Liked the first two stories and how the title theme isn’t so much the “micro aggression” of people asking Asian Americans their ancestry, but about characters finding themselves. A lot of time they are Taiwanese and/or women but often slotted into alt dimensions besides ages, places, and ironic scenarios.

I greatly prefer the author’s prev novel Disorientation to these short stories. The novel had more obvious humor and whacky rabbit holes, and mostly realism. This isn’t a bad or preachy or random collection, but it’s usually boring with touches of sadness and a jarring look at self-damaging cultural quirks whatever in-group wouldn’t blink at, particularly w/ beauty and blunt talk.

First story is about living in Tai Pei as the ugly duckling while your cousin is perfect w/ lips like strawberry. The fam and most are so crass about what they find ugly on you and do a bunch of beauty rituals, even squeezing their breasts to grow bigger, legs taller and thinner. Photo booths have built-in Photoshop. For the MC to ingratiate herself to LaLa, she lies that life in America means they torture her at school. There’s budding sexuality, competition, work at a dumpling shop that’s always sizzling, fam secrets that could be lies. Not exactly sure what the end means, if she wants to be as moldable as LaLa to be beautiful or is drinking in herself finally as she is? Regret for how they treated the ugly old woman?

Mail-order bride story was darkly funny with reviews like they’re malfunctioning devices w/ gov. loopholes that let them be imported goods despite banned immigration. Funny the wife only speaks in TV phrases to blend in. Though the groom, Frank, is far more endearing than you’d expect: scarfing down pound cake, wanting to cook pasta with her and buy her tulips. She becomes Americanized, smoking weed, partying like a low-rent Real Housewife. Unexpectedly, this becomes a tearjerker, establishes a drowning/water theme.

Rabbit story: a Paris au pair feels she does not belong in the US or Taiwan so goes there to find herself—literally, accidentally. Her suitcase is lost so she comes with nothing which is a nice touch. She’s subservient to the cute lil kid who is particular about everything, like thinking it’s absurd to drink orange juice at night. The family she nannies for give her a separate studio apt. with a roommate: Elaine B, the better version clone to her Elaine A (like the author who seems to often use her name in bizarre scenarios, probably auto fiction). Everyone is as rude as the French stereotype. French getting more Americanized or say the MC romanticizes too much or mixes them up with Italians. Some decent lines: “Spiky twists of jealousy” or “the sun lays her head down for the night.” Boring until the end where her decision is abrupt, but then becomes kinda cliche.

Next story is like Bagel Boss is an actor who doesn’t understand why his daughter is lying about her identity. Unlikable Hollywood losers. Then in the movie he has to gang rape her, which is an interesting concept, but becomes so glossed over and boring. Like the mom having Huntingtons disease or him selling drugs could have been a way more interesting focus rather than a handful of words.

Happy Endings: A dr. goes to a sex bot place that always turns into more obfuscation and distance, like the bot giving him VR. It’s cool this simulation involves scent and taste, but these third-person stories, though detailed, never scratch the itch of feeling emotionally real. Never many thoughts, or titillation, or much humor. MCs about as bloodless as the pixelated tarts. The single choc heart he gives as gifts or phrases like “burning ball of gold sun” were the only real stand-out lines to me, though the castle sim had its prettiness. The end was visceral half the time, yet felt too out-of-character a twist that could have been better foreshadowed instead of just kind of lying to us. Either way, it’s a story told many times. Would be better from the girl’s POV in chronological order. There’s too much info-dumping.

Dollhouse: Cute points but even my immense love of dolls doesn’t make me wanna trudge through. Good points: Dolls ironically have stripper names like Dreambo(at) Jo or Fantasy, the idea of moving to dream land or a loan shark needed to afford a dream home.

All the medical problems with the dolls I just don’t find compelling at all, even as silly as it inherently seems. Matter-of-fact prose doesn’t grab me, it’s like only slightly bended, older school MFA style. Doesn’t feel like the same person who wrote Disorientation. MC even remarks she knows she’s dull.

Casualties of Art: I give up after a few pages. It’s too mundane with a start about late trains, overloaded with details like the rest of the stories, here about the location of a cabin. I smirked at the cute phrase about “having to discipline an errant shoelace.” I’d read another novel by the author if it’s realistic or sexy, but not any more short stories unless flash.

Enjoyed this short story collection. It is a book about self, cruelty, sympathy and identity, My favorites might be the mail order bride who comes to USA for a new life and the story where a girl has a French doppelganger (this one was slightly tedious to read but the idea was very intriguing). Also I love the way Elaine Hsieh Chou writes!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

This is my first book from Elaine Hsieh Chou, but Disorientation has been high on my TBR! It’s also my first time reading a short story collection, which I’ve come to realize I really enjoy!

All the stories truly did push boundaries, like the description of the book says, going to places I’d never expect. The stories were absurd yet also relatable, sometimes making me reflect and compare these sci-fi like stories relate to real life. In all honesty, I think these stories are kind of like artsy, indie films where I need a YouTube breakdown and analysis to fully understand the message. These honestly would make great films!

I don’t read a lot of short story collections but I loved this one. Every story left me wanting more which I think is the highest praise you can give a short story.

Disorientation instantly became one of my all-time favourite books and whenever I read Elaine’s writing, waves of different emotions wash over me. In some moments, I feel as if she’s in my head, putting into words all of the thoughts I’ve ever had about what it means to experience this world as an Asian woman. At other times, I feel intense unease when her writing calls me out or makes me cringe at characters I see my younger self in, or my current self. But it’s in a way I don’t shy away from because it feels like hearing from a big sister who knows I have to make my own mistakes like she’s done before me.

The writing in these stories feels very intentional, thought-provoking, and nuanced. Elaine is doing some of the best, most relatable writing I’ve ever read on fetishization, internalized racism, and the often clumsy journey of embracing your Asian culture. I wish I’d had her books to read when I was 25 and agreeing to a second date with a white guy who had Japanese doorway curtains (don’t worry, he’s long gone) but I’m glad I have them now.

I was really excited to read this new collection of short stories from Elaine Hsieh Chou, as I *loved* her book, Disorientation. While this collection fell a little below Disorientation for me, I still found the stories incredibly thought-provoking. Carrot Legs, Mail Order Bride, and Happy Endings are the three that will definitely remain in my head for a long time. They explore aspects of family and belonging, racialization and fetishes, dehumanization, and revenge. I honestly think that all three of these could be full-length novels - and I kept picturing Happy Endings as a movie in my head.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy!

All in all, I liked this. Much more than Disorientation.

Carrot Legs 3.5/5
I thought this covered some interesting ground. I liked the imagery in it, and the location felt tangible. The ending definitely went over my head.

Mail Order Love 3/5
This was alright, I feel like it was missing something. But was still a good read.

You Put a Rabbit on Me 4/5
Ok I really enjoyed this one. Poor lil Hippolyte. It had the right levels of anticipation and I wasn’t disappointed by the ending.

Featured Background 2/5
Idk I found this one kinda boring. It was missing something. Also for a minute I was like wait…Athena?? Is that you??? Only to realise Yellowface’s Athena is Athena Liu not Athena Wu.

Happy Endings 3/5
I enjoyed the ending, but getting there was a bit blehhh for me.

The Dollhouse 3.5/5
The beginning was a bit of a drag because I was constantly having to check that I was tracking the metaphor correctly, but as it went on it made more sense. Kinda sad actually. A good story.

Casualties of Art 2.5/5
Of all the stories here the is the one I think least deserved to be novella length. Aggressively fine. A disappointing choice to end on this imo.

Thank you @netgallary and @penguinpress for this wicked set of short stories e-arc by one of my favourite satirical authors @elainehsiehchou.

This is a collection of short dark viseral stories with themes of colonisation, coming home, finding both parts of yourself, and growing up as children of traumatised parents.. some of them stories are speculative fiction.

Brilliant stories
- Mail order bride
- Featured backgrounds
- Happy endings

Some stories made me groan with frustration at the audacity of the colonizers, and the many repeated attempts of the global majority to educate, empathise and assimilate. There is a lot of nauce and pain on the pages; this has taken me a few weeks to really take in and process.

i loved the exploration of desires and human wants. Each story carried it's own color and were really intriguing to read, almost all of the stories flew by and made me want to read a whole novel about that story.

I will always take it as a good sign when a book leaves me wanting more. Each of these stories could have turned into full-fledged books.

What I love most about these stories is that feeling of being human - running away from something, hiding from your past, being afraid to confront your own personal issues. Chou writes cleverly and demands that you do a little bit of introspective work.

A solid collection! Thank you Penguin Random House and Netgalley for the opportunity to read in advance.

I’m a big fan of Elaine Hsieh Chou’s debut novel, Disorientation, and I’m so happy she delivered again with a short story collection here. Where Are You Really From is full of interrogations of race, gender, class, and all of it delivered with her sharp and darkly funny writing.

My favorite stories are “Carrot Legs,” “Mail Order Love,” “Featured Background” and “Casualties of Art: A Novella.”

Chou’s characters aren’t meant to be likeable, but they feel so real, whether they’re a kid like in “Carrot Legs” or an elderly man confronting his estranged daughter for the first time in “Featured Background.” There’s not really subtlety in what she’s trying to convey, whether that’s commentary about the treatment of both white and Asian women by Asian men, the treatment of Asian sex workers who are “layovers” for white men, or the anxiety and tragedy of growing up and away from childhood and its innocence. However, that’s one of the things I like most about her writing and what makes it feel genuine.

I also really liked the pacing of these stories. Most short story collections can either drag or go too fast for my tastes, but Where Are You Really From is a perfect mix of introspective, slower narratives and faster ones. I was consistently interested in where the story would take me and I was rarely disappointed. Each one feels complete in its own right.

Overall, Chou has solidified herself as an auto-buy author for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This review has been scheduled to be posted on Goodreads and my blog on August 5, 2025.