-
๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Weike Wang, Joan Is Okay, Penguin Random House, 2022. 224 pgs. Joan is Okay, the sophomore novel by Weike Wang, opens with the line: โWhen I think about…
![[REVIEW] โThe Telos of Toil: Reading Weike Wang’s ๐ฝ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฆ Through Labour and Identityโ by Tiffany Troy](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/weike-wang-joan-is-okay.png?w=1024)
-
๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Gilda Cordero-Fernando, The Last Full Moon: Lessons on My Life, University of the Philippines Press and GCF Books, 2005. 250 pgs. “I don’t want to be boring ever.”โChappell…
![[REVIEW] โGrandmothered! A Filipina Gen Z’s Critique of Gilda Cordero-Fernando’s ๐โ๐ ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ก ๐น๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐๐โ by Janelle Tanguin](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/gilda-cordero-fernando-the-last-full-moon-lessons-of-my-life.jpg?w=1024)
-
๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Shunji Iwai (director), Undo, 1994. 47 min. The film Undo (1994) by Shunji Iwai is modest in length at just 47 minutes. Yet the narrative never feels rushed,…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Beyond Earshot: Transcribing Meaning in Shunji Iwaiโs ๐๐๐๐” by Miran Tsay](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/shunji-iwai.jpg?w=1024)
-
๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Anand Patwardhan, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (The World is Family), 2023. 96 min. “เฎฏเฎพเฎคเฏเฎฎเฏ เฎเฎฐเฏ! เฎฏเฎพเฎตเฎฐเฏเฎฎเฏ เฎเฏเฎณเฎฟเฎฐเฏ!” (โEvery place is our homeland, everyone is our kinโ)โthese words from the Tamil…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] โBetween Memory and History: Anand Patwardhan’s ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐โ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐พ๐ข๐ก๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐โ by Kathiravan Annamalai](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/anand-patwardhan-vasudhaiva-kutumbakam-the-world-is-family-.png?w=1024)
-
๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on In the Mood for Love. Wong Kar-wai (director), In the Mood for Love, 2000. 98 min. Some films are simply like thatโfrom the moment you…
![[REVIEW] “๐ผ๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐ฃ๐ at 25: Wong Kar-wai’s Cinematic Language of Longing” by G.A. Gowtham](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/in-the-mood-for-love-wong-kar-wai-2020-4k-red-ds-os-195-_blur.webp?w=1024)
-
๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Uketsu (author), Jim Rion (translator), Strange Pictures, HarperVia, 2025. 240 pgs. In the Prologue, we are told: โAll right, everyone, now Iโm going to show you a picture.โ…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] โThe Reader as Detective: Uketsuโs ๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐ข๐๐๐ โ by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/uketsu-author-jim-rion-translator-strange-pictures-harpervia-2025.png?w=974)
-
๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Alex John Catanese, Buddha in the Marketplace: The Commodification of Buddhist Objects in Tibet, University of Virginia Press, 2019. 334 pgs. The phenomenon of religious commodification across diverse…
![[REVIEW] “Commodifying the Sacred: Alex John Catanese’s ๐ต๐ข๐๐โ๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐” by Palden Gyalย](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/buddha-copy.jpg?w=1024)
-
Chris Song and Simona Gallo Dwelling in Tonguesโ Part Iโ”Hong Kong & Poetry”โ Part IIโ”A Translingual Self: The Art of Self-Translation” Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series of interview entitled “Dwelling in Tongues: A Conversation on…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “Hong Kong & Poetry” by Simona Gallo and Chris Song](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/simona-gallo-and-chris-song.png?w=1024)
-
๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Sundar Sarukkai, The Social Life of Democracy, Seagull Books, 2022, 184 pgs. When I reflect on democracy in India today, I see a concept confined largely to the…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] โDemocracy as Social Practice: Sundar Sarukkai’s ๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆโ by Kathiravan Annamalai](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/sundar-sarukkais-the-social-life-of-democracy.jpg?w=1000)
-
๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Mandira Chakraborty, Firefly Games, Sambhavna Prakashan, 2025. 217 pgs. The world we inhabit today is a curious interplay between misinformation and an overwhelming excess of informationโone click or…
![[REVIEW] โMandira Chakrabortyโs ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐บ๐๐๐๐ : Stories of Light and Shadowโ by Sayan Aich](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/mandira-chakraborty-firefly-games.jpg?w=1000)
-
Header artwork by Annysa Ng ่ถ First Impressionsclick for information ่ถ Essays click for information ่ถ En Routeclick for information ่ถ XI XIโCan We Sayclick for information ่ถ Write to Powerclick for information ่ถ Auditory Cortexclick for information
Cha 