ESEA Archives
Tian and Dora
Zoom
Free
ESEA Archives are a monthly book club open to all readers celebrating the work of ESEA authors, for September we are reading the hot-off-the-press Crying in H Mart by musician Michelle Zauner. Join us for discussions in a welcoming, informal, open and safe space. In partnership with Hackney Chinese Community Services.
For our fifth session in September, we are reading Michelle Zauner's hot-off-the-press, complex, thought-provoking 2021 memoir Crying In H Mart. Zauner's debut discusses growing up mixed-race and how her mother's death brought her to a reckoning with her own heritage. Michelle Zauner is a Korean-American writer, musical artist and founder of the band @jbrekkie. In her exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, she proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. For her, food is a portal: “When I go to H Mart, I’m not just on the hunt for cuttlefish and three bunches of scallions for a buck: I’m searching for memories. I’m collecting the evidence that the Korean half of my identity didn’t die when they did.” It was her mother's diagnosis of terminal pancreatic cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her. Please come prepared by reading as much as you can of the book, available new at most well known bookshops for £14-16, or used for less.
Thank you to our bookclubbers' nomination of this book which was voted for in our last session. Enjoy and we look forward to chatting!
*** Book club open to readers of all backgrounds. No expertise about anything required. Happy reading 🤓 ***