A review by cayley_graph
The Souls of Yellow Folk: Essays by Wesley Yang

informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

A contemplative quick read while I did chores. This was a collection of essays, all of which have appeared in papers like the Guardian, on a variety of topics, including the experience of being East Asian descent, especially from immigrant families, in the United States, but also many other interesting topics. I appreciated the titular essay; it read as an open, deeply felt reflection on a complex issue. I also felt the discomfort in  Wesley Yang being asked to write about the mass shooter because they shared ethnicity; there’s a feeling of otherness (and being ordered), that the violence and aggression of this individual spreads to you, simply because you look like them. I also agree that there is a micro aggressive notion that the faces of East Asian people are not expressive; there is a further notion that they do not have feelings.