Minor Feelings

Raw, emotional and complex. These are the words that come to mind after reading Minor Feelings. The feelings in this book are actually anything but minor. It certainly made me think on a lot of things, including my own views on Asian cultures in the West. Racism, feminism and capitalism are all tackled in Cathy Park Hong's biting commentary. Although largely based around her own experiences, she includes a lot of her influences as well and opens the dialogue beyond just her own voice. At times it's uncomfortable, because she forces you to look at uncomfortable truths and yet is a very much needed voice that stands outside of the white-only view on Asians that is so dominant in the media and pop culture. It makes me realize how important it is that books, movies and media that we consume don't just come from Western sources and therefore a Western viewpoint. I will never know what it is like to be Asian American, but through books like Minor Feelings, I hope I can become more knowledgeable about the complexity of their reality through their eyes and not the rose tinted glasses of the West and therefore with more empathy and regard for them and more space for them to voice their own Minor feelings.