Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou

17 reviews

harperhoney's review against another edition

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

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

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

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

Minor: Police brutality

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

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

“This was her punishment for questioning the world as it was, instead of swallowing it blind like an obedient child.”
Disorientation is a satirical campus novel following Ingrid, a Taiwanese -American student, who discovers a secret while working on her dissertation, upending life as she knows it.
This book is incredibly smart in its plot formatting as well as narrative perspective, for as Ingrid discovers problematic behaviors -such as cultural appropriation and fetishization- in the corrupt academic setting, she also finds traces of these in her own life. The character development stemming from this is where really Chou shines, crafting a mindset of growth and change.
I whole heartedly recommend Disorientation as your next read, though as always, please check trigger warnings before picking it up!

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Stalking, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, and Colonisation

Minor: Islamophobia

socialpsysteph's review against another edition

challenging funny mysterious reflective tense fast-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

4.5

This book was recommended to me by my friend Emily because she said as soon as she started reading it, she knew it was something that I would enjoy. Given that, I had to pick it up. And she was right; though it was the kind of enjoy where I was mad and anxious the whole time but still couldn't put the book down. Elaine hits the nail on the head with what graduate school is like so if you have any trauma surrounding that, just beware. The anxiety, imposter syndrome, helplessness, depression, but also excitement and fulfillment, she got it. 

What I thought was going to be the main plot/climax of the book, turned out to happen pretty early on and then the story took a turn (in a good way). Characters started morphing and changing but in a bad (and realistic) way. I hate so many characters in this book; they are just awful people, but they are written so realistically (scarily so). 

Definitely check all of the trigger warnings on this one before picking it up, but if you feel up for it, highly recommend. 

This book counts for Popsugar 2022 for a book that starts with the last letter of my previous read (User TesteD -> Disorientation).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Trafficking and Sexual harassment

onestephatatime's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Bullying, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

hkburke2's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

Loved this (and lovingly hated it, which will probably be true about any book set in the world of academia). You can read this as a funny, wild ride of a story, or as a thought provoking satirical critique of... Everything? I think the fusion of these two qualities is what made this so impressive. A little slow for me in parts but mostly just fully absorbing and great on audio. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Racism

Moderate: Drug abuse and Gaslighting

Minor: Drug use and Suicide attempt