A review by takarakei
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

A deeply personal memoir about mother/daughter relationships, and being an Asian American balancing two cultures. Michelle's relationship with her mother (and father) is very complicated. Much of the book deals with her mother's battle with cancer (check full TW!). Those of Asian and particularly Korean heritage will find many cultural comforts, especially when it comes to Korean food descriptions. The art teacher passage/letter wrecked me. Being a fan of Japanese Breakfast, I never knew their first album was a picture of Michelle's mom and that she wrote some of the songs for her.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Mental illness and Excrement

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Racism, Car accident, and Abortion

This book focuses very heavily on Michelle's mother's battle with cancer, and the struggle of caretaking through terminal illness. Michelle has a sometimes contentious relationship with both her parents. Her father deals with substance abuse issues.