Reviews tagging 'Schizophrenia/Psychosis '

Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong

6 reviews

eve81's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective slow-paced

3.75


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bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

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informative tense fast-paced

3.0

“Patiently educating a clueless white person about race is draining. It takes all your powers of persuasion. Because it’s more than a chat about race. It’s ontological. It’s like explaining to a person why you exist, or why you feel pain, or why your reality is distinct from their reality. Except it’s even trickier than that. Because the person has all of Western history, politics, literature, and mass culture on their side, proving that you don’t exist.” 

This is a nonfiction about the Asian American identity! I was interested to learn more about the topic and in Minor Feelings the author offers a collection of essays filled with personal anecdotes. I liked the discussions about the model minority myth, the intersection between race/art and assimilation into American culture. While I liked hearing what Cathy Park had to say, I wish her essays had a bigger connection and that the book felt more cohesive. Some chapters were simply more intriguing to me than others. I struggled the most with the chapters that were focused on her personal life, as it felt a bit invasive and detracted from the points she wanted to make. At one point she talked in-depth about a complicated friendship and her friend's mental health issues. That didn't feel like it had a place in this book and I wonder if her friends consented to having very personal things shared for everyone to read about. The balance between personal anecdotes and her political discussions just felt a bit off at times and made this awkward to read. 

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ntvenessa's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Exceptional. This collection of essays is unbearably precise, striking the most vulnerable of emotions with masterful, incisive language. I feel my own untangled, dark and shameful vulnerabilities cast under a bright white spotlight to be dissected with great precision, confidence, and relevance. What does it mean to be Asian in a neoliberal, colonised, modern world? Why am I enraged and yet why am I invisible? This is essential reading.

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alsoapples's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective fast-paced

4.5


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harperhoney's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

4.5


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anniefwrites's review against another edition

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challenging reflective tense medium-paced
While I think I might need to reread a few times to fully get all of the layers that make up this book, I found this essay collection searing and powerful. Cathy Park Hong is unapologetic, which in itself is a radical act. She's definitely a voice to be listening to right now.

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