Book Review: “Disorientation” by Elaine Hsieh Chou

Dec 12

Håfa adai! Welcome to my review of Elaine Hsieh Chou’s Disorientation.

This book review consists of two parts: a spoiler-free plot summary and my thoughts on the story. In the second part, I give my personal rating and break down the setting and worldbuilding, storytelling, cast of characters, and themes. There may be some lightweight spoilers—such as how characters interact with each other and the world around them—but I will not give away any major plot twists or endings. I want to share my opinions of the book and maybe encourage you to purchase a copy of your own.

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Spoiler-Free Plot Summary

To be disoriented is to be in a state of confusion or filled with a sense of having lost your way. For Ingrid Yang, a 29-year-old PhD student of comparative literature in the Department of East Asian Studies with a mountain of self-doubt and student loan debt, disorientation accurately sums up where she finds herself. After years of meticulous research on the famous poet Xiao-Wen Chou, Ingrid is hitting a wall of burn out. Studying the life and work of the Chinese American poet was chosen for her by her advisor. If she can just make it to the finish line, obtain her doctorate, and earn a coveted tenure-track university position, then she will finally be able to research what she wants. At least she can find an odd comfort in the few absolutely predictable parts of her life, like her fiancé Stephen Greene and regular stomach pains. But while working in the archives one day, researching a person and a topic she is really not interested in, she stumbles across a mysterious note. With the help of her best friend Eunice Kim (and close pursuit of rival Vivian Vo), Ingrid falls down a rabbit hole to uncover the truth behind the bizarre words. And it does not take long for her to realize that she has been misled in many more ways than one.

My Thoughts on Disorientation: 4.5 stars

I first listened to the audiobook of Disorientation in the summer of 2022—the summer I began listening to more audiobooks and pondered whether or not to continue pursuing a PhD—and revisited the story to make sure I was composing an accurate review. Recommended to me by a colleague, the story’s premise of a seemingly irresistible pull to dive down a rabbit hole that most likely has nothing to do with a graduate student’s dissertation immediately stood out to me. And I am so glad I experienced Elaine Hsieh Chou’s Disorientation! With prose that is provocative and witty, Disorientation takes the reader on Ingrid Yang’s mind-bending journey from burnt out scholar to amateur sleuth to redefined woman.

The third-person limited narrator of Disorientation follows Ingrid Yang, a graduate student who is the only child to Taiwanese parents. Ingrid is what I would consider to be a stereotypical good girl. She follows the rules, keeps to herself, and does not speak out against others. That is until she finds the bizarre note in the archives. But she does not challenge her sense of self alone. By her side is her best friend Eunice Kim, a fellow PhD student in the Department of East Asian Studies. Eunice is spunky and independent. Always present before them and in their periphery is Vivian Vo, a hyper-productive and very socially involved PhD student from the Department of Post Colonial Studies. Elaine Hsieh Chou excels at developing characters that are complex and distinct, while all also being hypocrites to some degree.

The first and most prevalent takeaway from Disorientation is what it truly feels like to go through graduate school in the social sciences. Intense imposter syndrome, constantly comparing yourself to other more successful graduate students, feeling incompetent and inadequate in your chosen field of research, fearing abandonment and uncertainty in their many forms, and constantly filled with the need to prove yourself (yet believing that you are somehow always failing) are pretty much the hallmarks of life as a full-time doctoral student. And Elaine Hsieh Chou masterfully demonstrates her understanding of that! As someone with first-hand experience with graduate school, this novel left me feeling seen.

My second takeaway from this story is how over-policing yourself in order to fit in is not the same as belonging. Throughout the course of her life, from childhood to her late 20s, Ingrid seems to desperately seek the approval and acceptance of her peers, her mentors, and the institutions she enters. Yet, despite her genuine efforts, cruelty and kindness seem to occur together in many spheres of her personal and professional life. Ingrid’s so-called childhood friends were also her harshest bullies. Her mentors and peers—other than Eunice—are also her harshest critics. And her fiancé, who is supposed to love her, repeatedly minimizes her. Amidst these contradictory experiences is uncertainty if she is truly earning acceptance and being appreciated or is a fetishized object of desire.

In between the intense themes, cringey scenes (and Elaine Hsieh Chou writes cringe so well), and deeply nuanced social critiques on race relations are incredible lines of witty and funny banter. Elaine Hsieh Chou is able to insert naturally humorous comedic breaks without taking away from the overall tone of the story. In one scene in particular, Ingrid and Eunice are reviewing the information they gathered from their sleuthing efforts when Eunice’s younger brother enters the room and teases them for their choice of highlighters and markers. To which the narrator replies, “they could not resist the sirens call of stationary.” I felt personally called out, and I could not stop laughing.

The overall rating I give to Elaine Hsieh Chou’s Disorientation 4.5 out of 5 stars. I feel that I encountered Elaine Hsieh Chou’s debut novel at an important point in my life. The struggles Ingrid Yang handles, both personally and professionally, resonated (and continue to resonate) so deeply with me. From seemingly futile efforts to make progress in an institution that claims to value your unique perspective while simultaneously putting you down at every turn, to yearning for the approval of others and the discipline you chose to be in, it truly feels that you are chasing a forever moving goal post. In many ways, Yngrid’s journey of self-discovery helped me find the courage to go through my own journey. Elaine Hsieh Chou’s prose is thought-provoking and unsettling in ways that I appreciate. I highly recommend Disorientation and greatly look forward to the August 2025 release of her next book, Where Are You Really From: Stories.

Dångkulo' na' saina ma'åse'! Thank you so much for reading my review of Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou.

Rating Cheat Sheet

4.75 - 5.00 stars: Everyone should read this book! (If you’re into that sort of thing.)
4.00 - 4.50 stars: I appreciated many aspects of this book. I recommend it!
3.00 - 3.75 stars: I liked some aspects of this book. I won’t revisit it, but someone else might really like it.
2.00 - 2.75 stars: There were some things I appreciated about this book, but I do not recommend it.
0.25 - 1.75 stars: I do not recommend this book. I did not enjoy or appreciate the experience of it.

Post Date: 7 July 2025