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Disorientation cover art

Disorientation

Written by: Elaine Hsieh Chou
Narrated by: Jennifer Kim
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Publisher's Summary

A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE SELECTION * A MALALA BOOK CLUB PICK * AN INDIE NEXT PICK * A FAVORITE BOOK OF 2022 BY NPR AND BOOK RIOT * A MUST-READ MARCH 2022 BOOK BY TIME, VANITY FAIR, EW AND THE CHICAGO REVIEW OF BOOKS * A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2022 BY GOODREADS, NYLON, BUZZFEED AND MORE

A Taiwanese American woman’s coming-of-consciousness ignites eye-opening revelations and chaos on a college campus in this outrageously hilarious and startlingly tender debut novel.


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 again. But after years of grueling research, all she has to show for her efforts are a junk food addiction and stomach pain. When she accidentally stumbles upon a curious note in the Chou archives one afternoon, it looks like 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, upending her entire life and the lives of those around her. What follows is a roller coaster of mishaps and misadventures, from book burnings and OTC drug hallucinations, to hot-button protests and Yellow Peril 2.0 propaganda. 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.

A blistering send-up of privilege and power, and a profound reckoning of individual complicity and unspoken rage, in Disorientation Elaine Hsieh Chou asks who gets to tell our stories—and how the story changes when we finally tell it ourselves.

©2022 Elaine Hsieh Chou (P)2022 Penguin Audio

What the critics say

"“[F]unny and insightful, with plenty to say about art, identity, Orientalism and the politics of academia.” New York Times Book Review

“The hyperactive satire is so consistently funny it almost makes the reader forget about the serious societal issues that undergird the humor . . . 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.” The Washington Post

“[A] literary satire that takes a hilarious and refreshingly honest look at the power dynamics of college campuses . . . This one will have you rolling over with laughter and texting your college group chat.” —NPR, Books We Love 2022

What listeners say about Disorientation

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  • 2022-05-06

disorienting, as the title suggests

this took me by surprise, i thought the beginning was quite slow but by the end of part 1, this book had me by its clutches. this was one of those “i need to sit down in silence for 30 minutes to process” once you finish it. it’s heart wrenching to see ingrid’s journey, her interpersonal relationships, the ideologies that swirl around her that seem heightened to her at first and natural at the end. this book is a MUST to anyone and everyone. i wish i could say i was speechless but i could honestly write a dissertation (or 5) on this book alone. i already want to listen to it again. 100000/5 stars.

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Laughing and shaking my head until the end

Haven't read such great satire in a while, especially not one touching so close to home.

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