Middle Eastern critics also praised its universal theme of isolation. In a 2021 essay for Al Jazeera , critic Rami Salameh wrote: “House of Hummingbird echoes every Arab teenager who ever felt invisible in a crowded family.”

: Eun-hee endures physical abuse from her brother and domestic screaming matches between her parents.

The title House of Hummingbird is poetic and metaphorical. Hummingbirds are creatures of constant motion, hovering between places, never quite settling. This perfectly encapsulates Eun-hee’s existence. She is suspended between childhood and adulthood, between the traditional expectations of her parents and her own desires for freedom.