"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Thursday, December 23, 2021

Reveiw and quotes: CRYING IN H MART


Title:
Crying in H Mart: a Memoir by Michelle Zauner

Book Beginnings quote (from page 1):


Friday56 quote (from page 18, last page of preview):


Summary: Michelle Zauner, a Korean American, writes about her relationship and memories of her mother who died when Michelle was twenty-five. It was her mother's death that forced Michelle to grapple with her identity or her "Koreanness" which allowed her to "reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her."

Review: In the second chapter Michelle confesses she rarely remembers the date of her mother's death, but she cannot forget the food her mother cooked and ate. While Michelle is racked with the grief of her mother's untimely death she finds solace in the Korean food her mother fixed but never taught her to make. Michelle had to turn to the Internet tutorials to learn how to cook the food of her childhood. 

Like most people, Michelle's life and relationship with her parents was complicated. She was a rebellious child and caused her parents all kinds of grief. The highlight of her young life were the trips she and her mother to Korea to stay with her grandmother and to spend time with her mother's family every other summer. What she remembers the most of those trips was the food.

It is really obvious food can be one of the love languages. Sharing special food at family gatherings has always been a big deal. When I was growing up I wasn't taught to cook family favorite meals either. I did a lot of baking as a teenager but often that just meant making cakes from boxes or cookies like chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin. When I moved away from home I didn't even know how to make spaghetti sauce or how to cook any meat other than hamburgers. Fortunately for me, my mother is still alive and I have tapped her recipe files over the years. I've actually shared recipes back to my mother that she originally gave me but lost. My husband was taught more cooking skills as he grew up, though looking back, he has a hard time remembering many special meals or recipes that remind him of his parents. Both of us, however, do consider certain meals that we ate often as children as 'comfort food' today -- food we rarely eat, like meatloaf, which is associated with good feelings.

Based on my own experiences with food, family, and comfort I really appreciated Michelle's focus on food as she seeks comfort during her grief. I have never been interested in learning about and tasting Korean food before, but now I certainly do want to try some of the foods she mentioned in the book.

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City ReaderShare the opening quote from current book.
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e Friday56 is hosted at Freda's VoiceFind a quote from page 56 to share. 

Visit these two websites to participate. Click on links to read quotes from books other people are reading. It is a great way to make blog friends and to get suggestions for new reading material.  

-Anne

7 comments:

  1. I've heard great things about this book! Happy weekend and Merry Christmas!

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  2. I like the sound of this one! What interesting little tidbits about the mother. Here's mine: “LUCY”

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  3. It sounds interesting! Merry Christmas!! https://cindysbookcorner.blogspot.com/2021/12/first-line-friday-31-on-christmas-avenue.html

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  4. I've been to H Mart in Korea--an amazing store! I went there because Alison told me she thought they had Tiramisu pockys. They didn't but it was a great excursion anyway.

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  5. I liked this memoir, but the food connection was too much for me. Like you, I didn't cook when I left home, but now (mostly) enjoy it though I am not cooking my mother's recipes.

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  6. I thought this was an exceptional book.

    Merry Christmas, Anne!

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