Reviews

Is this a campus novel? Yes, but nope? Because it's so much more!

In 'Disorientation', we follow a PhD student, Ingrid struggling to finish her dissertation on the famous Chinese American poet - Xiao-wen Chou. She isn't particularly interested in this topic, but was persuaded by her advisor. Later, she found a bizarre note in her archive, which leads to a rabbit hole and uncovering the truths (which I'm not gonna spoil you about)

This novel addresses different issues with full-on satire. There are Asian fetishization, examination of academic institutions, sexism, and expectations towards specific gender roles as a woman, a wife and a friend. Some parts are clever and hit right on the spot. Some parts are kinda silly and over the top. However, it doesn't stop being tip-top (see the rhyme?

briloumal's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

kllyholt's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

4.25

kellyreadsbooks_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

endpages's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny informative inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

annexelizabeth's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

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

4.0

sharp and funny. i had a ton of fun with this pageturning, hilarious, totally unsubtle satire of academia and social justice culture. honestly, i didn't have a problem with how overt this satire was for the most part; i found elaine hsieh chou's prose to be compelling and her observations to be amusing and sharp. the only real problem i had with the overt nature of the satire is the cartoonish nature of most of the characters as a consequence of that over-the-top satire, but honestly i had so much fun in this total romp of a book that i didn't mind that the characters were not particularly complex. in particular, i really enjoyed the integration of different forms of prose in this book, from book reviews to trial transcripts to monologues and more. just tons of fun and i'm looking forward to whatever chou does next

jesshawa's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted reflective fast-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

3.0

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