Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou

62 reviews

carojust's review against another edition

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

haave's review against another edition

funny informative lighthearted reflective 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

scarroll178's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-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

Not what I was expecting. The book is more campy than dark or mysterious. All the characters are stereotypical and one dimensional, including the MC. Idk, if you like satire, go ahead and give this one a try. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Cultural appropriation, and Deportation

bootsmom3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted mysterious tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Injury/Injury detail

cweeks_ng's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

3.25

I wanted to like this book, but the second half was a disappointment for me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Sexual content

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

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

Minor: Police brutality

jacobs25's review against another edition

reflective slow-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism

secunda's review against another edition

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: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Violence, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Religious bigotry

christiona's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

Clever writing on social issues, some of which I had no clue existed in other groups. I love the different formatting of the book, which added a lot to the story. I connected with the humor and enjoyed chuckling, especially in the later parts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Racism, and Cultural appropriation

kathshiroma'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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Bullying, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence

Minor: Body shaming, Outing, Colonisation, and Deportation