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laurakfinnegan's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Racism, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Gaslighting and Drug use
caroisreading's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Ingrid is a Taiwanese-American grad student at a Harvard-like university, struggling to finish her dissertation on the works of Chinese-American poet Xiao-Wen Chou. She relies on an addiction to allergy meds to get through her anxiety and procrastination, and feels strongly this isn't the work she should be doing. Right away, we are introduced to scenes of her taking a backseat to white men, including her own fiancé, on topics about her own culture. The plot continues in a feverish nightmare, as Ingrid is shaken by the truth of her work, and realization of the incredibly racist world she's tried to function in.
Admittedly, I couldn't get into Elaine Hsieh Chou's writing style, but appreciated her funny storytelling, and extremely unlikeable characters. The author unlocked a lot of my own trauma, with anecdotes about trying to fit in with white friends, being ashamed of our own culture, the incessant need to question if someone is interested in us because they have a fetish. A lot of these themes are told in a continuous loop that could've been edited down, but I totally get the need to expand on topics that aren't represented enough. After reading R. F. Kuang's "Yellowface," with a white character faking Asian identity and struggling to find fault with what she's doing, "Disorientation"
Give this a read if you're interested in Asian American themes, funny stories on grad school life, and whimsical sleuth-style storytelling.
Graphic: Bullying, Sexism, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Police brutality, Cultural appropriation, Deportation, Drug use, Racial slurs, and Racism
siebensommer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
why was sucking it up and pushing through it to the end perched on such a high pedestal anyway?
these were the same so-called values that sent phd students running headfirst into the open arms of antidepressants. for once in her life she wanted to be selfishly and deliciously lazy. to embody the most abhorred word of her generation: unproductive.
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Hate crime, Misogyny, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Drug use, Fatphobia, and Violence
bootsmom3's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Drug use, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Cultural appropriation, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
secunda's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Racism, Cultural appropriation, Addiction, Self harm, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Drug abuse, Drug use, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Rape, Slavery, Religious bigotry, and Sexual assault
alexandrabelze's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Gaslighting, Hate crime, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Drug use, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Drug abuse, and Xenophobia
Minor: Suicide attempt and Stalking
luna_bear's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Bullying, Drug use, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Violence and Murder
carbs666's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Ingrid is such an interesting character - the way she wakes up and looks around her life one day and wonders how the fuck she got there is extremely relatable, and while her inability to decide for much of the book if she's going to bury her head in the sand (or in over the counter narcotics) or stay painfully, horribly awake is a bit frustrating it's also realistic and understandable. Who among us hasn't debated with ourselves whether we really want to see what going on or pretend we can't - because once you see something, it's harder to do nothing about it. Additionally Ingrid's awakening to the experiences of racism in her life and the lives of her peers (and her hilarious learning curve of social justice terminology) felt extremely real in the context of a small liberal arts college campus. I loved it.
Graphic: Drug use and Racism
Moderate: Vomit
wenwanzhao's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Drug use and Drug abuse
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Mental illness, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Suicide
Minor: Suicide attempt
amaezone's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
• one for the look inside "a regular person's" mind starting to reflect on their own position and attitudes regarding race,
• one for the description of academia as it works today,
• one for the great friendship and
• one for the nuanced and clear explanation and depiction of the personalities of all the characters (which to a certain extent, avoids the bad person/good person characterization, although the sides are clearly defined,
• one for
Graphic: Drug use, Violence, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Trafficking