Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou

9 reviews

hmih's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Xenophobia, Racism, Sexism, Colonisation, Misogyny, Cultural appropriation, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Cancer, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Classism, Violence, and Hate crime

Minor: Police brutality

secunda's review

challenging emotional funny informative tense fast-paced

• 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

This is one of the best fiction books I’ve read this year. I think the primary audience of course is well-educated Asian women, but I think anyone can enjoy this book. It’s a fantastic skewering of white-dominated Asian studies departments, unstrategic student activism, and grad school. 

I was also confused for most of the book regarding the arc with the white fiancé, but I think the ending of the book more or less sorted it out when Ingrid leaves Stephen not necessarily for his Asian fetish, but because she doesn’t like him as a person. As an Asian woman who is currently dating a white man (and so faced similar questions to the ones Ingrid confronts), I find interrogating your own dating preferences over and over to be counterproductive to your ultimate happiness, so I feel that arc went on a little longer than I liked.

  

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Content Warnings

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

wenwanzhao's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

Elaine Hsieh Chou's writing is so sharp and precise. I felt physically uncomfortable at some points in the novel. Chou does not hold back at all. The most shameful and awkward parts of Asian Diaspora™ are laid bare in an excruciatingly honest way. I liked how Chou did not sanctify any of the characters. There is no one we are meant to see as truly good. Everyone exists on a gradient scale, some more flawed than others, but all kind of fucked up in some way. Great novel!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Drug abuse

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Mental illness, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Suicide

Minor: Suicide attempt

metaphorsandmisc's review against another edition

funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Body shaming, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Mental illness

lily1304's review

funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I loved this - somehow this manages to be SO funny, even with a mostly humorless main character and a deep dive into American racism. I appreciate that the story raises a lot of questions about race without having  neat, cut and dry answers.

I also loved Ingrid as a main character - so adrift, and trying on different personalities and ideologies over the course of the story. I really grew to like her. I felt like she was oddly trapped in the 2000s, something about her made me stop and wonder whether the setting was the 2000s. I think that was intentional, and it added something to the story - I don't know how to phrase exactly what.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Cultural appropriation, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Mental illness, Hate crime, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Police brutality

Minor: Blood, Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Deportation

The main character abuses allergy meds

amaezone's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

A clear five-star novel :
• 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

avoidind the "they leave the bad guy and shortly after gets with the good guy" scenario

,
• 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

the ending out of academia as perfectly legitimate

. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Violence, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Trafficking

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

(adjusted from 3.0 to 3.5; i’ve since searched for similar books but come up short, so i have to recognize it for creating that itch and being original)
the courtroom tableau was brilliantly executed, definitely my favorite part
the plot summary was so fucking promising, but i found the writing to be lacking. i feel like it addressed its heavy topics through regurgitations of already finished conversations, rather than playing out those conversations in real time, if that makes sense. i know it's supposed to be absurdist, but the plot was just off the rails at times. Vivian's character development was very good though, shout out to that. also, the audiobook narration was very bland
cover review: ★★★★½. the illustration is gorgeous, just not a fan of either the typeface or the color of the title and author's name

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Cultural appropriation, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Violence, Alcohol, Rape, Trafficking, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Infidelity

Minor: Chronic illness, Sexual content, Lesbophobia, Ableism, Terminal illness, Vomit, Death, Drug abuse, Cancer, Homophobia, Mental illness, Cursing, Blood, Drug use, Outing, and Islamophobia

rachaelwho's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Stalking, Sexual content, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Addiction, Racism, Racial slurs, Outing, Misogyny, Hate crime, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Deportation, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Body shaming, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

ecn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Not at all what I was expecting. An interesting story, great character development, and a wild ride. 

The discussion of academia (specifically graduate studies) was VERY on the nose and had me angry the whole time. The treatment of the main character, her treatment of others, and how everyone interacts feels almost more like real life than reality does.
Didn’t realize until after I read it that it was satire (I know 🙃) but it just made everything more perfect. The lives we’re living right now feel so ridiculous and absurd that it feels satirical. Everything about this is real life AND not.

This feels like it could be a real story (looking at Rachel Dolezal - especially at the end)

Loved this book and definitely got me out of my reading slump. So many complex themes - would be perfect for a book club.

Only “critique” is that the pacing felt off. Certain parts in the middle felt like they dragged on but the beginning and end were a rush.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Racism, Slavery, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Mental illness, Police brutality, Hate crime, and Misogyny