“It felt like the world had divided into two different types of people, those who had felt pain and those who had yet to.”
Crying in H Mart is a 2021 memoir by Michelle Zauner, singer and guitarist from the indie pop group, Japanese Breakfast. Her debut novel came about after a number of literary agents saw her essay of the same name in The New Yorker and got in contact to see if she would be interested in expanding it. The book’s title refers to H Mart, a North American supermarket chain that specialises in selling Korean and Japanese goods. Crying in H Mart is Zauner’s lyrical, unflinching and beautifully delivered portrait of growing up mixed-race, Korean food, the grief of losing her mother and finding her own identity. A viral sensation and one of the most acclaimed memoirs in recent times, join us today at What We Reading as we run you through our favourite books like Crying in H Mart!
Stay True – Hua Hsu
Kicking off our list of books like Crying in H Mart is Stay True, the acclaimed memoir by Hua Hsu. In it, the New Yorker staff writer delivers a gripping story on friendship, grief, and how a journey into the self can be discovered through art. Stay True kicks off with Hua and Ken, two individuals born to Asian immigrants in the United States. Whilst they hardly have anything in common, the two begin to build a friendship over late-night conversations over cigarettes, long drives along the California coast and the many successes and pitfalls that come with college life.
Tragically, Ken is killed in a carjacking, not even three years after meeting Hua for the first time. Determined to hold on to all that was left of one of his closest friends, Stay True is a coming-of-age story that chronicles growing up, moving on and navigating a world in search of meaning and belonging.
Rat Girl – Kristin Hersh
Another powerful memoir like Crying in H Mart written by a trailblazing female music artist comes from Kristin Hersh in Rat Girl. In 1985, Kristin Hersh was just beginning to find her place in the world. After leaving home at the age of fifteen, the energetic child of unconventional hippie parents had just enrolled in college and her band, Throwing Muses, was touted as being on the verge of a major record deal.
Then everything changed. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and found herself caught in an emotional maelstrom. She began taking medication but soon discovered that she was pregnant. Rat Girl documents the year that followed for Kristin and, similar to Zauner’s novel, makes for a profoundly personal and deeply moving read.
Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning – Cathy Park Hong
In Minor Feelings, poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong blends memoir, cultural criticism and history to demonstrate the extent of racialised consciousness in the United States. As the daughter of Korean immigrants, Hong grew up steeped in shame, suspicion and melancholy. She would later understand that these ‘minor feelings’ occur when American optimism stacks against an individual’s reality – when they start to believe the lies they’re told about their racial identity.
Similar to Crying in H Mart, this portrait of Asian and American cultures blending offers a deeper examination of racial consciousness in the Western world today. Hong traces her relationship to the English language, poetry and artmaking, and family and female friendships to both uncover and speak the truth.
Taste: My Life Through Food – Stanley Tucci
Before Stanley Tucci became a household name with The Devil Wears Prada and The Hunger Games, he grew up in an Italian American family that spent every evening around the dinner table. In his 2021 memoir Taste, he takes readers beyond the recipes and ingredients and into the stories behind them.
One of the best books like Crying in H Mart for anyone looking for another foodie read where every dish is brought to life through vivid descriptions and infectious passion, Taste is filled with anecdotes from Tucci’s life. He guides readers through growing up in Westchester, New York, preparing for and filming the likes of Big Nights and Julie & Julia, and how he and his wife team up to create conversation-worthy meals for the biggest of critics: their children.
Almost American Girl – Robin Ha
For as long as she can remember, it’s been Robin and her mom against the world. Growing up as the only child to a single mother in Seoul in the 1990s wasn’t always the easiest experience, but it forged a bond that has kept them together ever since.
So when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama suddenly becomes a permanent relocation, Robin is devastated. Her life is totally upended overnight. She is dropped into a new school where she doesn’t understand the language and struggles to keep up. She finds herself cut off from her friends, has no access to her beloved comics and, at home, doesn’t fit in with her new step-family. Worst of all, she finds herself furious with the one person she’s closest to: her mother. One of the best graphic novels like Crying in H Mart, Almost American Girl deals with culture shock, isolation and how art helps reclaim an identity.
I’m Glad My Mom Died – Jenette McCurdy
For another book like Crying in H Mart that explores our relationships with our mothers and offers a poignant journey of self-discovery, Jennette McCurdy’s global bestseller, I’m Glad My Mom Died, is a must-read. From the age of six, Jenette’s mother’s only dream was for her daughter to become a star. For Jennette, she would do anything to make her mother happy. She would endure a calorie-restrictive diet, weigh herself five times a day, be showered by her mother until she was sixteen and share all her diaries, emails and income with her mother.
In I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette recounts all of this in unflinching details as well as what happens when all of her dreams appear to be coming true. From iCarly to Sam & Cat, what followed was a rollercoaster ride through anxiety, shame, disorders, addiction and a series of unhealthy relationships. Yet, after discovering therapy and quitting acting, Jennette embarks on a candidly-told journey of recovery, finding out what she really wants from her life for the first time.
Check Out The Best Books Like I’m Glad My Mom Died
Girl In A Band – Kim Gordon
In Girl in a Band, Kim Gordon, founding member of Sonic Youth and a role model for an entire generation of women, tells her story. She writes openly about her experiences growing from girl to woman as a pioneering icon within the music and arts scenes in the eighties and nineties.
Girl in a Band also follows Kim as she struggles with marriage, motherhood and independence. Filled with descriptions of the sights and sounds that bring every page to life, Kim’s memoir is moving, evocative and a stunning portrait of a changing world and an extraordinary artist, perfect for any fans of Crying in H Mart.
Just Kids – Patti Smith
Another beautifully-delivered memoir by a female artist similar to Zauner’s work comes from Patti Smith in her 2010 book, Just Kids. In it, the legendary American artist offers a never-before-seen glimpse into her remarkable relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe across New York City and the Chelsea Hotel in the late sixties and seventies.
An honest and thoroughly moving story of youth and friendship, Smith brings the same distinctive and lyrical quality to Just Kids as she has to the rest of her incredible body of work – from her music, and visual art to her poetry.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
