Scan barcode
bookedwithbrie's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Racism
kelly_e's review against another edition
3.0
Author: Michelle Zauner
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 3.0
Pub Date: April 21, 2021
T H R E E • W O R D S
Raw • Illuminating • Surface-level
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Crying in H Mart is a memoir about growing up, caregiving, death, grief and identity from Michelle Zauner.
She details growing up as one of the few Korean American kids at her school; of struggling with her mother's high expectations; of time spent with her mother's family in Seoul; of caring for her mother through the end of life; of death and grief; and of reconnecting with her identity.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Sometimes the hype can have an adverse effect on my reading experience, and that was certainly the case with Crying in H Mart. I went in expecting a life-alternating and moving memoir dealing with death and grief, yet I didn't get the emotional depth I'd anticipated.
That's not to say this wasn't an incredibly personal and healing journey for the author, which I imagine it was. It felt like a story which needed to be written, yet not necessarily read. The writing was accessible, and Michelle details an intimate look into the daily routine of caregiving for someone at the end of life. It's always interesting to read about how people discover their culture, especially in grief. And food does play a role throughout, however, I'd expected there to be more of how food is a source of human connection through the good and the bad. I just wanted more depth and emotion.
Crying in H Mart is a beautiful exploration of mother/daughter relationships and an open dialogue on dying and grief, it just wasn't the all encompassing sensory experience I'd been wanting or needing.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for a mother/daughter memoir
• grievers
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"It felt like the world had divided into two different types of people, those who had felt pain and those who had yet to."
"Food was an unspoken language between us, had come to symbolize our return to each other, our bonding, our common ground."
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Vomit, Medical trauma, and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, and Abortion
the_last_bookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, and Death of parent
miggyfool's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Abortion
kcelena's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Abortion
lauren176's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
dizzzybrook's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent
thmei's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Medical content and Medical trauma
the graphic topics are basically the plot of the entire book. michelle’s mom died of cancer. you know this from the first sentence. it is not written about as if the author intends to horrify or shock you. it isn’t graphic in a traumatic way, it’s just ever present. it is one of the few books i would universally encourage you to read if you’ve experienced the tagged triggers. knowing someone else has gone through this, is still grieving, and yet still has joy, is something all of us in grief need. there are scenes in hospitals and descriptions of caretaking but i didn’t think they were particularly graphic or disturbing. i have taken care of a chronically ill parent, however, so maybe take my thoughts with a grain of salt.corpseparty's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Racism, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, and Death of parent
paigebayliss's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Chronic illness and Death of parent