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euastros's review against another edition
goddddd this book was so fucking. so!!
as Charles yu says in interior chinatown, stop fucking comparing asian experiences off black suffering and exploitation! stop trying to make the mythical black figure as this pinnacle of suffering! black people are nearly fetishized as a figure of oppression by hong in this book, as a path of "real" racialization. in contrast, the "asian" is unracialized—an experience not shared across asia! hong refuses to seperate her koreanness as a unique experience beyond small snips from the people around her that challenge this monolith idealogy, such a filipino friend telling her "Koreans are self-hating, filipinos are not". which as a filipino...true! her ideas of identity are so egocentric, in which being asian is to be *her* experience. it was not an asian-american reckoning, it was a Korean american one. this book critiques stories designed for white viewers and yet the whole book reads like its certainly not written for the audience it intends (that same monolithic asian experience). she's so insistent on the separation of "pure asian" that just...doesnt apply at all, and ignores west asians and south asians entirely when she claims asian is entirely detatched from brown and black as peoples. there's this voyueristic performance going on, about trying to prove that your suffering is universalized, even when hong proves herself to just be...kind of a dick. so many broad statements are made that the book is just a whole lot of me eyerolling. did i mention the anti-blackness? because the second essay is full of it. there's an obsession with the black suffering, with a need to be as "bad" as black trauma, with a need to define asian identity within a dichotomy of black and white. it's an extremely limiting perspective that drowns the book, and why i had to dnf it. there's no room for exploration outaide of this rigid racial line, no challenging the ideas of race altogether. not to mention the treatment of black women as a side thought and misogynoir being treated as a one off quip. i would argue issue too with the centering of a figure who seems to be complicit in the construction of misogynoir but. im just a guy! what can i say!
i was going to try and give this book a 2 star if i finsihed it but i'm disabled, its summer, and i have so many better books to read. this was such a shitty read that i dropped it within the day of starting it, something really disappointing to me considering how excited i was to read this.
on a side note, quite wild to see my college mentioned! i actually took an asian american writing class recently, led by my amazing prof, but my godddddddd i am sick and tired...SICK AND TIRED...sometimes...not everyone should write their thoughts <3
as Charles yu says in interior chinatown, stop fucking comparing asian experiences off black suffering and exploitation! stop trying to make the mythical black figure as this pinnacle of suffering! black people are nearly fetishized as a figure of oppression by hong in this book, as a path of "real" racialization. in contrast, the "asian" is unracialized—an experience not shared across asia! hong refuses to seperate her koreanness as a unique experience beyond small snips from the people around her that challenge this monolith idealogy, such a filipino friend telling her "Koreans are self-hating, filipinos are not". which as a filipino...true! her ideas of identity are so egocentric, in which being asian is to be *her* experience. it was not an asian-american reckoning, it was a Korean american one. this book critiques stories designed for white viewers and yet the whole book reads like its certainly not written for the audience it intends (that same monolithic asian experience). she's so insistent on the separation of "pure asian" that just...doesnt apply at all, and ignores west asians and south asians entirely when she claims asian is entirely detatched from brown and black as peoples. there's this voyueristic performance going on, about trying to prove that your suffering is universalized, even when hong proves herself to just be...kind of a dick. so many broad statements are made that the book is just a whole lot of me eyerolling. did i mention the anti-blackness? because the second essay is full of it. there's an obsession with the black suffering, with a need to be as "bad" as black trauma, with a need to define asian identity within a dichotomy of black and white. it's an extremely limiting perspective that drowns the book, and why i had to dnf it. there's no room for exploration outaide of this rigid racial line, no challenging the ideas of race altogether. not to mention the treatment of black women as a side thought and misogynoir being treated as a one off quip. i would argue issue too with the centering of a figure who seems to be complicit in the construction of misogynoir but. im just a guy! what can i say!
i was going to try and give this book a 2 star if i finsihed it but i'm disabled, its summer, and i have so many better books to read. this was such a shitty read that i dropped it within the day of starting it, something really disappointing to me considering how excited i was to read this.
on a side note, quite wild to see my college mentioned! i actually took an asian american writing class recently, led by my amazing prof, but my godddddddd i am sick and tired...SICK AND TIRED...sometimes...not everyone should write their thoughts <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
if u are any sort of brown asian or black do not pick up this damn bookezplonk's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
United was the best essay
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Rape and Murder
siriface's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Racism, Child abuse, Mental illness, and War
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
minor feelings is a reflective, nuanced read that delves into the complex intricacies of asian american identity. how do u explore sth often treated as invisible, neither here nor there, w/ a public existence as wispy as smoke? it's an arduous task but hong captures many things adeptly in her memoir cum history and cultural criticism work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Xenophobia, Murder, Rape, Death, Gaslighting, and Sexism
Minor: War
eve81's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Confinement, Toxic friendship, War, Violence, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Colonisation, Rape, Racism, Xenophobia, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, and Suicide attempt
liadh's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, War, Racism, Murder, Gun violence, Violence, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Blood, Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Death
dreamer626's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.25
PLEASE CHECK TRIGGER WARNINGS. I related to so MANY parts of this book and I shed a few tears listening to the audiobook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
ditzychristine's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
addanumlaut's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
i don't read many non-fiction books, but i'm so glad i picked this one up. while i was vaguely aware of the troubles asian-americans had to face, cathy brought so many details and often overlooked experiences to the forefront in such a way that one can't ignore it. will be re-reading and looking for other books by her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Rape, Racism, Toxic friendship, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, War, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, and Murder
historicalmaterialgirl's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Minor Feelings is a set of personal essays that contends with Asian American experiences and art. The way this book has been marketed, I thought it was gonna be very liberal #inclusionwillsaveus and this book outright rejects that.
Instead, it offers thoughtful commentary on a range of issues, from language to comedy to whiteness, without coming to any hardline answers. I think she really just wants us to sit and think and feel through many of these problems, which I admire. I diverge with her thinking here and there, but overall I loved this. Especially her turn to activism in the final chapter! It was so hopeful and bright. This is a particularly good book to read with someone else!
Instead, it offers thoughtful commentary on a range of issues, from language to comedy to whiteness, without coming to any hardline answers. I think she really just wants us to sit and think and feel through many of these problems, which I admire. I diverge with her thinking here and there, but overall I loved this. Especially her turn to activism in the final chapter! It was so hopeful and bright. This is a particularly good book to read with someone else!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Racism, Xenophobia, and Murder