Cathy Park Hong's Minor Feelings has been lauded for its profound exploration of the Asian American experience through poignant essays that blend memoir, cultural criticism, and history. Critics highlight its raw emotional honesty and incisive social commentary. Some readers note that its intense tone may not appeal to everyone. Overall, it's a compelling, thought-provoking read.

Readers who appreciate deep, introspective essays on race, identity, and the Asian American experience will be captivated by Cathy Park Hong’s Minor Feelings. Fans of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me or Claudia Rankine’s Citizen will find Hong's work similarly thought-provoking and poignant.

Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong is an essay collection that delves into the Asian American experience in the United States, exploring themes of structural racism, cultural appropriation, identity, and media representation across seven autobiographical essays. Topics include racial dynamics, struggles for artistic voice, white innocence, linguistic influences, artistic erasure, and feelings of indebtedness within immigrant communities.

Contemplative / Emotional / Melancholic / Informative / Bittersweet

- Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong blends memoir with cultural criticism to explore the Asian American experience, an approach that has resonated widely and ignited discussions about race and identity.
- Cathy Park Hong is an award-winning poet, which influences her writing style in Minor Feelings, marked by its lyrical prose and innovative narrative structure.
- The title Minor Feelings is inspired by philosopher Sianne Ngai's concept of "ugly feelings," capturing the dissonant emotions experienced by marginalized communities.

**Cathy Park Hong**  
A poet and essayist who explores her identity as a first-generation Korean American and her experiences with race, identity, and mental health challenges in America.

**Hong’s Father**  
Perceived as a model immigrant by white standards, he built a successful life for his family in the United States but harbors anger from past hardships in Korea.

**Hong’s Mother**  
Emigrated to the U.S. with her husband, she struggled to integrate due to language barriers and had a complex relationship with Hong, impacting the author's perspective on maternal narratives.

**Richard Pryor**  
An African American standup comedian known for tackling racial issues head-on, he inspired Hong to adopt a more confrontational approach in her work.

**Erin**  
A Taiwanese American visual artist and Hong's college friend, who insists that her personal history should not overshadow her artistic identity.

**Helen**  
A Korean international student and artist with a turbulent personality, whose volatile behavior impacts her friendship with Hong.

**Myung Mi Kim**  
A Korean American poet and professor who played a pivotal role in mentoring Hong and encouraging her to embrace her cultural and linguistic identity in her poetry.

**Theresa Hak Kyung Cha**  
An avant-garde Korean American poet known for her multilingual work, who faced a tragic end and significantly influenced Hong's literary journey.

Cathy Park Hong

Adult

Autobiography / Memoir

Nonfiction

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Minor Feelings: a Reckoning on Race and the Asian Condition

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