Reviews with content warning for Ableism - Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning

"Asian American” is a complex identity. There’s first the question of who gets to claim the Asian American identity. Fundamentally, that would be anyone whose ancestral land is on the Asian continent. However, when we think of who the Asian American is, there are a few assumptions made: (1) they are East Asian (usually Han Chinese), (2) they come from an immigrant family, (3) said family is of the same ethnicity, (4) middle- to upper-class, and/or (5) they live in an area with a large Asian community. And it’s here that I ran into my frustrations with Minor Feelings, which is that this “Asian American reckoning” that Hong speaks of is… well, not reflective of my own reckoning, and I imagine many other Asian Americans.

Of course, Hong isn’t saying we all have the same experiences, but it sometimes came across that way to me, particularly the way she seems to assume that (nearly) every Asian American “gets it” when she talks about our relationship with the English language, feeling shame for being Asian American, etc. While these come from her own personal anecdotes, it’s the way she enmeshes them with cultural criticism and historical events that brought forth the frustrations I had while reading this book. And again, “Asian American” covers so much ground that Hong never addresses. What about adoptees? Multiracial Asians (especially those who don’t have a white parent)? West and Central Asians? South and Southeast Asians are almost afterthoughts in Minor Feelings. It’s not that I’m saying that she had to cover all of this (it would be impossible), but it raises the question of who she’s actually writing for and whether she can actually call this an “Asian American reckoning.”

I also had some issues with writing style and execution. I found the writing clunky at times, as though she couldn’t quite decide how to present her points. I could tell she wanted to share her viewpoints as an academic, activist, and a poet, but it fell short for me. In addition, some of her descriptions and choice in anecdotes were concerning. I was really taken aback by the amount of projecting she did of her own experiences onto other Asians (which was most apparent in the first chapter). Descriptions such as “Korean girls [she] knew [being] so moody they made Sylvia Plath seem as dull as C-SPAN” left a bad taste in my mouth, especially considering she had an entire chapter that focused on one of her friend’s mental health.

I don’t want to end this review on a negative note, because I still found that there were things to take away from this essay collection. For one, I truly appreciate the unflinching criticisms of US imperialism and capitalism. I don’t think US imperialism is talked about enough, as well as their roles in shaping Asian politics during the twentieth century (and to this day, frankly). In addition, her term “minor feelings” is one that I felt was strongly explored in “Stand Up.” I also thought her take on Stockton’s the queer child’s “growing sideways” to be a fascinating one, instead to consider the ways she looked sideways in “The End of White Innocence.” This ended up being my favorite essay, and what I felt was her strongest, in conveying nuance and care that seemed to be missing in many other parts of the book.

Overall, I think I’m disappointed that I didn’t enjoy this as much as I thought I would. I saw so much praise from other Asian Americans about this book. Hong also being Korean American made me hope that something would deeply resonate with me. I’m not sure what it was that I wanted, but this wasn’t quite it.

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