Wow. 2021 feels like forever ago, doesn’t it? One of the biggest contributors to making that a memorable year for me was the band Japanese Breakfast. Lead by Michelle Zauner, the band not only went on a fantastic tour, but Zauner also published a best-selling memoir, Crying In H Mart. The memoir largely centers around Zauner’s relationship with her mother, whose death was devastatingly impactful in her young life.
Now, two years later, Zauner will be going on her first book tour to commemorate the paperback release of the memoir:
When it comes to musicians writing novels, the results can be hit-or-miss. For instance, rock icon Patti Smith’s Just Kids was phenomenal read and one of my absolute favorite books of all time. By contrast, Carrie Brownstein, of Sleater-Kinney and Portlandia fame, wrote Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl in 2015, and it didn’t quite hit in the same fashion, even though it was full of heart.
But Crying In H Mart‘s emotional power shows exactly how masterful a book it is. It tells the story of a young Asian woman coming into her own and pursuing her dreams even when the odds are seemingly insurmountable. At the heart of the story is her complex relationship with her mother, touching on an immigrant parent upbringing that I personally found incredibly relatable. In fact, I’ve yet to even finish this book because the funeral chapter reduced me to a puddle. What can I say, I love my mama too much. Yet this speaks even more to how powerfully this novel is written and how talented Zauner is as a writer.
I will definitely be seeing her on this tour, and I highly recommend you check it out, too. Crying In H Mart is a beautiful book and it will absolutely tear you a new one (as far as emotions go). I’ll be bringing my J Brekkie chopsticks, too. Shoutout to my dad for the thoughtful gift.
(Featured Image: David J Lee via Flickr)
