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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Tania De Rozario, Dinner on Monster Island: Essays, HarperCollins, 2024. 192 pgs. Tania De Rozarioβs Dinner on Monster Island is a lyrical and multi-faceted speech act. The fourteen essays…
![[REVIEW] βDespite Loss, Magic Persists: Tania De Rozario’s π·πππππ ππ ππππ π‘ππ πΌπ ππππ” by Lydia Kwa](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/dinner-on-monster-island.jpg?w=995)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kim Jee-woon (director), Cobweb, 2023. 135 min. Song Kang-ho (best known for Parasite and A Taxi Driver) in Cobweb Kim Ki-yeol (Song Kang-ho, best known for Parasite and A Taxi…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “In the Tradition of Film-set Comedy Dramas: Kim Jee-woon’s πΆπππ€ππ” by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/first-poster-for-cobweb-starring-song-kang-ho-centers-v0-nlwknv9ea1za1.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILM Eddie Tay, Hong Kong as Creative Practice, Palgrave, 2022. 110 pgs. The Palgrave Macmillan series that Eddie Tayβs Hong Kong as Creative Practice is part of is a platform…
![[REVIEW] βOne Senses a Quiet Revolution: Eddie Tayβs π»πππ πΎπππ ππ πΆππππ‘ππ£π πππππ‘πππβ by Marsha McDonald](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/hong-kong-as-creative-practice.webp?w=827)
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMΒ Ken Provencher and Mike Dillon (editors), Exploiting East Asian Cinemas: Genre, Circulation, Reception, Bloomsbury, 2018. 234 pgs. In the early 2000s, unless you lived in a city in the…
![[REVIEW] βExtreme AsiaβA Review of πΈπ₯πππππ‘πππ πΈππ π‘ π΄π πππ πΆππππππ : πΊππππ, πΆππππ’πππ‘πππ, π
πππππ‘πππ” by Mario Rustan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/exploiting-east-asian-cinemas-genre-circulation.jpg?w=568)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Satyajit Ray (director), Branches of the Tree, 1990. 130 min. Made and released in 1990, Satyajit Rayβs Branches of the Tree arrives as an artefact of a bygone sensibility,…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βAn Artifact of a Bygone Sensibility: Satyajit Rayβs π΅ππππβππ ππ π‘βπ ππππβ by Toshi Tomori](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/mv5bndfmztg0mdetytrhzc00mjvilthlywytmdm2mta1ownkzjuxxkeyxkfqcgdeqxvynjm3mdiwnjc40._v1_.jpg?w=1024)
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Also read Akin Jeje’s tribute to Reid Mitchell. I wrote two sonnets for Reid Mitchell (1955-2023); one a couple of years before he died and one, at Reidβs own instigation, some fifteen years ago. Reid had told me a story…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “Two Sonnets for Reid Mitchell” by Andrew Barker](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/reid-michell-impression.jpeg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Meena Kandasamy, When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife, Atlantic Books, 2018. 272 pgs. Meena Kandasamyβs When I Hit You, Or Portrait…
![[REVIEW] βPersonal Yet Communal Narrative of Meena Kandasamyβs πβππ πΌ π»ππ‘ πππ’: ππ, π΄ ππππ‘ππππ‘ ππ π‘βπ ππππ‘ππ ππ π πππ’ππ ππππβ by Bervinder Kaur](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/when-i-hit-you.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS ChloΓ« F. Starr, Red-light Novels of the late Qing, Brill Publishing, 2007. 293 pgs. This book should be recognised as a significant academic achievement. It is the result of…
![[REVIEW] βA Niche Book on a Niche Subject: ChloΓ« F. Starrβs π
ππ-πππβπ‘ πππ£πππ ππ π‘βπ πππ‘π ππππβ by Paul Bevan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/red-light.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Hayao Miyazaki (director), The Boy and the Heron, 2023. 125 min. This review contains spoilers. For me, whatβs perhaps most interesting about The Boy and the Heron is that…
![[REVIEW] “Defying Explanation: Hayao Miyazaki’s πβπ π΅ππ¦ πππ π‘βπ π»ππππ” by e rathke](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2f7d7a1e-94d3-48eb-be56-12bcb518f235.sized-1000x1000-1.jpeg?w=1000)
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Chris Songβs Note: Chan Hay-chingβs ι³ζ¦ι short story βBoda’s Bordersβ ε―Άιηιε’ was originally written in Chinese and was first published in Hong Kong Literature Bimonthly εεΈζθ, No. 105 (April 2020). It was later included in her collection Rocky, a Stray Dog…
![[TRANSLATION] “Boda’s Borders” by Chan Hay-ching, translated by Chris Song](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/chan-hay-ching-and-chris-song.png?w=934)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Tanizaki JunβichirΕ (author), Anthony H. Chambers & Paul McCarthy (translators), Longing and Other Stories, Columbia University Press, 2022. 145 pgs. Tanizaki JunβichirΕβs Longing and Other Stories, translated by Anthony…
![[REVIEW] βClash of Ideas: Tanizaki JunβichirΕ’s πΏππππππ πππ ππ‘βππ ππ‘πππππ ” BY JAMES KIN-PONG AU](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/longing-and-other-stories_cha.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Paul Lynch, Prophet Song, Oneworld Books, 2023. 320 pgs. Although I was reading about a fictitious Ireland, as I began Prophet Song, Paul Lynchβs Booker Prize-winning novel, I felt…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “To Flee or Not to Flee: Paul Lynch’s ππππβππ‘ ππππ” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/prophet-song.jpg?w=978)
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Also read Andrew Barker’s tribute to Reid Mitchell. Photo of Reid Mitchell Β© Martin Alexander Describing a great and complex man as Reid Hardeman Mitchell (1955-2023) is not easyβhe was a poet and a professor, bon vivant and raconteur, historian…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “A Tribute to Reid Mitchell” by Akin Jeje](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/reid-mitchell-cha-an-asian-literary-journal-2.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Shibani Mahtani and Timothy McLaughlin, Among the Braves: Hope, Struggle, and Exile in the Battle for hong Kong and the Future of Global Democracy, Hachette Books, 2023. 336 pgs.…
![[REVIEW] “The Story Isn’t Over Yet: Shibani Mahtani and Timothy McLaughlin’s π΄ππππ π‘βπ π΅πππ£ππ ” by James M Zimmerman](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/shibani-mahtani-and-timothy-mclaughlin.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Tragedies of Inequality: Bong Joon-hoβs Parasite and Jordan Peeleβs Us” by Jonathan Chan Bong Joon-Ho (director), Parasite, 2019. 132 min.Jordan Peele (director), Us, 2019, 116 min. The sociologist Teo You Yenn…
![[ESSAY] “Tragedies of Inequality: Bong Joon-hoβs πππππ ππ‘π and Jordan PeeleβsΒ ππ ” by Jonathan Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/us.png?w=749)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Celine Song (director), Past Lives, 2023. 106 min. Life is a sea, a kaleidoscopic cornucopia of experiences with a myriad of people. We start in shallow waters of first…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βThe Beauty of the Unsaid: Celine Songβs πππ π‘ πΏππ£ππ ” by Elliot Ng](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/https-__cdn.sanity.io_images_xq1bjtf4_production_e1bdf7c917e4a436ec391336e8a05dcba478d275-3840x2063_custom-8d06a6607db24746e6e697791cd638654a1f0dda-s1100-c50.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Nick Cheuk (director), Time Still Turns the Pages εΉ΄ε°ζ₯θ¨, 2023. 95 min. This review contains major spoilers. With five nominations in the 60th Golden Horse Awards, Nick Cheukβs tightly…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βA Poignant Appeal: Nick Cheukβs ππππ ππ‘πππ ππ’πππ π‘βπ πππππ ” by Flora Mak](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/time-still-turns-the-pages.jpg?w=980)
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Helen Wang: When reading and translating, Iβve often wondered about Chinese narrative. I knew from reading with my own children how important storytelling is for credibility and engagement, even at a very young age. How do English and Chinese narrative…
![[FEATURE] βThe Power of Chinese Narrative: An Interview with SabinaΒ Knightβ by Helen Wang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/sabina-knight-2-copy.jpeg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Satyajit Ray (director), Kanchenjungha, 1962. 102 min. Satyajit Ray hardly needs an introductionβeither in the field of arts and culture or cinema itself. He singlehandedly spearheaded the New Wave of…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “The Mighty Peak: Satyajit Ray’s πΎπππβππππ’ππβπ” by Haimanti Dutta Ray](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/image-w1280.webp?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Tony Rayns, In the Mood for Love, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015. 96 pgs. βI didnβt think youβd fall in love with me,β says Mrs Chan. βI didnβt either,β says Mr…
![[REVIEW] “Feelings Can Creep Up Just Like That: Wong Kar-wai’s πΌπ π‘βπ ππππ πππ πΏππ£π” by Jeff Tompkins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/screenshot-2023-12-28-at-13.07.29.png?w=1024)
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TH: James Batcho writes about Bangkok, his introduction to Asia. Normally when I come to Bangkok I stay in Sukhumvit. Iβve been doing that since my Busan days, starting around 2009, I guess. This time Iβm in the Khaosan Road…
![[EXCLUSIVE] βKhaosan 1996-2019β by James Batcho](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/khaosan1-blackwhite.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Shen Yang (author), Nicky Harman (translator), More Than One Child: Memoirs of an Illegal Daughter, Balestier Press, 2021. 280 pgs. βI broke the law simply by being bornββShen Yang…
![[REVIEW] “Not Just A Memoir: Shen Yangβs ππππ πβππ πππ πΆβπππ” by Lorenzo Donelli](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/more-than-one-child-1.jpg?w=969)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “On the Lighter Side: Nektaria Anastasiadou’s A Recipe for Daphne” by Beth Adams Nektaria Anastasiadou, A Recipe for Daphne, Hoopoe Fiction, 2021. 326 pgs. βA monstrous confusion of civilization and…
![[ESSAY] “On the Lighter Side: Nektaria Anastasiadou’s π΄ π
πππππ πππ π·ππβππ” by Beth Adams](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2021-02-12-dsc_0074-copy.jpg?w=1024)
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Chris Song’s Note: Xu Dishan wrote βThe Gills of the Metal Fishβ ι΅ιεΊι° in either 1940 or 1941 when he was living in Hong Kong. Different from his previous fiction with various religious elements, βThe Gills of the Metal Fishβ…
![[TRANSLATION] “The Gills of the Metal Fish” by Xu Dishan, Translated by Chris Song](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/image3-1.jpeg?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Writing from the Margins: Mahasweta Devi’s Truth/Untruth” by Jack Greenberg Mahasweta Devi (author), Anjum Katyal (translator), Truth/Untruth, Seagull Books, 2023. 144 pgs. Earlier this year, Seagull Books published the late…
![[REVIEW] “Writing from the Margins: Mahasweta Devi’s πππ’π‘β/πππ‘ππ’π‘β” by Jack Greenberg](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/truthuntruth-copy.jpeg?w=1024)
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Kendall Heitzman’s introduction:ββProject Babelβ was published in Japanese in the Tokyo Shimbun on 26 November 2022. It first appeared in English in my translation at a reading on 22 September 2023 at the University of Minnesota. An abridged version was…
![[TRANSLATION] “Project Babelβ by Li Kotomi, Translated by Kendall Heitzman](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/kendall-heitzman-and-li-kotomi_cha-an-asian-literary-journal-copy-1.jpg?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 Bright Fear. Mary Jean Chan, Bright Fear, Faber & Faber, 2023. 72 pgs. I first encountered Mary Jean Chanβs work in the bookstore I used to…
![[REVIEW] βVibrant Being in Mary Jean Chanβs π΅πππβπ‘ πΉπππ” by Kika W. L. Van Robay](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/bright-fear-mary-jean-chan.png?w=891)
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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 Owlish. Dorothy Tse (author), Natascha Bruce (translator), Owlish, Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2023. 224 pgs. Dorothy Tseβs Owlish, translated from the Chinese by Natascha Bruce, is a novel…
![[REVIEW] “All the Subtle References: Dorothy Tse’s ππ€πππ β” by Ilaria Maria Sala](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/dorothy-tse-cha-an-asian-literary-journal.jpg?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “The Liminality of Being: Anthony Chen’s The Breaking Ice” by Jonathan Chan Anthony Chen (director),Β The Breaking Ice, 2023. 97 min. Arresting visuals, an immersive soundtrack, and interesting ideas do…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “The Liminality of Being: Anthony Chen’s πβπ π΅πππππππ πΌππ” by Jonathan Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/breaking-the-ice_cha-banner.png?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 Hiroko Oyamada. I have had this feeling of being quiet and alone recently, since graduating from university, with the pressure…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Reading on Slow Quiet Days” by Joefel Bolo](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/joefel-bolo_cha.png?w=1024)
Cha 