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iamninjabuni's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
1.0
I do not recommend listening to this as an audiobook as the author (who reads it) is incredibly monotone and difficult to listen to. I often found myself having to go back because I had completely zoned out to whatever she was droning about due to her complete lack of tone. My review does not reflect how difficult it was to listen to her, but the content of the book itself.
That aside, I think that this book was written for the author herself and it probably should have stayed in her journals. I understand that this is a book on grief and have tried to view it through that lens, everyone grieves differently. I had hoped to find something to relate to in the realm of parental loss or the difficult relationship between mother and daughter but did not find the author relatable at all. That wouldn’t be a big deal, but the author seems to have gone out of her way to alienate her audience.
She comes off as whiny, spoiled, petulant, and ungrateful – maybe it is an only child thing? There is no introspection. She bemoans her disconnection to her culture while also stating that she never bothered to learn it. She gives no thought to what her family members may be feeling and comes across as self-centered. Again, something I could dismiss to grief if she didn’t spend so much time talking about how angry she was that her sick mother wouldn’t eat the food she made and how difficult it was for her to care for her. That could also be chalked up to her mentally and physically abusive upbringing, which the author brings up in an offhanded way and does not really address. Again – maybe this should have stayed private
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
rmfickfack's review
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Terminal illness, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Violence
nataliedc's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
4.25
An emotional retelling of the year Michelle Zauner turned 25 and her mother was diagnosed with and died of cancer, interspersed with vignettes from Zauner's childhood and adolescence. The hype around Crying in H Mart promised a heart-wrenching tale of grief and perseverance in the face of loss and, boy, did it pack a punch. I didn't expect to relate to so much of Zauner's experiences, specifically when it came to her complex relationships with her parents. I do wish Zauner took a more reflective perspective on the more ~questionable~ parts of her upbringing (verbal, physical abuse), as these moments (specifically without ANY content warnings which I, personally, would've appreciated), on their own, without reflection, really didn't do much for the reader, save for make them question how Zauner still managed to view herself as a "burden" to her parents who didn't really "deserve" to experience depression as a teenager. While these are of course Zauner's own experiences and she is entitled to keeping her own thoughts and feelings on them to herself, I do wish her memoir carried the same level of self awareness when it comes to describing her own experiences that she displayed when describing her parents' experiences. All in all, however, this was a solid memoir that uses motifs such as music and food to heal from the trauma of losing a loved one and, as a listener of Japanese Breakfast, this context to some of their songs only added to my enjoyment of their work.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse
emilysbookishlife's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse and Grief
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
ejanephillips's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Car accident, Cursing, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Vomit, Abortion, Alcohol, and Death of parent
kaneekakapur's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Racism and Physical abuse
idun_aurora's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
While both of my parents are still alive, things have transpired in the past few years that resonated heavily with me through this book. How you can love and hate your parents at the same time, about (not) being good enough, and how your senses and your nerves never forget. While splashed with the occasional humor, this book had me sobbing more than anything.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Vomit, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Abortion, Alcohol, Grief, Body shaming, and Cancer
rieviolet's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
I can only add to all the praise this memoir has gotten. It was honest, brutal, heartbreaking, mesmerizing, just all-around wonderful.
I loved the way food was a focal point throughout the narration, how its connection with one's cultural heritage was so strongly and beautifully illustrated. It really prompted me to reflect on the food I've grown up with and its significance for my own selfhood.
The linguist in me also really appreciated the lovely reflections on language and on a mother tongue.
The writing style was just *chef's kiss*. There were so many passages that I kept re-reading thinking to myself "How could she manage to capture this feeling with such poignant words and turn of phrases?", I was just floored.
I loved the way food was a focal point throughout the narration, how its connection with one's cultural heritage was so strongly and beautifully illustrated. It really prompted me to reflect on the food I've grown up with and its significance for my own selfhood.
The linguist in me also really appreciated the lovely reflections on language and on a mother tongue.
The writing style was just *chef's kiss*. There were so many passages that I kept re-reading thinking to myself "How could she manage to capture this feeling with such poignant words and turn of phrases?", I was just floored.
My mother had struggled to understand me just as I struggled to understand her. Thrown as we were on opposite sides of a fault line - generational, cultural, linguistic - we wandered lost without a reference point, each of us unintelligible to the other's expectations, until these past few years when we had just begun to unlock the mystery, carve the psychic space to accommodate each other, appreciate the differences between us, linger in our refracted commonalities. Then, what would have been the most fruitful years of understanding were cut violently short, and I was left alone to decipher the secrets of inheritance without its key.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Medical content, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Violence, Alcoholism, Car accident, Racism, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Excrement, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Vomit
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Addiction, Abortion, and Rape
stephanieridiculous's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Whew, what an emotional book!
A lovely exploration of identity, family, culture, and grief. While this book is heavy I didn't find it emotionally taxing. It's uplifting in the midst of it's weight, and Zauner is an exceptional story teller.
Aside from the primary topic of the book, parental death by cancer (which can get fairly graphic, but in a respectful way), the content warnings are somewhat mild. One very brief reference to past rape, references to drug/alcohol abuse, DV, occasional swear words, and this is the weirdest: there is one part where she compares something she's cooking to the consistency of male bodily fluids. Two references within a page of each other, so over quickly - but I won't be able to not think about that if I ever eat that food! I did put emotional abuse as a graphic content warning, but I suspect that's very cultural. The way Zauner explains her mother treated her would definitely classify as emotional abuse where I live, but I understand that's very different around the globe.
A lovely exploration of identity, family, culture, and grief. While this book is heavy I didn't find it emotionally taxing. It's uplifting in the midst of it's weight, and Zauner is an exceptional story teller.
Aside from the primary topic of the book, parental death by cancer (which can get fairly graphic, but in a respectful way), the content warnings are somewhat mild. One very brief reference to past rape, references to drug/alcohol abuse, DV, occasional swear words, and this is the weirdest: there is one part where she compares something she's cooking to the consistency of male bodily fluids. Two references within a page of each other, so over quickly - but I won't be able to not think about that if I ever eat that food! I did put emotional abuse as a graphic content warning, but I suspect that's very cultural. The way Zauner explains her mother treated her would definitely classify as emotional abuse where I live, but I understand that's very different around the globe.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Terminal illness, Grief, Medical content, Cancer, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Car accident, Cursing, Addiction, Abortion, Alcoholism, Excrement, Vomit, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, and Rape
paperbookmarks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
This book had been on my radar for a really long time; I love food writing and I'd heard particularly good things about the way this was written. Although it was quite a difficult read in terms of the grief - in particular, I want to flag that she describes her mum dying in quite explicit detail and because I've experienced something similar quite recently it was quite hard to read. I did adore the food/cooking descriptions as I find cooking so therapeutic so I'm really glad I've read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Death, and Physical abuse