I’ve been keeping up with this reading lark quite well! I read 2 great books in November and there was a common theme between the two of them: grief, loss, sadness and navigating that in life. It was unintentional though but maybe it was the days being shorter and the nights drawing in or perhaps as the year draws to a close and I felt a little gloomy (like so many of us!). Regardless of that, I enjoyed these two a lot and below are my reviews of them.

‘Crying in H Mart’ by Michelle Zauner

I really loved this book. Crying in H Mart captures grief in all its shifting forms so beautifully from the looming weight of what is to come to the gut punch of loss and the strange quiet of learning how to live alongside it. Michelle Zauner writes it in a way that is devastating and tender but never indulgent.

What makes it hit even harder is the warmth running through it. There is humour in here, funny moments like when her and her Mum were in the spa that sit right alongside the sadness. The way she writes about her mother is especially moving, full of love, frustration, admiration and regret all coexisting at once in a way that feels painfully real.

I also loved her relationship with South Korea and her extended family there. The way she brings them all to life through food, memory and shared moments adds so much richness and texture to the story and gives the book such a strong sense of place and belonging.

The chapters are so digestible and her writing flows effortlessly, which somehow makes the emotional impact land even harder. As heavy as parts of this book are, I adored reading it and felt genuinely sad when I reached the end. One of those books that stays with you long after you finish it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘Blue Sisters’ by Coco Mellors

The premise of this story pulled me in immediately. Three sisters coming back together a year after the death of their other sister Nicky, all circling their grief in their own ways and reflecting on who she was to each of them. That emotional backbone is where the novel is at its strongest.

Each sister is clearly drawn. Avery the eldest feels like the emotional anchor of the book, the former addict turned lawyer who quietly became a surrogate mother to the others. Bonnie a once formidable boxer drifting after a crushing defeat and betrayal. And Lucky the model in Paris, the so called wild child living fast and recklessly. I found Avery and Bonnie the most likeable and compelling, especially Avery whose chapters I was consistently most drawn to. Lucky never quite clicked for me in the same way. Her sections leaned a little too close to caricature at times and some of the supporting characters felt jarring. I also found myself rolling my eyes at a few of her escapades which read like an episode of Skins rather than something more grounded.

The chapters were a bit too long for my taste, sitting in that awkward middle ground where they started to feel heavy rather than immersive. That said, Coco Mellors writing itself is strong and often very affecting, although I am convinced she discovered the word ostensibly midway through writing and could not let it go.

I really appreciated the ending. The flash forward was handled well and it was satisfying to see where the sisters landed without giving everyone a neat, predictable or overly soft future. It felt resolved without being fake.

Overall this was a great introduction to Mellors for me and I will definitely be picking up her other work.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️