Author: t
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[ESSAY] βPseudo-Resistance and Ethical Beauty: A Critique of South Korean and Japanese Cinematic Aestheticsβ by Zheng Wang In the narrative context of East Asian visual media, both South Korean and Japanese films and television series excel at exposing the darker…
![[ESSAY] βPseudo-Resistance and Ethical Beauty: A Critique of South Korean and Japanese Cinematic Aestheticsβ by Zheng Wang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/8331752405576_.pic_.png?w=610)
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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. Hiroko Oyamada (author), David Boyd (translator), The Hole, New Directions Publishing, 2020. 112 pgs. As a…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βUnanswered Questions of Balance: Hiroko Oyamadaβs πβπ π»πππβ by Tyran Grillo](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/hiroko-oyamada_the-hole.jpg?w=778)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Niloufar-Lily Soltani, Zulaikha, Inanna Publications, 2023. 332 pgs. If there is a single word that can encapsulate the novel Zulaikha, it is beautyβa beauty that transcends the physical…
![[REVIEW] βBeauty and Strength in Niloufar-Lily Soltaniβs ππ’ππππβπβ by Fathima M](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/in-niloufar-lily-soltanis-zulaikha.jpg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS DΖ°Ζ‘ng HΖ°α»ng (author), Quan Manh Ha and Charles Waugh (translators), No Man River, Penguin Random House SEA, 2025. 248 pgs. The recent publication of the English edition of DΖ°Ζ‘ng…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βNo Human Being is Spared from Its Crimson Claws: DΖ°Ζ‘ng HΖ°α»ngβs ππ πππ π
ππ£ππβ by Rebecca Maine](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/no-man-river-duong-huong-1.jpg?w=938)
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Cha: An Asian Literary Journal invites suggestions of titlesβbooks, films, or other cultural productionsβfor review or feature in the journal during the second half of the year and into 2026. Please send short pitches (no more than 150 words) that…
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βBetween Rupture and Continuity: Charting Anachronistic Literary Modernity in Satoru Hashimotoβs Afterlives of Lettersβ by Charlie Ng Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Afterlives. Satoru Hashimoto, Afterlives…
![[REVIEW] βBetween Rupture and Continuity: Charting Anachronistic Literary Modernity in Satoru Hashimotoβs π΄ππ‘πππππ£ππ ππ πΏππ‘π‘πππ β by Charlie Ng](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/afterlives-of-letters-the-transnational-origins-of-modern-literature-in-china-japan-and-korea.jpg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Meena Kandasamy, Exquisite Cadavers, Simon & Schuster India, 2025. 112 pgs. Borrowed from the French term cadavre exquisβa technique devised by the Surrealists to produce collective, chance-based creationsβthe title…
![[REVIEW] βFragments Toward a Whole: Meena Kandasamyβs πΈπ₯ππ’ππ ππ‘π πΆππππ£πππ β by Ananya Singh](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/meena-kandasamy.jpg?w=568)
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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 Vigil. Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Vigil: The Struggle for Hong Kong, Brixton Ink, 2025. 176 pgs. The ability to document pivotal historical events with scholarly…
![[REVIEW] βMemory, Resistance, and Repression: The Enduring Relevance of Jeffrey Wasserstromβs πππππβ by David R. StroupΒ](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/vigil.jpg?w=977)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Quan Manh Ha and Paul Christiansen (translators). Light Out and Modern Vietnamese Stories, 1930β1954. Northern Illinois University Press, an imprint of Cornell University Press, 2024. 228 pgs. Light Out…
![[REVIEW] βWriting Against Empire: πΏππβπ‘ ππ’π‘ and Survival in Colonial Vietnamβ by Josie Miller](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/light-out.jpg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Faiqa Mansab, The Sufi Storyteller, Neem Tree Press, 2025. 320 pgs. Faiqa Mansabβs The Sufi Storyteller emerges not merely as a compelling narrative in its own right, but…
![[REVIEW] βIn the Realm of Story: Faiqa Mansabβs πβπ ππ’ππ ππ‘πππ¦π‘πππππ and the Reclaiming of South Asian Mythic Narrativeβ by Namrata](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/https-neemtreepress.combookthe-sufi-storyteller-1.jpg?w=977)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “AftershockβWhen the Report Becomes the Story: Journalism as the Literature of Crisis” by Andrew Barker Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Aftershock. Holmes Chan (editor), Aftershock: Essays from Hong Kong, Small Tune Press,…
![[REVIEW] “π΄ππ‘πππ βπππβWhen the Report Becomes the Story: Journalism as the Literature of Crisis” by Andrew Barker](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/aftershock_holmes-chan.jpeg?w=500)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ryan Dunch and Ashley Esarey (editors), Taiwan in Dynamic Transition: Nation Building and Democratization, University of Washington Press, 2020. 256 pgs. Taiwan has long been a focal point in the study…
![[REVIEW] βTaiwanβs Political Evolution and the Study of Comparative Politics as seen in ππππ€ππ ππ π·π¦πππππ πππππ ππ‘πππβ by Eric D. de Roulet](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/taiwan-in-dynamic-transition-nation-building-and-democratization-1.jpg?w=1000)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ming-sho Ho, Be Water: Collective Improvisation in Hong Kongβs Anti-Extradition Protests, Temple University Press, 2025. 258 pgs. The Hong Kong protests of 2019, which erupted in opposition to the…
![[REVIEW] “Improvising Revolution: Hong Kongβs Protests Through the Lens of Ming-sho Ho” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-flowers-of-democracy-are-everywhere.jpg?w=1024)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Mending Bodies. Hon Lai Chu (author), Jacqueline Leung (translator), Mending Bodies, Two Lines Press, 2025. 240 pgs. For those who haven’t read the original Chinese…
![[REVIEW] “Walking in Unison?: On Hon Lai Chu’s πππππππ π΅πππππ ” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/hon-lai-chu-author-jacqueline-leung-translator-mending-bodies-two-lines-press-2025.-240-pgs.jpg?w=938)
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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, 2022. 266 pgs. Whenever I encounter the name Sayaka Murata,…
![[REVIEW] “Tender Aberrations: Reading Sayaka Murata’s πΏπππ πΆππππππ𦔠by Tyran Grillo](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/sayaka-murata-author-ginny-tapley-takemori-translator.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βAdaptation and the Illusion of Home: Manjushree Thapaβs Seasons of Flightβ by Abhinav Tulachan Manjushree Thapa, Seasons of Flight, Penguin India, 2011. 226 pgs. βThe flap of a butterflyβs wings…
![[REVIEW] βAdaptation and the Illusion of Home: Manjushree Thapaβs ππππ πππ ππ πΉπππβπ‘β by Abhinav Tulachan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/manjushree-thapa-seasons-of-flight-1.jpg?w=881)
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Doua Moua and Nirris Nagendrarajah Editorβs note: In this interview, Nirris Nagendrarajah talks to screenwriter and actor Doua Moua; they discuss The Harvest, a tender exploration of a Hmong family navigating illness, identity, and intergenerational conflict. Inspired by his own experiences…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “Love Is Time: A Conversation on πβπ π»πππ£ππ π‘” by NIRRIS NAGENDRARAJAH and Doua Moua”](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/the-harvest_carley-soo.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Social Room. Andrew Barker, Social Room: Modern Shakespearean Sonnets (Book Three, Sonnets 204β305), Mycroft Publishers, 2025. 186 pgs. βSo choose your enemies, Iβve chosen…
![[REVIEW] “Between Heckle & Hush: The Public & Private Voices of a Poet” by Michael Ingham](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/andrew-barker-cha-an-asian-literary-journal.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Social Room. Andrew Barker, Social Room: Modern Shakespearean Sonnets (Book Three, Sonnets 204β305), Mycroft Publishers, 2025. 186 pgs. Named after the bar where the…
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Also read “Feature: Lu Xun” in Cha. Lu Xun (author), Eileen J. Cheng (translator), Theodore Huters (editor), Wild Grass & Morning Blossoms Gathered at Dusk, Harvard University Press,…
![[REVIEW] “One of the Greatest Writers, Full Stop: Lu Xun’s ππππ πΊπππ π & πππππππ π΅πππ π πππ πΊππ‘βππππ ππ‘ π·π’π π” by Robert Postings](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/wild-grass-and-morning-blossoms-gathered-at-dusk-harvard-university-press-2022.-272-pgs.jpg?w=955)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kim Ki-duk (director), The Isle, 2000. 90 min. Some films are like waves that gently lap against the shores of our memories; others, however, jolt us by revealing…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βπβπ πΌπ ππ at 25: Kim Ki Dukβs Blooming Poem on the Island of Solitudeβ by G.A. Gowtham](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/f_1_the_isle_01c5e5da4c.jpeg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Masaki Kobayashi (director), Kwaidan, 1964. 175 min. Maβa profound Japanese concept that encapsulates the essence of stillness. The term refers to the empty spaces in between, a fleeting suspension…
![[EXCLUSIVE] βπΎπ€πππππ: Horror and Folklore as an Art Formβ by Tushi Gogoi](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/kwaidan.jpg?w=570)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Derek Currie, When βJesusβ Came to Hong Kong: The Remarkable Story of the First European Football Star in Asia, Blacksmith Books, 2023. 404 pgs. This is my second…
![[REVIEW] βJesusβ Pub Tales: Derek Currieβs πβππ βπ½ππ π’π β πΆπππ π‘π π»πππ πΎπππβ by Mario Rustan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/when-jesus-came-to-hong-kong.jpg?w=962)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Stephanie Foo, What My Bones Know, Ballantine Books, 2022. 352 pgs. Addressing trauma is never an easy undertakingβespecially when it is the survivor herself who must confront it. Stephanie…
![[REVIEW] βThe Invisible Pain of Abuse and its Diagnosis: Stephanie Fooβs πβππ‘ ππ¦ π΅ππππ πΎπππ€β by Fathima M](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/stephanie-foo-what-my-bones-know-1.jpg?w=987)
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Sudeep Sen and Jhilam Chattaraj Jhilam Chattaraj’s note: I shall always remember that moist, sunlit afternoon. The venueβa lush tropical gardenβwas adorned with local blooms and talismanic touches, including multicoloured paper lanterns that swayed gently in the breeze, as though singing…
![[EXCLUSIVE] βI Was Rapt in The Theatre of Skies: A Conversation:” by Sudeep Sen and Jhilam Chattaraj](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/header.jpg?w=979)
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Chris Song and Simona Gallo Dwelling in Tonguesβ Part Iβ”Hong Kong & Poetry”β Part IIβ”A Translingual Self and The Art of Self-Translation” Editor’s note: This is the second in a two-part series of interview entitled “Dwelling in Tongues: A Conversation…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “A Translingual Self & The Art of Self-Translation” by Simona Gallo and Chris Song](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/simona-gallo-and-chris-song.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS R.T. Samuel, Rakesh K. and Rashmi R.D. (editors), The Blaft Book of Anti-Caste SF, Blaft Publications, 2025. 428 pgs. It is a curious irony that speculative fictionβso often described…
![[REVIEW] βThe Fierce Imagination of π΄ππ‘π-πΆππ π‘π πππππ’πππ‘ππ£π πΉπππ‘πππβ by Ananya Singh](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/r.t.-samuel-rakesh-k.-and-rashmi-r.d.-editors-the-blaft-book-of-anti-caste-sf--1.jpg?w=938)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βThe Legacy and Brilliance of Hong Kong Crime Novels: Charles Philipp Martinβs Rented Graveβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason Charles Philipp Martin, Rented Grave: An Inspector Lok Novel, Level Best Books,…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βThe Legacy and Brilliance of Hong Kong Crime Novels: Charles Philipp Martinβs π
πππ‘ππ πΊπππ£πβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rentedgrave-1.jpg?w=992)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Order in the City: Tammy Lai-Ming Ho’sIf I Do Not Reply” by Luca Griseri Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on If I Do Not Reply. Tammy Lai-Ming Ho, If I Do Not…
![[ESSAY] “Order in the City: Tammy Lai-Ming Ho’s πΌπ πΌ π·π πππ‘ π
πππ𦔠by Luca Griseri](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/if-i-do-not-reply_tammy-ho-1.jpg?w=907)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on The Milk Tea Alliance. Jeffrey Wasserstrom, The Milk Tea Alliance: Inside Asiaβs Struggle against Autocracy and Beijing, Columbia Global Reports, 2025. 104 pgs. The…
![[REVIEW] “Boba, Grass Jelly, Light Ice, Democracy: On Jeffrey Wasserstrom’s πβπ ππππ πππ π΄πππππππ” by Nick Zeller](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/the-milk-tea-alliance-inside-asias-struggle-against-autocracy-and-beijing.jpg?w=1000)
Cha 