Sep 10, 2022

Stay True: A Memoir / Disorientation: Contemporary Fiction

 Reviewed:



Stay True: A Memoir
by Hua Hsu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publication: September 27, 2022; Doubleday

My review:
  
This memoir is written by the author to remember and honor a college friend, Ken, who died in a mugging and senseless kidnapping while in his third year at UCLA. Hua thinks of the What Ifs that could have saved Ken from that death - what if he had gone swing dancing as Ken had wanted that night, what if he had gone back to Ken's party in the early morning so Ken would not have been alone during that mugging.

The book focuses on the many reasons Hua and Ken became friends even though they were such different personalities. Both Asian Americans, yet one was Taiwanese American and a new immigrant, the other a Japanese American with deep roots established in the U.S. Their love of different kinds of music and movies, and their interest in analyzing everything for fun and intellectual sharing are only some of the aspects of this college friendship.

Deeply moving in parts, Stay True, the memoir, delves into the minds and hearts of a group of young university people in search of meaning and identity.


Library Find:  

Disorientation

About: 

A Taiwanese American woman’s coming of consciousness ignites eye-opening revelations and chaos on a college campus.

An uproarious and bighearted satire, alive with sharp edges, immense warmth, and a cast of unforgettable characters, Disorientation is both a blistering send-up of white supremacy in academia, and a profound reckoning of a Taiwanese American woman’s complicity and unspoken rage. 

Chou asks who gets to tell our stories—and how the story changes when we finally tell it ourselves (publisher)

View all my reviews

What are you reading this week? 
Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated BookreviewerAlso,  It's Monday: What Are You Readingand Sunday SalonStacking the ShelvesMailbox Monday

55 comments:

  1. Disorientation sounds really interesting. I don't find many about Taiwanese and the idea of satire sounds good.
    Thanks for stopping by
    Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys

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  2. Both these look really good. I hope you enjoy them

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  3. Both of these sound good, Harvee. I do not often read memoirs, although sometimes one catches my fancy. Stay True sounds like a worthwhile read. I hope you have a great week and enjoy your reading.

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    1. Stay True is excellent. I don't read many memoirs either.

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  4. Both books sound interesting. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. I saw Disorientation somewhere a while ago and wanted to read it!

    Have a great weekend!

    Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
    My post:
    https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2022/09/11/stacking-the-shelves-24/

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    1. Hope you get a chance to read it. The cover caught my eye at the library.

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  6. Who gets to tell our stories? I do think it's important that we tell our own stories and that we tell them our own way.

    Both Stay True and Disorientation sound like excellent reads. I'm glad to see how much you enjoyed Stay True.

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    1. The memoir reminded me of my college days and college friends, but happily didn't involve tragedy as this did.

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    2. I completely agree that we need to read stories told in an authentic voice. There is something creepy about a number of kinds of appropriation, where mainstream individuals with a much better chance of being published tell other people's stories. (Of course there can sometimes be good books like that, but often the publishing industry is not a level playing field to give authentic voices a chance.)

      I'm glad to hear about these books -- thanks for the review.

      best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    3. How true, Mae. Thanks for the comments.

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  7. I'm glad you highlighted Sta True, never heard of it and it sounds like something I'd like to read. I will add to my Goodreads list as that's the only way I remember all the good books I want to read!

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    1. I have so many good books I want to read, in many genres. Hope you get to it soon. It's a good one.

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  8. Both of these sound really good. For some reason, Stay True is the one I could see myself picking up.

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    1. Anyone who went to college could relate to some of this in the book.

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  9. Both of these look good. I hope you enjoy them and have a great week!

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  10. Stay True does sound very moving. And what a nice testament that he wrote the memoir to honor his friend.

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  11. Stay True sounds very good, but also a little heartbreaking. What ifs are always so hard.

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  12. Both of those sound really interesting. I'm glad you liked them.

    My

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  13. These books are both new to me and sound interesting... especially Disorientation.

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  14. Both of these look interesting. Have a great weekend!

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  15. I haven’t heard of these books before but they sound very intriguing. What a tragedy in Stay True!

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  16. You are certainly reading some unique stories.

    Anne - Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post

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  17. Disorientation looks good! Enjoy your week.

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  18. I really enjoyed Disorientation. I can't really compare it to anything else! Hope you love it too, happy reading!

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  19. Such thought-provoking books this week. They sound amazing.

    Thanks for sharing and for visiting my blog today.

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  20. These both look good, and Stay True sounds like a moving memoir. Enjoy your reading this week.

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  21. Thanks for the introduction to both these books and these authors.

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  22. Happy reading this week. The memoir could be very interesting.

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  23. Such very different books but both sound good - and a library find is even better!

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    1. Yes, I love browsing the library for new books.

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  24. These books look different. I hope you enjoy the second as much as the first. Happy Reading!

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    1. Enjoying it as it's quite different in topic and perspective.

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  25. Both books sound interesting to me. Glad to hear Stay True was a good read.

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    1. It was an unusual one for me, as I don't read many memoirs these days.

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