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Disorientation
For fans of Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang, Disorientation is an uproarious and big-hearted satire – alive with sharp edges, immense warmth, and a cast of unforgettable characters – that asks: who gets to tell our stories?
Ingrid Yang is desperate to finish her PhD dissertation on the much-lauded poet Xiao-Wen Chou and never read about ‘Chinese-y’ things again, when she accidentally stumbles upon a strange note in the Chou archives that she thinks may be her ticket out of academic hell.
But Ingrid has no idea that the note will lead to an explosive secret, upending her entire life and the lives of those around her. Her clumsy exploits to discover the truth set off a rollercoaster 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, she’ll have to question everything, from her relationship with her fiancé to the kind of person she dares to be.
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
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
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
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
Amultivalent 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
A searing literary satire of campus politics ― Entertainment Weekly
A fresh, hilarious and thoughtful satire that'll make you think about cultural identity in a whole new way ― Good Housekeeping
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
About the Author
Elaine Hsieh Chou is a Taiwanese American writer from California. A 2017 NYU Rona Jaffe Graduate Fellow and 2021 NYSCA/NYFA Fellow, her short fiction appears in Black Warrior Review, Guernica, Tin House Online, and Ploughshares. Disorientation is her first novel.
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