Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

173 reviews

anjasshelf's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

marena02's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

Zauner has a unique way of relating real life experiences to the art of making Korean dishes. It’s what kept me reading. Her food descriptions were good enough to make me hungry. Touching on the topics of grief, loss, mommy (and daddy) issues, generational trauma, identity, and culture while still managing to keep the book feeling light and an easy read isn’t something most can do, but she did. I like how she was able to touch on her issues with her mom growing up and how that came full circle with how she learned to grieve her mother. Her being able to understand the cultural lessons her mom was trying to teach her as a kid and seeing how they pertain to her life as an adult after her mom passes and finally being able to get a sense of who she is…just brilliant. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Cursing, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

lifethrumay's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

This book felt like I was being told a story by a dear friend. It held so much raw emotion and didn't hold back in the slightest. It was real. It was also a little funny, and interesting as I was personally not very accustomed to Korean food, so I was fortunate enough to learn some new dishes that I am excited to one day try. I aspire to be as considerate as Michelle's mother, remembering all my loved ones favourite dishes and flavours. 
Just overall, an interesting and worthwhile read. Great book to start off the year. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction and Alcohol

trollmila's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

I decided that I'd go to sleep early. That did not happen. I took a few days to read the first hundred pages but laying in bed I just became entranced in the book. I spent the second half of the book crying. During the wedding where Zaumer says there wasn't a dry eye in the tent, years later I was crying along with them.
Zaumer writes so well and the flow of the book, where we get flashbacks, where we get brought into the present are so well timed and balanced. I picked up the book finally after it being on my list for so long (shout out library waitlists (I kid I love you libraries)) due to her being a musician I deeply love but kept reading because it was so impactful and well written and structured. 
My family lost a parent to cancer in December 2023 and my mother recieved her diagnosis in Oct 2024 but thankfully they were able to remove it. It was a good book and I think I needed the cry.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Infidelity, Car accident, and Abortion

town_scar's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Racism, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Infidelity, Vomit, and Alcohol

Minor: Abortion

madeline_p4's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

norygraph's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Racism, Excrement, Abortion, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

kloughlin's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Infidelity and Abortion

crownoftamriel's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

I really don't want to give a star rating to a memoir! I enjoyed how conversational the writing was. I loved reading all of the author's conflicting thoughts on grief and life and happiness and moving on and the past and how difficult parental relationships are. I thoroughly enjoyed all of her food descriptions and how she found peace and comfort in cooking cultural cuisine. I need a trip to H-Mart stat to make some of these dishes! You will be hungry while reading, and shedding some tears. 

I do wish there was a pronunciation guide for the Korean words (mainly food). I bet the audio book does great with that! 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer and Death of parent

Minor: Addiction and Alcohol

vb_marie's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

3.0

I found this book interesting but it doesn't match up with my personal preferences. I learned a lot about Korean food and the potential sources of culture clash between South Korean and American cultures. However, a good part of the book deals with sickness and grief without much comic relief. I usually prefer to read works that include at least some humor to soften the darker sides of the story.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Car accident, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction and Abortion