Cathy Park Hong's Minor Feelings

My favorite essays in this book are the ones that examine the death of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha and female artistic friendships. The first is a feat of snooping, the second a feat of honesty. I also enjoyed the meditation on Richard Pryor and what he taught the author about impersonations while remaining one's own racial identity. The more personal materials are well written, but exhibit a big gap in them—the absence of the mother—which Park Hong admits is matter for another time. Without the tussle with that obviously out-sized person in her life, the reckoning feels incomplete.

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