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A review by goldencages
Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou
challenging
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? It's complicated
5.0
A truly witty, funny and on-point satire on the workings of academia and Asian-American identity.
trigger warnings: gaslighting, pill addiction, cultural appropriation, externalised and internalised racism
You know you have a good book in your hands when you want to recommend it to everyone. A bit over a month now after reading it, I still feel that it is one of my most impactful reads of this year. If I had more time, I'd have written an essay about it but alas, I'll keep this to a short but hopefully still helpful review. Disorientation is a book about Chinese American PhD student Ingrid, a major of East Asian Studies who hasn't been able to finish her thesis about the works of a (fictional) famous Chinese-American poet for years. One day, however, she makes a shocking finding – one that sets her off to question everything about her life: the purpose of her thesis, her fellow students, her mentors and supervisors, her boyfriend, her best friend, and most of all herself. Who is she and who is she on the way of becoming? Who does she want to be and what does it mean to be Asian-American? Who gets to say what Asian-American means and who gets to represent it?
Now, this description may sound vague and maybe even a bit basic. However, the real gem of this book is its writing style. Ingrid's spiral into madness is written as a satire, rendering it both darkly funny yet also furiously on-point as a reflection of our unjust society.
All the while, Ingrid is not a perfect human being (nor are any of the other characters for the matter): she is written as flawed, self-righteous, insecure, conflicted, and cowardly yet also impulsive, which made her perfect main character material for me. In that sense, Disorientation is an excellent Bildungsroman that doesn't shy away from the (hypo)critical and difficult aspects of being part of an Asian diaspora - aspects that we may also have exhibited or performed ourselves but may have always felt somewhat reluctant or shameful to confront and reflect – at the same time that it takes us on the mad but also hopeful journey of Ingrid's slow but sure enlightening, a journey I highly recommend to everyone taking.
trigger warnings: gaslighting, pill addiction, cultural appropriation, externalised and internalised racism
You know you have a good book in your hands when you want to recommend it to everyone. A bit over a month now after reading it, I still feel that it is one of my most impactful reads of this year. If I had more time, I'd have written an essay about it but alas, I'll keep this to a short but hopefully still helpful review. Disorientation is a book about Chinese American PhD student Ingrid, a major of East Asian Studies who hasn't been able to finish her thesis about the works of a (fictional) famous Chinese-American poet for years. One day, however, she makes a shocking finding – one that sets her off to question everything about her life: the purpose of her thesis, her fellow students, her mentors and supervisors, her boyfriend, her best friend, and most of all herself. Who is she and who is she on the way of becoming? Who does she want to be and what does it mean to be Asian-American? Who gets to say what Asian-American means and who gets to represent it?
Now, this description may sound vague and maybe even a bit basic. However, the real gem of this book is its writing style. Ingrid's spiral into madness is written as a satire, rendering it both darkly funny yet also furiously on-point as a reflection of our unjust society.
All the while, Ingrid is not a perfect human being (nor are any of the other characters for the matter): she is written as flawed, self-righteous, insecure, conflicted, and cowardly yet also impulsive, which made her perfect main character material for me. In that sense, Disorientation is an excellent Bildungsroman that doesn't shy away from the (hypo)critical and difficult aspects of being part of an Asian diaspora - aspects that we may also have exhibited or performed ourselves but may have always felt somewhat reluctant or shameful to confront and reflect – at the same time that it takes us on the mad but also hopeful journey of Ingrid's slow but sure enlightening, a journey I highly recommend to everyone taking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Addiction and Gaslighting