Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Memoirs are tricky. They often come from a place of pain or neglect, a life of struggle or one marred by loneliness and isolation.
So for a memoir to work, there needs to be distance between the author and the driving event, making space for the reader to empathize and relate. If there are too many unresolved issues, and it feels like the author is mid struggle, it makes it difficult for the reader to navigate and relate.
A few favorite memoirs that have succeeded in walking this fine line are ‘The Glass Castle’ by Jeannette Walls, ‘Educated’ by Tara Westover and - as will come as no surprise to readers of this page - almost anything by Edouard Louis!
Another such wonderful memoir is ‘Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner, also known as the singer and guitarist of 'Japanese Breakfast’.
Zauner is the daughter of a Korean mother and an American father. After a childhood and youth spent mostly in opposition to her strict mother, she leaves home for college, (mentioning how the distance of this move was probably the saving grace of their relationship).
In her mid twenties as she leaves college her mother is diagnosed with cancer and Zauner spends the next few years taking care of her mother, traveling to Korea, connecting with her Korean culture - through family and food.
‘Crying in H Mart’ is a beautifully written, funny, moving tribute to a fraught mother - daughter relationship, the power of food and food culture, and a wonderful reminder that there is (almost) always hope for repair.
Happy Reading!
PS For Danish readers I would also like to recommend ‘Fruen’ by Malene Raben, also an extremely well written and successful memoir