicity, but yet we have two cultures to deal with all the time. It’s really difficult to explain if you were raised with one language in the household. Many first generations are multilingual and we need to switch one language to the other as we communicate with our family’s native language. A lot of times, we are confused about how to identify ourselves because our Korean is nowhere near perfect from our parents.

I’m really glad that the author narrates her own book because her Korean dialogue is so comforting to listen to because that is how we speak at family gatherings when there is a variety of cultures in the house. My Korean relatives say that me and my brothers sound more American even though we are speaking in broken Korean. But yet our parents label us as being American first because we were born and raised in the States.

I first learned about Michelle Zauner when she did an interview on The Sporkful podcast. I was instantly hooked when she described what it’s like to be shopping at H Mart and see all of the foods that her mom made for her. Fortunately, my parents are still with us and as they get older, I cherish my mom’s cooking more each time I ask her to make me kimchi jjigae. Other than my grandma who has long passed away, my eomma is the only person who knows how spicy to make the strew. There is nothing like having my mom’s kimchi.

I cannot recommend this book enough, especially if you are Korean American. I really hope that this book gets translated into hangug because I will be buying a copy for my parents because it will explain a lot to them on what it’s like being Korean American.

Crying with you.

I listened to your words in 2 days. I soaked them in. I cried with you reflecting my own loss. Thank you.

Smooth like velvet

The story is not so exceptional that it leaves you wanting more but it is intriguing enough to peak your curiosity. Also, it’s so smoothly written that it’s like listening to a relatable lullaby laced with f bombs.

Well worth a read, but perhaps better as a tangible boom

I loved this story. It was raw and beautiful, but I wish I’d read the actual book. While it was lovely getting to hear the author read her own story, her cadence is a bit repetitive and is sometimes distracting. Overall, though, I still highly recommend this book.

Wow

I lost my dad last year right before I graduated highschool. It was so validating to hear someone put into words some of the emotions I have felt. the story is beautiful and unfortunately very relatable to me right now. the narrator did an amazing job!