“I write to remember. I write to forget.”

In this novel, a young woman contemplates life, death, memory, immigrant family dynamics, personal trauma, and grief, all through a letter she writes to her younger brother.

Memento Mori is the kind of book that makes you feel smarter by reading it. The narrator weaves memories of her childhood and young adulthood together with stories from her family history and tales from Greek mythology. The chapter titles play around with both the chapter number and the narrator’s state of mind at that point in the story. Bouncing around between several stories and characters at once, the reader follows the narrator as she uses storytelling to work through the existential anxiety, trauma, and grief that she experienced in her early adulthood. Admittedly, it can be hard to follow at times, especially if you don’t tend to read in long stretches, but it’s worth the effort.

The book is filled to the brim with sparkling phrases that, to me, beg to be read aloud. Phrases like “I can’t claw my way out of my head. Instead of looking forward, I keep looking back, like the man with the lyre...” There are other chapters within the book where the narrator is just describing a walk she is taking, and the imagery is so vivid it feels like you’re there with her.

It is important to note the need for a content warning for the majority of the novel - especially for readers who are sensitive to discussions of death, suicidal ideation, and intimate partner violence. Still, I highly recommend Momento Mori to the kind of reader who likes introspective stories-within-stories and doesn't mind if things jump around a bit. It’s not a long book, and it’s best if you can dedicate one or two lazy afternoons to really, truly pay attention to the story Eunice Hong is trying to tell. It’s a good one.

**Thank you to Red Hen Press and Eunice Hong for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.**

This was such a unique story and so fully immersive too! The storyline was unlike anything I’d read before and I know my students will feel the same. I highly recommend this book. Absolutely stunning!

Eunice Hong’s Memento Mori is a powerful and poignant exploration of grief, love, and mortality. With delicate prose and raw honesty, Hong navigates the fragile line between life and death, encouraging readers to confront their own vulnerability. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend to my peers! Thank you Eunice Hong, NetGalley and Red Hen Press for this ARC.

'Memento Mori' blends Greek mythology retellings with the story of a woman dealing with a personal tragedy and going through all the stages of grief.
It's a moving and heartbreaking tale, told through an experimental form, with a non-linnear timeline.
Despite the heavy topic, there's a lot of love and humanity that shines through.
As someone who's dealt with a lot of loss and grief over the years, I found 'Memento Mori' to be a beatiful and relatable reading experience.

With an innovative format and deep subject matter, Momento Mori is a book that must be shared. I didn't really care too much for the incorporation of the Greek myth, but I admittedly think Greek mythology has too much of a hold on popular culture.

How can I even begin to explain what a journey this book was. This year, I made a point of engaging with more East Asian literature, and this is now at the top of my rankings for reads this year. Told through a combination of essays as the author traverses grief and loss, it was particularly impactful this year as I struggled with similar things. Highly highly recommend.

I love the concept of this book. When I read the description I immediately knew I had to read it, and I don’t regret it at all. It is experimental, but I enjoyed that about it. The idea of using Greek myths in a Korean American story is very interesting and not like anything I have ever read before. It is a beautiful emotional story about family and the experiences of loss and grief. Would recommend giving it a try.

I wrote this book, but there isn't an option to indicate that elsewhere without losing my feedback ratio, so here we are.

"Memory degrades every time you access it. People who tell you to keep memories alive by thinking about them often -- they don't know what they're talking about."

This is just one of the many lines I've highlighted while reading Eunice Hong's Memento Mori.

The conversational style in which this is written will keep you reading for hours. I almost forget that the unnamed narrator is telling her story through what seems to be her final letters to her loved ones. The insertions of Greek myths feel a bit unnecessary to the rest of the plot, but since they are told quite well, they don’t bother you too much. However, the transitions between the narrator's letter writing, conversations with her brother, her grandmother's story, and the Greek myths are not as smooth as I expected.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy reading this, I did. I’ve had to pace myself in parts where her grandparents were involved. It was so emotional and I could relate to it very much. The blame and the regret one feels when you’ve lost someone seeped through those pages as if the author herself had experienced that very same feeling. And it made me tear up recalling my own experience dealing with the loss of my grandparents.

I would have given it a higher rating had it not been for the Greek myths. Maybe it’s just me who can’t see the point of it. Nevertheless, it was a good read. And I’m very excited to see this out in stores.

Thank you NetGalley, Red Hen Press, and Eunice Hong for this wonderful book.

What a small and powerful book! The writing is experimental so takes a bit of getting used to but the book is packed with emotions. An amazing debut!

"the road ends, eventually. past the ruined shell of a stone house, past the iron benches, past the massive tree trunk cut into a crude bench, the path stops. at its finish: a high circle of stone around an emerald. a garden of the dead. name. epitaph. date en dash date. the entirety of life contained in an accident of punctuation, an arbitrary designation of meaning to indicate separation.”

eunice hong’s “memento mori” is as gut wrenching as it is beautiful – and undoubtedly one of the best this year.

like the myth of orpheus and eurydice, this story is imbued with death. each page, each chapter, death follows the narrator, a constant reminder of that which is inevitable, no matter how hard you may try to delay it. life leads to entropy, to deterioration, until it has been snuffed out. until the energy must shift elsewhere. as she tells these stories to her beloved brother, as she slowly reveals what she has gone through, how it has shaped her into who she has become, the narrator always feels death trailing behind her, slowly, wordlessly.

emotionally, was a heavy read, a rare instance for me to be brought to tears. at times i wanted to stop, to close the chapter, to hold that inevitable away from myself and from the story, but i simply had to carry on, to let that pain exist, to watch life and death play another round of chess.

this is such a powerful debut for hong, showcasing incredible skill for balancing poetry, science, and the mundane of everyday life. along with life and loss, hong also explores the struggles experienced by korean women living both in south korea and as diaspora. topically, the gender roles, the sexism, and the sexual violence discussed felt topical with the revelations of recent weeks about the extent of misogyny and abuse in the country. it feels clever without making you feel stupid, even as you read about the myths, or the neuroscience, or the land of her ancestors.

i wish i could go back and read it again anew – despite the heart wrenching journey it took me on.

In Memento Mori, the narrator - a Korean woman - tries to connect with her younger brother while coming to terms with trauma and grief after her family has experienced a tragedy.

Told in fragments (that at first I found a bit confusing), this book includes musings, memories, and bedtime stories - our narrator’s favorite is the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice (which was what drew me in in the first place because it’s one of my favorites); the well-known tale seems to carry the all-important message: don’t look back! But our narrator asks an interesting question: did anybody ask Eurydice if she even wanted to leave the underworld and return to the living?

I was, to be honest, skeptical about this unusual approach - and it took me a while to really get into the story. But the more I read, the better I liked it: the innovative format, the fact that this was a story about grief but still featured so many lovely and funny moments, the finality of death, and yes, seeing Orpheus and Eurydice, Hades and Persephone through the eyes of a Korean-American family.

4 stars, rounded up from 3.5

I want to thank netgalley, redhenpress & eunicehong for the arc.⠀
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We get to know the characters in this book through the eyes of one narrator. A girl, an older sister, the daughter of Korean parents. We get to know them through the eyes of someone that loves them, each of them in a different way perhaps, but no less true & unconditionally. This is a family like any other, but here we see the problems, the expectations, the sleepless nights wondering what to going to happen to all of us.⠀
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It has been hard to talk about this book, to come up with a review, to offer some kind of insight because 𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲. The questions the narrator asks herself, her relationship with her grandparents, where she sees herself standing in life, trying to tick all the boxes, how we sometimes demonise good intentions. The book is raw, rough, is difficult in its own realness. To me, this book is for the girls, the only child, the older sisters, the ever caring mothers, 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲. The title of each chapter goes back to shared things between the narrator & her brother, her friends, the things one does when we would like to explore each corner of the universe from our own little corner, it was a wonderful way to tie the whole story.⠀
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As a bonus, for us, the girls 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗱 with greek mythology, the book intertwines the myths of Orpheus & Eurydice and Hades & Persephone, how both of them are related to each other as well. It made me all the more excited for this book, this story, how we transport ourselves to this ancient moments so vividly. Eunice does an amazing job at taking us to that exact moment. I highly recommend this book, especially if you loved Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng.⠀
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Again, i want to thank netgalley, the publisher & the author for the arc. More to the author for hearing (reading?) me ramble & being so kind! & for the bookmark that is still out there but i hope to have here with me soon!

As someone who has always loved Greek myths, diaspora narratives, fuzzy/fragmented styles to reflect grief, I've expected so much from this book. I'm so frustrated with and disappointed with this book, because it fails to deliver on its promises.

First, the Greek myths. There are many different versions of Hades/Persephone and Orpheus/Eurydice, and I'm always welcome to read newer, fresher takes. I especially liked that it wasn't going to be a romantic angle, but these myths did not add anything to the story. Not as a theme. Not as a framing device. Not as a leitmotif. Not as a lens to view the protagonist and her grandmother. Rather, it just bloats the story. If it's cut from the book, then it would have been a stronger work. However, it's too late in the game to do this, as the myths are a big part of marketing the book.

Second, the unfocused narratives. I understand that there's a lot going on and all of the plots are important (rape, car/motor accidents, grief, illness, etc.), but they're not woven skillfully enough for one complete picture to emerge. I understand that nothing will ever be clear because this is supposed to be a raw and honest look at grief, but there's no level of polish to this. It feels like a first draft.

I tried my best to love it, and all the effort I put into journeying with this book made me add the extra star. Will not recommend.

The story of a Korean woman using Greek mythology to process her grief: Memento Mori by Eunice Hong

This book was such a unique concept, and pulled me in right away with the story of Persephone. Each chapter is written almost like a diary entry or jumble of thoughts, but these individual entries come together to tell the journey of a young woman processing her grief after her younger brother suffers a devastating accident.

Although the topic is loss, the narrator’s childhood stories and love for her brother shine through in a way that add moments of love and appreciation.

DNFed at 39%. The writing is beautiful, but its experimental form, notably the non-linear timeline and the fact that almost none of the characters are explicitly named, failed to inspire the requisite awe and emotions in me. I mostly had no idea what was going on and what the main thrust of the story was. I think it's a meditation on the conflicted emotions surrounding loss, compounded by intergenerational immigrant family differences, using Greek mythology as allegories? Okay, but why is the brother a little kid in one chapter, and a full-grown adult in the next? Who is this "K." character and why is he significant? I ended up just feeling nothing.

It's not a bad book. If you like experimental writing and a strong desire to support new Asian writers, and if you don't need to necessarily connect and empathize with the characters in order to enjoy a book, then you might appreciate this one more than me.

Memento Mori is a beautiful exploration of death, loss, depression and love. Upon starting the book, I found it a little difficult to follow the jumping storyline but that quickly resolved itself and became easier to follow.

As a reader with little knowledge of Korean language and culture, Hong did a great job of explaining enough that I wasn't in the dark but not overexplaining to the point that it reads like an encyclopaedia. Having also grown up in a bilingual, dual culture household I recognised the hopping from one language/culture to another for different thoughts and feelings, especially related to family.

Hong's exploration of grief felt very real and emotive. The disjointed start to the novel where the main plot was not yet clear replicates well the disjointed feelings in the initial stages of grief, after which when the death is a little more distant the narrator is able to explain what has happened. I did not expect M.s accident but had thought that the novel was the narrator speaking from past the grave. It made perfect sense when the plot twist arrived that the narrator would be speaking to her deceased brother.

This was a really powerful, beautiful read and I will definitely be recommending it to others and rereading once it is released.

If I loved this book less, I could talk about it more.

Memento Mori (Latin, ‘remember you must die’) weaves retellings of myths through the tale of a young woman grappling with grief, loss, trauma, and tragedy. The short chapters (snapshots really, of life as it moves on) feel easy to read on the surface, but the sense of disjointedness and the full emotional impact of the moment tends to hit you not long after.

It’s a very raw depiction and while it certainly won’t be for everyone, I cannot thank NetGalley and the publisher enough for making this a ‘read now’ option. I’m so glad I got to experience this book and I’ll be thinking about it for a very long time.

“are you putting the pieces together yet?”

memento mori is a quintessential “trust the author, trust the process” novel. as a reader, you might not know where the story is going at first but that is okay! as i read i was most reminded of ghost forest by pik-shuen fung, the way the fragmented sections flow. how sometimes while reading i forgot it was fiction and not the lives of real people. the first half of the novel is disjointed but not unpleasantly so, with our main character interspersing telling her brother mythical tales and recounting memories. the novel picks up steam in the middle and roars to a finish.

every aspect of memento mori makes more sense the further you read. i don’t know how best to explain this, but the way the story unfolded allowed the emotion to build so naturally, by the end i was in tears. a very beautiful story of family, memory, and love.

i’d recommend this to readers who love a braided novel and characters that are true to life.

I enjoyed the premise of this book but found it hard to get into as the shift between the different chapters and styles of prose was hard to navigate as a reader. I also found the image behind the text hindered my reading fluency.