Reviews with content warning for Stalking - Disorientation

Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou

16 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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kelsmc's review

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challenging dark funny reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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secunda's review

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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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kathshiroma's review against another edition

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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

4.5

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flowchelle's review

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dark informative mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

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alexandrabelze's review against another edition

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funny 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

3.5

omfg i don’t even know where to start. very funny, super dramatic, and at times satirical. it was not AT ALL what i was expecting, but then again i didn’t read any type of summaries before starting it lmao. it didn’t have me hooked until the first major plot twist, but after that i was dying to see how it ended. kind of an anti-climatic ending, but sadly realistic. ingrid + eunice besties 4 ever <3 stephen is the bane of my existence. every time he spoke i wanted to rip my hair out. i WISH he knew when to shut up.

the SCHOOL GIRL COSTUME??? oh my god i was gagged. nothing could’ve prepared me!!! i had to put the kindle DOWN and reflect.

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beanmilkcantread's review

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funny mysterious 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

5.0

this book made me want to read again. it was clever n funny n over the top n horrifying n ridiculous in a way that’s like ‘no but that actually WOULD happen in academia.’ this book could have made you want to shake the main character but instead u want to cheer her on. touches on the truly disturbing reality of academia n White Supremacy in a way that is scathing while retaining humor n joy! i loved it!!! can u tell??!!?!?? if i drop out of grad school it’s NOT bc of this book but…this book DID make me feel like if i did drop out that’d be an okay choice too.

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