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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Absolutely on Music. Haruki Murakami (author), Jay Rubin (translator), Absolutely on Music: Conversations with Seiji Ozawa, Alfred A. Knopf, 2016. 352 pgs. In…
![[REVIEW] “Two Japanese Men and a Record Player—Haruki Murakami’s 𝐴𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑜𝑛 𝑀𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑐: 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑆𝑒𝑖𝑗𝑖 𝑂𝑧𝑎𝑤𝑎” by Mario Rustan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/absolutely-on-music-conversations-with-seiji-ozawa-alfred-a.-knopf-2016.jpg?w=751)
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RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kim Soom (author), Bruce Fulton and Ju-Chan Fulton (translators), One Left, University of Washington Press, 2020. 224 pgs. During the Second World War, over 200,000 Korean girls…
![[REVIEW] “Bearing Witness to History: Kim Soom’s 𝑂𝑛𝑒 𝐿𝑒𝑓𝑡” by John Teoh](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/kim-soom-author-bruce-fulton-and-ju-chan-fulton-translators-one-left-1.jpg?w=971)
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There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
![Protected: [EXCERPT] “From 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟” by Leslie Shimotakahara](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/the-breakwater.jpg?w=900)
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There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
![Protected: [ESSAY] “From Scrapbooking to Novel Writing: Giving Voice to an Unsettling Family Secret in 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟” by Leslie Shimotakahara](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/leslie-shimotakahara.jpg?w=347)
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RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Yilin Wang (editor & translator), The Lantern and the Night Moths: Five Modern and Contemporary Chinese Poets, Invisible Publishing, 2024. 120 pgs. The Lantern and The Night…
![[REVIEW] “Poetry Translation in the Chinese Diaspora: Yilin Wang’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑁𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑀𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑠” by Hongwei Bao](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/the-lantern-and-the-night-moths.jpg?w=1024)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Rediscovering Prajwal Parajuly’s The Gurkha’s Daughter: A Journey Through Identity and Displacement” by Abhinav Tulachan Prajwal Parajuly, The Gurkha’s Daughter, Quercus, 2012. 272 pgs. This is a book my father…
![[REVIEW] “Rediscovering Prajwal Parajuly’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐺𝑢𝑟𝑘ℎ𝑎’𝑠 𝐷𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟: A Journey Through Identity and Displacement” by Abhinav Tulachan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/prajwal-parajuly-the-gurkhas-daughter.jpg?w=649)
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Ma Ka Fai’s note: These are selected excerpts from my novel Once Upon a Time in Hong Kong III (雙天至尊), forthcoming this year. The story’s protagonist, Hon Tien-Yan, is a passionate martial arts enthusiast and an ardent admirer of Bruce Lee.…
![[TRANSLATION] “Master Ip and the Dragonling” by Ma Ka fai, translated by Chris Song](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/ma-ka-fai-e9a6ace5aeb6e8bc9d.png?w=1024)
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Poet’s note: I consider this poem an ode to beginnings—a constant reminder that, before the hurt sets in, before any damage is done, the first page of any story holds infinite promise. There is always a reason for characters to…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “Beginnings are Generous” by Marco Yan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/frost-flowers-thumb.jpeg?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Marcus Fedder, My Shanghai Neighbours, Black Spring Press, 2023. 130 pgs. Having spent four years living in a Shanghai lane between 2012 and 2016 (when I left China), I…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Resurrecting Longtang Memories: Marcus Fedder’s 𝑀𝑦 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔ℎ𝑎𝑖 𝑁𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠” by S.C. Gordon](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/my-shanghai-neighbours-1.jpg?w=985)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Umi Ishihara (director), Gravity and Radiance, 2021. 30 min. Images featured in this piece courtesy of the director. Gravity and Radiance, a 2021 experimental documentary by the London-based Japanese…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Transcendence and Redemption—Umi Ishihara’s 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑅𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒” by Marsha McDonald](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/gravity-and-radiance-3.png?w=1024)
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Header artwork by Annysa Ng 茶 First Impressionsclick for information 茶 Essays click for information 茶 En Routeclick for information 茶 XI XI—Can We Sayclick for information 茶 Write to Powerclick for information 茶 Auditory Cortexclick for information
Cha 