Reviews tagging 'Death'

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

677 reviews

kaylaswhitmore's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I may just be biased, since I am also a Korean-American woman who grew up in Eugene, Oregon…but this memoir is certainly a gift to all who read it, and especially children of Asian immigrants. Words can’t quite describe the bizarre, surreal experience I had reading Michelle’s recollections. In between reeling emotionally from the similarities between her mother and my own, I would find myself blinking as familiar staples of my Eugene hometown popped up on every other page. Though my childhood and relationship to my mother is still quite different from Michelle’s, there were still so many things that struck me as familiar—like a funhouse mirror. Her use of emotion to paint such vivid pictures of the intangible truly drew me in and held me from the very first chapter. Someday, when the ache of her loss and the fear of losing my own mother fades, I will return to this book and reread it anew. For now, I’ll sit here in silence for a bit and cry lol.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Fatphobia, Grief, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Car accident, Infidelity, and Body shaming

Minor: Vomit

franksfiction's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

 

 * This is my opinion; I encourage readers to read anything they want. * 

I truly don’t know how to rate this book. It’s a weird feeling, anyway, writing a review on someone writing about their own life. I’ve heard many good things about “Crying in H Mart” that I wanted to read myself. 

I enjoyed the writing style. I saw some reviewers say it wasn’t written well, but I thought the personalness and vulnerability Zauner’s writing has to offer were great. If you have lost your mother, this will be a challenging and potentially triggering book to read. The biggest issue I have with rating this book is Michelle’s mother. In my opinion, she’s awful and downright abusive. Any of my Korean friends I’ve made, though, their mothers have treated their children similarly (but not to the point that Michelle’s mother gets to). 

I read some reviews saying that this book felt more like a therapy exercise for Zauner, a cathartic experience not meant for millions of people to read, and I agree. I also don’t know what to say about the course the book decides to take. I don’t know what it is, but it feels wrong to rate this book, and I hope Michelle Zauner is doing amazing. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Cancer, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Death

mcosmic's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Cancer, and Death

Minor: Alcoholism

yeehawrobbins's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

mcnoble's review

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Deeply reflective and wholeheartedly authentic, Michelle Zauner’s writing whisks you away to her own memories with perfect descriptions. Crying in H Mart was on my “to read” list for a long time and it was worth saving. Her rawness and attention to detail make you want to cry, smile, and find the nearest banchan to enjoy. 

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Abortion, Alcoholism, and Car accident

boyshouts's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

Thoughtful, engaging, and full of incredible food imagery!

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Content Warnings

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

lena04's review

emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cancer, and Death of parent

clarelou07's review

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

Well-written reflection of grief and the complicated scales of maternal relationships. While reading, I felt myself pulling threads of my own maternal relationship to consider alongside Zauner. 

Content warning: this is an in depth book covering someone's cancer journey, and the effects on a family. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Car accident, Abortion, Alcoholism, Cancer, Alcohol, Death, Grief, and Medical content

erinreadsslow's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

delaneyfields's review

emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Death