by JJameson: The first thing I thought when I saw this book title is: what’s an H Mart? The H Mart, it turns out is a Korean grocery chain and food looms large in this memoir by a young author who is of mixed race (Korean Mother/ American Father). The author’s mother is desperate to instill Korean food and recipes into her daughter’s American life but hits a brick wall with her “American” teenager. But fast forward and the mother /daughter bond grows as the daughter enters young adulthood and the mother is diagnosed with a life-changing illness. The daughter becomes the caretaker and tries desperately to repeat the Korean recipes her Mom treasures. (The father is definitely on the sidelines in this memoir). I haven’t read a memoir in a long time- and glad I got to read this one. My only criticism is that the author did not describe the foods more so that we could visualize the many dishes that she incorporates into the book: how about a couple of Korean recipes that Americans could take on? Or a glossary with food descriptions would help. But don’t let this deter you from a devastating, but hopeful look at a mother-daughter relationship caught up in cross-cultural tension.
