Real Time Review: Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong

To dissect or review a memoir can feel akin to dissecting or reviewing someone’s experiences, which doesn’t feel quite correct given the plethora of experiences we all have. This is entirely true for Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong, a searing, brutally honest exploration of what it is to be an Asian American. But I wanted to share a general overview because I really enjoyed this book and wanted to share it here.

Throughout Minor Feelings, Hong tries to find a balance between sharing her own experiences and what that might mean for the Asian American experience as a whole (a daunting task). She acknowledges that she can’t speak or represent everyone who may be a part of this group, while using visceral anecdotes from her life to illustrate a bigger picture.

Hong uses a plethora of different topics and ideas (some which are very unexpected at first) to provide a window in her experiences. By exploring topics like family history, female friendships, art and expression, life and death, language, and even stand-up comedy, we are able to see how her experiences permeate every part of her life. Fully acknowledging her own imperfections, Hong does her best to explore both internal and external factors that may contribute to her own way of being. While the book is a memoir, it also serves as a statement on history and culture in general. She is unafraid to explore what lies beneath many of the deeper rooted issues in the U.S.

I am always appreciative of the opportunity to learn more about the experiences of someone different than myself, and through her candid and raw storytelling, Hong uses Minor Feelings to show just one window into the important and complicated experience of being Asian American.

Minor Feelings is available through Penguin Random House.