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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS BuYun Chen, Empire of Style: Silk and Fashion in Tang China, University of Washington Press, 2019. 272 pgs. Although the name βSilk Roadβ is a fairly modern…
![[REVIEW] βTantalising with Questions: BuYun Chen’s πΈπππππ ππ ππ‘π¦ππβ by Stephen Maire](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/empire-of-style-silk-and-fashion-in-tang-china.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Dennis WΓΌrthner (translator), Tales of the Strange by a Korean Confucian Monk: KΕmo sinhwa by Kim SisΕp, University of Hawaiβi Press, 2020. 402 pgs. Also known as…
![[REVIEW] βFound in Translation: πππππ ππ π‘βπ ππ‘πππππ ππ¦ π πΎπππππ πΆππππ’ππππ ππππβ by Lydia Kwa](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/dennis-wurthner.jpg?w=940)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Γlise Girard (director), Sidonie in Japan, 2024. 95 min. Sidonie Perceval (Isabelle Huppert) is a writer, or at least she once was. She has now decided to…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βSpectral Valency: Γlise Girard’s πππππππ ππ π½ππππ” by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/elise-girard-director-sidonie-in-japan-2024.-95-min.jpg?w=559)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Leanne Dunic, Wet, Talonbooks, April 2024. 133 pgs. Interwoven throughout Wet, Leanne Dunicβs most recent book named as one of the 37 poetry collections the Canadian Broadcasting…
![[REVIEW] “A Poem Epic in Length, Powerfully Cautionary: Leanne Dunic’s πππ‘” by Marsha McDonald](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/wet_leanne-dunic-wet-talonbooks.jpg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Bingbing Shi (editor), Fu Xiuying (author, tr. Christopher MacDonald), Xu Zechen (author, tr. Eric Abrahamsen), Xu Kun (author, tr. Katherine Tse), Qiu Huadong (author, tr. Paul Harris),…
![[REVIEW] βA Quirky Composite Portrait: πβπ π΅πππ ππ π΅ππππππβ by Sabina Knight](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/bingbing-shi-editor-the-book-of-beijing.jpg?w=732)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Sosuke Natsukawa (author), Louise Heal Kawai (translator), The Cat Who Saved Books, HarperCollins, 2021. 208 pgs. The Cat Who Saved Books starts sadly when the main character, Rintaro…
![[REVIEW] “A Criticism of the Ways in Which Modern Society Treats, Sees, and Produces Books: Sosuke Natsukawa’s πβπ πΆππ‘ πβπ πππ£ππ π΅ππππ ” by Hui-Hua Lu](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/the-cat-who-saved-cats_sosuke-natsukawa.jpg?w=992)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS πRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kim Hyesoon (author), Don Mee Choi (translator), Phantom Pain Wings, New Directions, 2023. 208 pgs. Reading Kim Hyesoonβs Phantom Pain Wings is an uncanny experience of growing wings and…
![[REVIEW] “The Birth of Deathly Birds: Kim Hyesoonβs πβπππ‘ππ ππππ πππππ ” by Kammy Lee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/phantom-pain-wings.jpg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Life Ceremony. Sayaka Murata (author), Ginny Tapley Takemori (translator), Life Ceremony, Granta Books, 2023. 272 pgs. Sayaka Murataβs Life Ceremony is a disturbing…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βWhen The Translations Hit, They Really Hit: Sayaka Murata’s πΏπππ πΆπππππππ¦β by Grace Najmulski](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/life-ceremony_cha.jpg?w=933)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka (directors and screenwriters), The Foolish Bird 笨ι³₯, 2017. 118 min. One minute into The Foolish Bird 笨ι³₯, I realised that, despite being…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βA Portrait of Those Left Behind: πβπ πΉπππππ β π΅πππβ by X. H. Collins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/the-foolish-bird_cha.jpg?w=800)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Jessica J. Lee, Two Trees Make a Forest, Catapult, 2020, 282 pgs. The first day in the cloud forest softened me to fogβ¦ Behind me, if I held…
![[REVIEW] βOur Histories House So Much Loss But They House So Much Love Too: Jessica J. Lee’s ππ€π πππππ ππππ π πΉππππ π‘β by Tracy Hwang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/two-trees-make-a-forest.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Amy Lin, Here After, Zibby Books, 2024, 272 pgs. My dad became a widower in his late thirties. I was born a few years after that, a…
![[REVIEW] βTo Mourn and Remember: Amy Linβs π»πππ π΄ππ‘ππβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/here-after-amy-lin-copy.jpg?w=817)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Chungking Express. Wong Kar-wai (director), Chungking Express (4K Restored Edition), 2021 (1994). 103 min. To mark the 30th anniversary of the original release…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “An Ode to Unrequited Love, 30 Years Later: Wong Kar-wai’s πΆβπ’ππππππ πΈπ₯ππππ π ” by Soo Ryon Yoon](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/chungking-express_3.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS On Cats: An Anthology, introduction by Margaret Atwood and photographs by Elliot Ross, Notting Hill Editions, 2021. 84 pgs. Cats are a curious and ancient animal choice…
![[REVIEW] “The People in These Stories Have Found a Soulmateβππ πΆππ‘π : π΄π π΄ππ‘βππππ𦔠by Marsha McDonald](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/oncats.webp?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ Perfect Days. Wim Wenders (director),Β Perfect Days, 2023. 123 min. Perfect Days (2023) is a drama directed by Wim Wenders, from a script written…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “An Excellent Example of Slow Cinema: Wim Wenders’s πππππππ‘ π·ππ¦π ” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/perfect-days-copy.webp?w=1024)
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Zheng Wang: Trips Stories of a Businessman Who Writes Poetry on Work Trips is a sequence of narrative poems in a pseudo-chronological order, a kind of spiritual diary. Its predominant theme is the imaginary persona of this Singapore-based businessman who…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “Stories of a Businessman Who Writes Poetry on Work Trips” by Zheng Wang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/copy-of-untitled-design-7.png?w=730)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN 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. Wong Kar-Waiβs In the Mood for Love…
![[REVIEW] βLost in Translation: The Perverse Pains and Pleasures of Globalisation in Wong Kar-Waiβs πΌπ π‘βπ ππππ πππ πΏππ£πβ by Lorraine Yang](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)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Untold. Bae Suah (author), Deborah Smith (translator), Untold Night and Day, Jonathan Cape, 2020. 155 pgs. Where do…
![[REVIEW] βAt the Edge of Impermanence: Bae Suahβs πππ‘πππ πππβπ‘ πππ π·ππ¦β by Jonah Wu](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/untold-night-and-day.jpg?w=985)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “An Outrageously Ambitious Not-Quite Masterpiece: Yan Lianke’s Heart Sutra” by Kevin McGeary Yan Lianke (author), Carlos Rojas (translator), Heart Sutra, Glove Atlantic, 2023. 426 pgs. Just as the late…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “An Outrageously Ambitious Not-Quite Masterpiece: Yan Lianke’s π»ππππ‘ ππ’π‘ππ” by Kevin McGeary](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/heart-sutra.jpg?w=995)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Apichatpong Weerasethakul (director), Mysterious Object at Noon, 2000. 83 min. “Enlisting locals to contribute improvised narration to a simple tale, Apichatpong charts the collective construction of the…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βSimultaneities and Narratives in Apichatpong Weerasethakulβs ππ¦π π‘πππππ’π ππππππ‘ ππ‘ ππππ” by Richell Isaiah Flores](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mysterious-objects-at-noon.jpg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Perfect Days. Wim Wenders (director), Perfect Days, 2023. 123 min. Wim Wenders is not alone among Western filmmakers in having a fascination with…
![[REVIEW] “Clean Work: Wim Wenders’s πππππππ‘ π·ππ¦π ” by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/74409c07-88f6-44de-94a4-98f879833225.jpeg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Lawrence Kwan Chun Kan (director), In Broad Daylight η½ζ₯δΉδΈ, 2023. 106 min. In Broad Daylight combines two major news stories that expose abuses against the vulnerable: the…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βNothing Under the Sun Is Truly New: Lawrence Kwan Chun KanβsΒ πΌπ π΅ππππ π·ππ¦πππβπ‘β by Tin Yuet Tam](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/in-broad-daylight_poster.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Nick Bradley, The Cat and the City, Atlantic Books, 2020. 304 pgs. Nick Bradleyβs The Cat and the City is a patchwork of short stories and vignettes…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βTroubling Facets of Life in Tokyo: Nick Bradley’s πβπ πΆππ‘ πππ π‘βπ πΆππ‘π¦β by Vicky Wong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/nick-bradley_the-cat-and-the-city.jpg?w=977)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Original and Surreal: Yun Ko-eun’s Table for One” by Jack Greenberg ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ Table for One. Yun Ko-eun (author), Lizzie Buehler (translator), Table for One: Stories, Columbia University…
![[REVIEW] “Original and Surreal: Yun Ko-eun’s πππππ πππ πππ” by Jack Greenberg](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/yun-ko-eun_table-for-one.png?w=1024)
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Hiroko Oyamada. Hiroko Oyamada (author), David Boyd (translator), The Factory, New Directions, 2019. 128 pgs. The cover is what first…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βSome Sort of Enclosed System: Hiroko Oyamadaβs πβπ πΉπππ‘πππ¦β by Jane McBride](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/hiroko-oyamada_the-factory.jpg?w=931)
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Chinese Abacus 1814 One day, while wandering in the Mong Kok district of Kowloon, I bought an antique abacus. Known as one of the most densely populated areas on earth, Mong Kok is a busy shopping area with many open…
![[EXCLUSIVE] βThe Abacusβ by Jeff Beyl](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/20190329070933623.jpg?w=600)
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π Cha‘s SHΕGUN Feature There have been two adaptations of James Clavellβs 1975 novel ShΕgunβa 1980 miniseries and a new one from this year, currently showing on Hulu and Disney+. This short essay focuses on the 1980 adaptation. Set in…
![[SHΕGUN] βBold Directorial Choices: πβπππ’π (1980)β by e rathke](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/shogun-1980.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS π RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on People from My Neighbourhood. Hiromi Kawakami (author), Ted Goossen (translator), People from My Neighbourhood, Granta Books, 2021. 96 pgs. The interconnected stories in Hiromi…
![[REVIEW] βExtraordinarily ordinary?: Hiromi Kawakamiβs ππππππ ππππ ππ¦ ππππβπππ’πβπππβ by Marsha McDonald](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/people-from-my-neighbourhood.jpg?w=1005)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS πRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Fly Me to the Moon. Sasha Chuk (director), Fly Me to the Moon δ½ι‘δΊΊι·δΉ , 2023. 112 min. A story fraught with the problems and pain…
![[REVIEW] βWhile Weβre Still Connected: Sasha Chukβs πΉππ¦ ππ π‘π π‘βπ ππππβ by Kammy Lee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/fly-me-to-the-moon.jpg?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “To Experience A World That No Longer Exists: Chβoe MyΕngik’s Patterns of the Heart” by Jack Greenberg Chβoe MyΕngik (author), Janet Poole (translator), Patterns of the Heart and Other Stories,…
![[REVIEW] “To Experience A World That No Longer Exists: Chβoe MyΕngik’s πππ‘π‘ππππ ππ π‘βπ π»ππππ‘” by Jack Greenberg](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/patterns-of-the-heart-1.jpg?w=966)
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I remember racing home from school to watch Dragonball Z. I remember blank pages that I filled with Goku and Vegeta and Trunks. I remember trying to draw those trousers especially. All the twists and folds. Spending hour after hour…
![[FEATURE] “Goodnight, Akira Toriyama” by e rathke](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/akira-toriyama.jpg?w=1024)
Cha 