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Disorientation
- Author
- Elaine Hsieh Chou
- Narrator
- Jennifer Kim
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Publish Date
- 21 July 2022
- Run Time
- 11 hours 46 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Genre
- Satirical fiction and parodies, Narrative theme: politics / economics, Narrative theme: diversity, equity, equality, inclusion, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general
- Rating
- 4.0 (1 review)
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What to expect
'The funniest novel I’ve read all year' – Aravind Adiga, author of The White Tiger
Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou is a bighearted satire – alive with sharp edges, immense warmth, and a cast of unforgettable characters – that asks: who gets to tell our stories? And how does the story change when we finally tell it ourselves?
Twenty-nine-year-old PhD student Ingrid Yang is desperate to finish her dissertation on the late canonical poet Xiao-Wen Chou and never read about ‘Chinese-y’ things. When she accidentally stumbles upon a strange and curious note in the Chou archives, she convinces herself it’s her ticket out of academic hell.
But Ingrid’s in much deeper than she thinks. Her clumsy exploits to unravel the note’s message lead to an explosive discovery, one that upends her entire life and the lives of those around her. With her trusty friend Eunice Kim by her side and her rival Vivian Vo hot on her tail, together they set off a roller coaster of mishaps and misadventures, from campus protests and over-the-counter drug hallucinations, to book burnings and a movement that stinks of Yellow Peril propaganda. In the aftermath, nothing looks the same, including her gentle and doting fiancé . . .
As the events Ingrid instigated keep spiraling, she’ll have to confront her sticky relationship to white men and white institutions – and, most of all, herself.
Critics Review
-
The funniest, most poignant novel of the year
Vogue
-
Funny, fearless . . . acutely inspects the power of the white gaze, academic imperialism, peer rivalry and self-hate
Observer
-
A rollicking, whip-smart ride through the hallowed halls of academia
Harpers Bazaar
-
Witty, knowing and funny . . . If Donna Tartt set the bar for the noirish campus novel, Elaine Hsieh Chou is setting a new bar for sharp, sideways takes on academia
Evening Standard
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-
Chou’s pen is a scalpel. Disorientation addresses the private absurdities the soul must endure to get free, from tokenism, the quiet exploitation of well-meaning institutions, and the bondage that is self-imposed. Chou does it with wit and verve, and no one is spared.
Raven Leilani, author of Luster
-
The funniest novel I’ve read all year . . . Uproarious . . . packed full of sly truths about race, love, and life in general—all of which you’re going to miss, because you’ll be laughing so hard
Aravind Adiga
-
Funny and insightful, with plenty to say about art, identity, Orientalism and the politics of academia . . . entertaining, rising to a delightful climax
New York Times Book Review
-
An irreverent campus satire that skewers white sclerotic academia, creepy Asian fetishists and twee boba tea liberalism . . . Helmed by a memorable screwball protagonist, the novel is both a joyous and sharply-drawn caper
Cathy Park Hong
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As the best comedy does, Disorientation manages to highlight uncomfortable truths, capture grey areas and hard lines, and resist sliding into easy binaries of heroes and villains
Vanity Fair
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Disorientation does what great comedies and satires are supposed to do: make you laugh while forcing you to ponder the uncomfortable implications of every punchline
Washington Post
-
Captivating, irresistible, and intensely readable, and what we ultimately come to literature to find . . . a unique, propelling story
Chicago Review of Books
-
A deeply smart, satirical novel that takes a critical look at racism in academia
Buzzfeed
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A multivalent pleasure, a deeply original debut novel that reinvents the campus novel satire as an Asian American literary studies whodunnit . . . Wickedly funny and knowing, Chou’s dagger wit is sure-eyed
Alexander Chee, author of How to Write an Autobiographical Novel
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A searing literary satire of campus politics
Entertainment Weekly
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A fresh, hilarious and thoughtful satire that'll make you think about cultural identity in a whole new way
Good Housekeeping
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Searing satire . . . Chou details her protagonist’s struggles with dry humour and wit
Time
-
So many stifle-a-strangled-laugh lines . . . A send-up of the polite, cardigan-draped white supremacy of liberal arts colleges
Glamour
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A smart, satirical look at everything from the fetishization of Asian women to who is celebrated in modern academia
Electric Literature
-
Hilariously tongue-in-cheek
i-D
User Reviews
Book 4.0
Narration 4.0
- No written reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Elaine Hsieh Chou
- Narrator
- Jennifer Kim
- Duration
- 11 hours 46 minutes
- Release Date
- 21 July 2022
- ISBN
- 9781529080698
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Genre
- Satirical fiction and parodies, Narrative theme: politics / economics, Narrative theme: diversity, equity, equality, inclusion, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general
- Rating
- 4.0(1 review)
- Narration
- 4.0(1 review)
Synopsis
'The funniest novel I’ve read all year' – Aravind Adiga, author of The White TigerDisorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou is a bighearted satire – alive with sharp edges, immense warmth, and a cast of unforgettable characters – that asks: who gets to tell our stories? And how does the story change when we finally tell it ourselves?Twenty-nine-year-old PhD student Ingrid Yang is desperate to finish her dissertation on the late canonical poet Xiao-Wen Chou and never read about ‘Chinese-y’ things. When she accidentally stumbles upon a strange and curious note in the Chou archives, she convinces herself it’s her ticket out of academic hell.But Ingrid’s in much deeper than she thinks. Her clumsy exploits to unravel the note’s message lead to an explosive discovery, one that upends her entire life and the lives of those around her. With her trusty friend Eunice Kim by her side and her rival Vivian Vo hot on her tail, together they set off a roller coaster of mishaps and misadventures, from campus protests and over-the-counter drug hallucinations, to book burnings and a movement that stinks of Yellow Peril propaganda. In the aftermath, nothing looks the same, including her gentle and doting fiancé . . .As the events Ingrid instigated keep spiraling, she’ll have to confront her sticky relationship to white men and white institutions – and, most of all, herself.
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