A review by koreanlinda
Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.0

My short reflection as a Korean American reader

Forte:
  • I liked the chapters about Cathy's experience with counseling therapy and the relationship with her mother. 

Shortcomings:
  • The chapters lack cohesion and were confusing in terms of time progression. 
  • The book is marketed as an Asian American memoir, but a big portion of the book is neither memoir nor about the Asian American experience. 
  • I got the feeling that Cathy is avoiding telling her own story and reverting to the story of others.
  • One chapter about Cathy's college years shows that a friend abused Cathy, but there is never an acknowledgement of the abuse. It is rather dismissed as a character flaw. 

If you want to read about Korean American Woman's experience, I recommend Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. 

Review by Linda (she/they)
Twitter @KoreanLinda
Letter writer at DefinitelyNotOkay.com 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings