Crying in H Mart

When musician Michelle Zauner loses her mother, cooking and eating becomes her anchor to Korean culture.

Michelle Zauner, the artist behind the indie band Japanese Breakfast, has written a memoir not about music but about grief. She writes about growing up as mixed-race and how food can connect us with other people and with our own identity in a way that not even words can. It is a story about loss, grief and cultural exploration.

Caring by cooking

Growing up, the relationship between Michelle Zauner and her mother is far from easy. The author is 25 years old when her mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. When she comes back to take care of her mother, she connects again with her Korean heritage, learning to cook the comforting meals that her mother craves.

When her mother passes away, Michelle Zauner feels that her Korean identity is also gone, but discovers that cooking and eating Korean food becomes the anchor to her culture. A Korean-American millennial growing up in the United States.

Half of both cultures

As a half Japanese myself, many themes and situations described by Michelle Zauner in this book are very relatable: the impostor syndrome of not being Asian or European enough, the pain of not being able to communicate with relatives due to the language barrier and how Asian food becomes an important element of her identity.

Heartbreak and catharsis

Her raw and honest way to describe the complexities of having a mixed heritage was equally reaffirming and heartbreaking, but mostly cathartic. I would recommend this book to those who want to reflect on family loss, race and identity, on exploration of roots but also to memoir enthusiasts in general. I am pretty sure that anyone can find relatable elements in Michelle Zauner's work.

Fler boktips

  1. När jag inte hade nåt

    Av: Glasgow, Ison Tipsat av: Anna Sahlén

    Hip-hop-artisten Ison kommer till Sverige som 5-åring. Då har han och hans mamma Linda ingenstans att bo.

  2. Crying in H Mart

    Av: Zauner, Michelle Tipsat av: Maria Sicilia Ono

    When musician Michelle Zauner loses her mother, cooking and eating becomes her anchor to Korean culture.

  3. Blue nights

    Av: Didion, Joan Tipsat av: Anna Sahlén

    Melankoliskt och vackert om förlust och livets förgänglighet.

  4. Lives of mothers & daughters

    Av: Munro, Sheila Tipsat av: Åsa Zetterström

    Alice Munro tilldelades 2013 års Nobelpris i litteratur. Drygt tio år tidigare skrev hennes äldsta dotter Sheila den här boken, om att växa upp med den berömda författaren.

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Ämnesord

Tipsat av: Maria Sicilia Ono den 23 november 2022