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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “How Daniyal Mueenuddin’s In Other Rooms, Other Wonders Makes Class Feel Inescapable” by Abhinav Tulachan Daniyal Mueenuddin. In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. 237 pgs.…
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Every Puddle a Reflection: On Dorothy Tse’s City Like Water” by Jennifer Eagleton Click HERE to read all entries in Chaon City Like Water. Dorothy Tse (author), Natascha Bruce (translator). City Like Water, Graywolf…
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Borrowed Strength: Longman Leung’s Cold War 1994” by Jonathan Han Longman Leung (director). Cold War 1994, 2026. 123 min. Prequels make for demanding films. They demand a connection to…
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[ESSAY] “Memory and Music: Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Michael Raymond The first time I ever heard Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” I was watching the music video through a mosquito net late at night. Just me and the dim,…
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[ESSAY] “Alibi” by Sam Yu Wing Chan “The Fire in Tai Po is still ongoing.” When I had got home (the phrase “getting back home” has become lost, written on social media afterwards by a resident who escaped after hours of…
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery: On Angie Kim’s Happiness Falls” by Raymond K. Nakamura Angie Kim, Happiness Falls, Hogarth Press, 2023. 336 pgs. The novel Happiness Falls by Korean-American…
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Cha invites authors, editors, translators, publishers, and readers to propose books, films, or other cultural productions for extended featured coverage in the journal, including single-author features. Extended coverage like this often begins with the editor-in-chief’s own enthusiasm for the work.…
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Between the Libretto and the Lion Rock: Bizet’s Carmen in Hong Kong” by Jonathan Han Warren Mok (producer) and Jia Ding (director). Bizet’s Carmen, Opera Hong Kong, 2026. Hong…
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Crabs in a Glass Ceiling Barrel: Kelly Yang’s The Take” by Raymond Pun Kelly Yang. The Take, Penguin Random House, 2026. 368 pgs. The Take, the first adult fiction by…
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FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Yi-Ling Liu’s Portrait of China’s Digital Dissidents in The Wall Dancers” by Johanna M. Costigan Yi-Ling Liu. The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet, Knopf, 2026,…


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![[REVIEW] “Every Puddle a Reflection: On Dorothy Tse’s 𝐶𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝐿𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/city-like-water-dorothy-tse-cha-an-asian-literary-journal.jpg?w=1000)
![[FIRST IMPRESIONS] “Borrowed Strength: Longman Leung’s 𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑊𝑎𝑟 1994” by Jonathan Han](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/https-mubi.comenfrfilmscold-war-1994.webp?w=1024)
![[ESSAY] “Memory and Music: Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Michael Raymond](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/screenshot-2026-05-27-at-20.06.27.png?w=1024)
![[ESSAY] “Alibi” by Sam Yu Wing Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/screenshot-2026-05-21-at-10.14.47.png?w=1024)
![[REVIEW] “A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery: On Angie Kim’s 𝐻𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝐹𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑠” by Raymond K. Nakamura](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/happiness-falls-by-korean-american-writer-angie-kim-.jpg?w=987)

![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Between the Libretto and the Lion Rock: 𝐵𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑡’𝑠 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑛 in Hong Kong” by Jonathan Han](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/georges-bizets-carmen-is-often-hailed-as-the-opera-for-everyone.jpg?w=1024)
![[REVIEW] “Crabs in a Glass Ceiling Barrel: Kelly Yang’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑎𝑘𝑒” by Raymond Pun](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/https-www.kellyyang.com_.jpg?w=993)
![[ESSAY] “Yi-Ling Liu’s Portrait of China’s Digital Dissidents in 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑊𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝐷𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑠” by Johanna M. Costigan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/wall-dancers.jpg?w=987)