Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou

13 reviews

caroisreading's review

adventurous funny lighthearted slow-paced

• 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

This was a fun satirical read about the absurd world of academia, and an absolutely scathing look at racism, sexism, and finding identity as a first-generation Asian woman in America. 

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"

similarly plays out this plot, but with an Asian protagonist's churning shock and disenchantment witnessing what's happening

; I'd highly recommend reading both in succession, for these two perspectives.

Give this a read if you're interested in Asian American themes, funny stories on grad school life, and whimsical sleuth-style storytelling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Sexism, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Police brutality, Cultural appropriation, Deportation, Drug use, Racial slurs, and Racism

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

slaywithsteph's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Unhinged. This is the unhinged version of Yellowface. The plot which stirs the pot is ridiculously hilarious but the journey I took with Ingrid was not.

Where she began in a pool of her own internalized racism, she emerged with eyes wide open. Where she once made herself smaller, she reclaimed her space. Where she began unsure, she became certain. Where she began meek, she ended strong.

This is a book that I will remember.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia

Moderate: Bullying, Police brutality, Deportation, and Alcohol

Minor: Gun violence and Misogyny

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

ilychristinalauren's review

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Cursing, Cultural appropriation, Misogyny, Drug use, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Sexism, and Xenophobia

Minor: Violence, Drug abuse, Genocide, Racial slurs, Slavery, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Islamophobia, War, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Outing, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

bedtimesandbooks's review

hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Cultural appropriation, Racism, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Police brutality, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Sexism, and Gaslighting

k_aro's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

On the level of how articulately and beautifully this book manages to encapsulate so many disparate Asian-American experiences, it really deserves the biggest props.

Unfortunately, as an Asian-Canadian... I wish I could say this (that is to say, any of the bigotry) was shocking to me. It's really rewarding to watch Ingrid grow both not only as someone who can articulate her own desires but also come to terms with the oppressions she faces now and perpetuated when she was younger (and at points in the book!). I do have to say, the first... third? Is truly frustrating as someone who had to grow up and grow through these feelings myself.

I mean, half the time I feel like I'm staring at a mirror of myself. There really is something about how immigrant narratives are so often circular in nature.

However, the other thing that Disorientation should get props for is how it manages to express that every single person has at least one little piece of the puzzle, even if they're pretty horrible in other ways. Take, for example, Alex, who really does understand the fetishization of Asian women - but is also an MRA/appropriates Black culture. He only understands it through this very myopic lens (at first), but he really does get it. And, for how it sympathizes with Ingrid for her desire to close her eyes and just go along with it, because it is easier than anything else.

I have some... weird feelings about how Vivian Vo and the POC Caucus are talked about - I don't think Chou is always wrong about it, mind, I just think certain framings are a bit weird given the overall story's conclusion.

That said, it refuses to excuses both the institutions and the people who perpetuate them. For John (the true identity of the elusive poet Ingrid agonizes over), Ingrid is possibly (or possibly not!) tricked into sympathizing with him, but when it is revealed he really is a fucking scumbag (and he is!), Ingrid has no qualms in her irritation and hatred with him.

I also appreciate the perpetuation of the system, even if it isn't the "happy ending" I may have wanted. There's an article that for the life of me I cannot find, but it talks about how Babel (by R. F. Kuang) and Portrait of a Thief (by Grace D. Li) try and deconstruct academia, but still have their main characters assume academia as the inherent natural high point they work to, with Kuang and Li alike hailing from T10 schools. Even beyond not attending a T10, Ingrid's decision to move out of academia is interesting.

That said, I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. Everyone seems to consolidate their opinions - not a bad thing! - but it does come very quickly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Drug abuse, Drug use, Police brutality, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Body shaming

Minor: Infidelity, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia

harperhoney's review

challenging funny informative 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Classism, Violence, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Deportation, Addiction, Body shaming, and Colonisation

Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Police brutality, Infidelity, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Ableism, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Outing

caseythereader's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

 - I keep trying to write a coherent review of DISORIENTATION and can't. The book is simply too good for me to try to craft anything that does it justice.
- The way Chou spotlights and skewers academia, leftists, Asian stereotypes and more is masterful. I alternated between gasping in shock and crying with laughter.
- The satire is just perfect. I usually don't love satire and find it unfunny and/or too smart for me, but this is just *chef's kiss* possibly because it takes only the slightest nudge to push academia into the absurd. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Blood, Colonisation, Cursing, Drug use, Ableism, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Racism, Suicide attempt, and Xenophobia

Minor: Police brutality