Review of Crying in H-Mart

As an avid Goodreads user, for the last year I have heard nothing but good reviews about Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. After reading, I agree with all the praise that this memoir has received. In Zauner’s book, she explores her experiences with identity, family, grief, culture, and food. Crying in H Mart shares all of Michelle’s struggles with being biracial from childhood when she would feel left out during Korean school to adulthood when she loses her mother, her connection to her Korean heritage.

Sobbing near the dry goods, asking myself, Am I even Korean anymore if there’s no one left to call and ask which brand of seaweed we used to buy?

Zauner not only shares about her Korean American experience but also shares about her journey to becoming a successful musician when everything was turning against her. She shares anecdotes throughout the memoir that would inspire any creative. The experiences and life lessons she learned doesn’t only apply to Korean Americans, biracial people, children of immigrants, or creatives but applies to everyone through the ideas she shares about belonging, grieving, and dreaming. The stories Zauner shared evoked memories of my childhood and opened the idea that others have had similar experiences to me. Although I am not a biracial Korean American, some of the struggles Zauner had made me feel seen and I think many others would feel that way about her stories despite being Korean.

Her stories of visiting South Korea reminded me of the time I first visited when I was in elementary school, making me long to visit. The vibrant descriptions of the food and sights she saw gave me wanderlust. If you weren’t convinced to visit South Korea in the past, after reading this book you will for sure be looking for tickets to Seoul. The one thing that stood out to me the most about this memoir was the imagery all throughout making the reader feel like they were a side character in every experience. Michelle Zauner’s memoir is a great start if you are wanting to start reading memoirs or want to learn more about the Korean American experience. It is definitely worth reading and deserves all the praise.

“Gwaenchanh-a, gwaenchanh-a,” she said. It’s okay, it’s okay. Korean words so familiar, the gentle coo I’d heard my whole life that assured me whatever ache was at hand would pass. Even as she was dying, my mother offered me solace, her instinct to nurture overwhelming any personal fear she might have felt but kept expertly hidden. Michelle Zauner, Crying in H Mart