WATCH: Elaine Hsieh Chou and Larissa Pham on Power, Complicity, and Rage

Elaine Hsieh Chou presents her debut novel, Disorientation—an uproarious and bighearted story of a Taiwanese American woman’s coming-of-consciousness that ignites chaos on a college campus. 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 junk food addiction and stomach pain. When she accidentally stumbles upon a curious note in the Chou archives one afternoon, 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, upending not only her sheltered life within academia but her entire world beyond it.

Chou is joined in conversation with Brooklyn artist and author of Pop Song Larissa Pham, for an exploration of privilege and power in America, individual complicity, unspoken rage, and who gets to tell our stories.

***

Founded in October 2009 by Rebecca Fitting and Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, Greenlight Bookstore is an independent bookstore in Brooklyn, New York. Combining the best traditions of the neighborhood bookstore with carefully curated, community-minded events, Greenlight has earned a reputation as a literary destination. Greenlight has continued to serve its community during the COVID-19 pandemic with a diverse array of virtual events, and has been inspired by the movements for racial justice across the country to engage in the work of becoming a more anti-racist company. Learn more at greenlightbookstore.com or check them out @greenlightbklyn.