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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS 📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Bei Dao (author), Jeffrey Yang (translator), Sidetracks, New Directions, 2024. 176 pgs. The “sidetracks” of Bei Dao’s title can first be understood as a structural metaphor—two parallel…
![[REVIEW] “The Fugitive: Bei Dao’s 𝑆𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑠” by Jeff Tompkins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sidetracks-bei-dao_cha.jpg?w=611)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS 📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kōki Mitani (director), Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald, 1997. 103 min. Kōki Mitani has a particular knack for satirising the Japanese inclination to avoid confrontation. As the screenwriter…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Japanese Comedy Cinema at Its Finest: Kōki Mitani’s 𝑊𝑒𝑙𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝐵𝑎𝑐𝑘, 𝑀𝑟. 𝑀𝑐𝐷𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑑” by Jeremiah Dutch](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/mv5bodhimtlimzmtodk0my00ogjklwjjmwytythlyta3mzllzjq1xkeyxkfqcgc40._v1_.jpg?w=853)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS 📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Karan Mujoo, This Our Paradise, Penguin Random House, 2024. 240 pgs. For some, Kashmir is a paradise of serene valleys and pristine lakes. For others, it is…
![[REVIEW] “A Fractured Paradise: Karan Mujoo’s 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑂𝑢𝑟 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑒” by Ananya Singh](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/this-our-paradise.jpeg?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS 📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Susan Lieu, The Manicurist’s Daughter: A Memoir, Celadon Books, 2024. 305 pgs. The Manicurist’s Daughter: A Memoir is both a profound exploration and a courageous recovery of…
![[REVIEW] “Teetering Between Cultures: Susan Lieu’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡’𝑠 𝐷𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟” by Thu Le](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/the-manicurists-daughter.jpg?w=987)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS 📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kang Hwagil (author), Clare Richards (translator), Another Person, Pushkin Press, 2023. 302 pgs. When her boyfriend chokes her for the fifth time since their office romance began, Kim…
![[REVIEW] “Unmasking Toxic Cultures: Kang Hwagil’s 𝐴𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛” by John Teoh](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/another-person-78-reviews-authors-hwa-gil-kang-author-clare-richards-translator.jpg?w=950)
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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 If I Do Not Reply. Tammy Lai-Ming Ho, If I Do Not Reply, Shearsman Books, 2024. 110 pgs. Tammy Lai-Ming Ho in Chicago, November 2024…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “The Art of Waking Up Words: Tammy Lai-Ming Ho’s 𝐼𝑓 𝐼 𝐷𝑜 𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑅𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑦” by Anders Kølle](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/if-i-do-not-reply_tammy-ho-1.jpg?w=907)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS ▚ Shao Yihui (director), Her Story 好东西, 2024. 123 min. ▚ Ling Jia (director), YOLO 热辣滚烫, 2024. 130 min. Decades after Chairman Mao declared that “women hold up half…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “𝐻𝑒𝑟 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦, 𝑌𝑂𝐿𝑂, and the Alternative Family in Chinese Cinema” by Edward Allen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/the-alternative-family-in-chinese-cinema.png?w=1024)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS ▚ Lin Zhao, Flowing Creek 流溪 (originally published in Mandarin Chinese), Shanghai Sanlian Publishing Company, 2020, 192 pgs.▚ Lin Zhao, Tidal Chart 潮夕圖 (originally published in Mandarin Chinese with a variety…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “Rewriting the Southeast Chinese Frontier with Tenderness: Lin Zhao’s 𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐶𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑘 and 𝑇𝑖𝑑𝑎𝑙 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑡” by Winifred Dongyi Wang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/lin-zhao.jpeg?w=600)
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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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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 