by Michelle Zauner
Damn! is all I can say. There was a whole lot to love in this memoir, and I can clearly see why a whole lot of people loved it a lot. But although I finished it and enjoyed a few parts, mostly it just didn't resonate with me.
There's nothing much to criticize. For my taste it could have used some severe editing. She has a tendency to describe a sequence of actions in excruciating detail, so much that I got bored halfway through and just wanted to "skip to the end". For example, her description of preparing Kimchi was one of those, but I found it fascinating and I hung on her every word. Many people would not. But her descriptions of many other things seemed to drag on into infinity.
But I need to remember--it's a memoir. A person gets to put what they want into their memoir, and what to put in is a very personal decision. In her case, she wanted to honor her mother and bring alive her memories of their time together, and that was great. She also threw in pretty much of her own life history, which wasn't so great.
But it's well written (except for the detail) and honest. I have no reason to criticize it--all I can do is read it or not read it. But now, having read it, I kind of wish I hadn't.
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