Crying in H-Mart is memoir by indie-pop musician Michelle Zauner (Japanese Breakfast) that focuses on her relationship with, and the death of, her Korean mother.
H-Mart is a supermarket chain that specializes in refers to Korean convenience stores that specializes in Asian foods and the H stands for han ah reum, a Korean phrase the author tells us roughly translates as “one arm full of groceries.” This memoir is about family, grief, Korean women, and to an extraordinary degree, Korean food. The specific and precise details of taste, smell, ingredients, and cooking drive home how food defines the culture and bonds the characters. Michelle’s mom, aunts, and other characters (including herself) are rendered with bracing honesty and profound tenderness that make them unforgettable. Great memoir about mother daughter relationships that are soul-deep. Here’s what The Adroit Journal says:
