Category: 2020 Books
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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 Untold. Bae Suah (author), Deborah Smith (translator), Untold Night and Day, Jonathan Cape, 2020. 155 pgs. It has been some…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Between Dream and Wakefulness: Reading Bae Suah’s πππ‘πππ πππβπ‘ πππ π·π𦔠by Dorina Tataran](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/untold-night-and-day-1.jpg?w=977)
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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 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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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ Pillion & Box Hill. Adam Mars-Jones, Box Hill, Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2020. 128 pgs. At only 120 pages, British novelist Adam Mars-Jonesβs 2020 novella Box…
![[REVIEW] βAdam Mars-Jonesβs π΅ππ₯ π»πππ: A Bold Celebration of Queer Love and Desireβ by Hongwei Bao](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/box-hill.jpg?w=779)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βA Shifting, Unstable World: Can Xueβs I Live in the Slumsβ by Zalman S. Davis Can Xue (author), Karen Gernant and Chen Zeping (translators), I Live in the Slums, Yale…
![[REVIEW] βA Shifting, Unstable World: Can Xueβs πΌ πΏππ£π ππ π‘βπ πππ’ππ β by Zalman S. Davis](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/i-live-in-the-slums-1.jpg?w=968)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Xiaofei Tian (editor), Reading Du Fu: Nine Views, Hong Kong University Press, 2020. 200 pgs. The idea for Reading Du Fu: Nine Views grew out of a two-day conference…
![[REVIEW] “Interrogative Reflections: Nine Views of Reading Du Fu” by Marsha McDonald](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/xiaofei-tian-editor-reading-du-fu-nine-views-1.jpg?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 Yiyun Li.Β Yiyun Li, Must I Go, Penguin Random House, 2020. 368 pgs. Lately, I find fewer and fewer books that surprise meβnovels capable of…
![[REVIEW] “A Meditation on Memory and Loss: Yiyun Li’s ππ’π π‘ πΌ πΊπ” by Dorina Tataran](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/must-i-go-cha-an-asian-literary-journal.png?w=1024)
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ο» RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSο» 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 πππ πΏπππ‘” 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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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Annie Zaidi, Bread, Cement, Cactus: A Memoir of Belonging and Dislocation, Cambridge University Press, 2020. 166 pgs. Annie Zaidiβs memoir Bread, Cement, Cactus: A Memoir of Belonging and Dislocation…
![[REVIEW] βLived Reality: Annie Zaidiβs Memoir π΅ππππ, πΆπππππ‘, πΆπππ‘π’π ” by Fathima M](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/annie-zaidi-bread-cement-cactus-a-memoir-of-belonging-and-dislocation.jpg?w=971)
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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 Bluebeard’s First Wife. Ha Seong-nan (author), Janet Hong (translator), Bluebeardβs First Wife, Open Letter Books, 2020. 230 pgs. Ha Seong-nan is a rather prolific South Korean…
![[REVIEW] “Fairy Tale, Dissected: Ha Seong-nan’s π΅ππ’ππππππβπ πΉπππ π‘ ππππ” by Maria Cohut](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ha-seong-nanauthor-janet-hong-translator-bluebeards-first-wife.jpg?w=971)
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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 Bluebeard’s First Wife. Ha Seong-nan (author), Janet Hong (translator), Bluebeardβs First Wife, Open Letter Books, 2020. 230 pgs. The following words resonate throughout the eleven…
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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. Hiroko Oyamadaβs…
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Navigating the Fault Lines of Travel: Yun Ko-eun’s The Disaster Tourist” by Jack Greenberg Yun Ko-eun (author), Lizzie Buehler (translator), The Disaster Tourist, Serpentβs Tail, 2020. 186 pgs. After reviewing…
![[REVIEW] “Navigating the Fault Lines of Travel: Yun Ko-eun’s πβπ π·ππ ππ π‘ππ πππ’πππ π‘” by Jack Greenberg](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/the-disaster-tourist.jpg?w=1000)
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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 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 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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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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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Matt Alt, Pure Invention: How Japanβs Pop Culture Conquered the World, Crown Publishing, 2020. 384 pages. The subtitle of the book is enough to entice anyone browsing a bookstore…
![[REVIEW] βWeβre All Dreaming of Japan: Matt Altβs π»ππ€ π½ππππβπ πππ πΆπ’ππ‘π’ππ πΆππππ’ππππ π‘βπ πππππ” by Mario Rustan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/pure-invention.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Don Mee Choi, DMZ Colony, Wave Books, 2020. 152 pgs. Reading Don Mee Choiβs DMZ Colony is an experience that plunges into a theatre of words, a theatre of…
![[REVIEW] βOblong Oblong: Mirror Words in Transit in Don Mee Choiβs π·ππ πΆππππ𦔠by Pareys Liu Yiyi](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/dmz_colony_cover_for_web-copy.jpg?w=498)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Douglas Robinson, Gulliverβs Voyage to Phantomimia: A Transcreation, Zeta Books, 2020. 356 pgs. I imagine, that in the Great Deluge, 2 sworn Enemies, having clumb up onto the same…
![[REVIEW] ββWhat is He Doing Playing Fantastickall Fictive Games with Realitie?β Or, βA Pandemonium of Embracesβ: Luxuriating in Douglas Robinsonβs Transcreation of Volter Kilpiβs Unfinished πΊπ’ππππ£ππβπ πππ¦πππ π‘π πβπππ‘ππππππβ by Jason S Polley](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/gullivers-voyage-to-phantomimia-a-transcreation-1.png?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 Strange Beasts. Yan Ge (author) and Jeremy Tiang (translator), Strange Beasts of China, Tilted Axis Press, 2020. 314 pgs. My previous Cha review of a Chinese…
![[REVIEW] βππ‘πππππ π΅πππ π‘π ππ πΆβπππ: Harnessing πβπππ’ππ and Magic Realism to Satirise Otheringβ by Cyril Camus](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/strangebeastsofchinav3ccorrected_v3c-copy.jpg?w=668)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Koral Dasgupta, Ahalya, Pan Macmillan, 2020. 204 pgs. Koral Dasgupta, Kunti, Pan Macmillan, 2021. 203 pgs. In the preface to her 1919 anthology Short Stories, Mrs (Srimati Swarna Kumari Devi) Ghosal wrote,…
![[REVIEW] “The Women Behind the Hindu Myths: Koral Dasgupta’s π΄βπππ¦π and πΎπ’ππ‘π” by Sharyn Phu](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/koral-dasgupta-1.png?w=1024)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} β Fiona Sze-Lorrain, Rain in Plural, Princeton University Press, 2020. 120 pgs.β Yin Lichuan (author), Fiona Sze-Lorrain (translator), Karma, Tolsun Books, 2020. 222 pgs.β Ye Lijun (author), Fiona Sze-Lorrain (translator), My Mountain…
![[REVIEW] “Fiona Sze-Lorrain: Poetry and Translations” by Elizabeth Chung](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/fiona-sze-lorrain-7.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βDivination, Philosophy, and Change: The Original Meaning of the Yijing: Commentary on the Scripture of Changeβ by Tim Murphy Zhu Xi (author), Joseph A. Adler (translator and editor), The Original…
![[REVIEW] βDivination, Philosophy, and Change: πβπ ππππππππ πππππππ ππ π‘βπ Yijing: πΆππππππ‘πππ¦ ππ π‘βπ ππππππ‘π’ππ ππ πΆβππππβ by Tim Murphy](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/original-meaning-of-the-yijing-zhu-xi-joseph-a-adler.png?w=1024)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ on Liu Yichang.ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ on John Minford. John Minford (general editor), Hong Kong Literature Series, The Chinese University Press, 2020. If the library was on fire…
![[REVIEW] “We Shall Have to Learn How to Live with Ghosts: A Review of John Minford’s π»πππ πΎπππ πΏππ‘ππππ‘π’ππ ππππππ ” by Douglas Kerr](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hong-kong-literature-series-1.png?w=1024)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Sakinu Ahronglong (author), Darryl Sterk (translator), Hunter School, Honford Star, 2020. 184 pgs. Sakinu Ahronglongβs Hunter School, in a brilliant English translation by Darryl Sterk, is an engaging exploration of indigenous selfhood.…
![[REVIEW] “An Unapologetic, Proud Celebration of Paiwan Identity: Sakinu Ahronglong’s π»π’ππ‘ππ ππβπππ” by Serena De Marchi](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/hunter-school_sakinu-ahronglong-1.png?w=1024)
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{Written by Frances An, this review is part of Issue 46 of Cha.} {Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Yeng Pway Ngon (author), Jeremy Tiang (translator), Costume, Balestier Press, 2020. 269 pgs. βLike so many of his characters, he [Yeng Pway Ngon] was…
![[REVIEW] βCantonese Opera as Collective Imagination: A Review of Yeng Pway Ngonβs πΆππ π‘π’ππβ by Frances An](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/yeng-pway-ngon_costume_jeremy-tiang.png?w=1024)
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{Written by Jennifer Anne Eagleton, this review is part of Issue 46 of Cha.} {Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ Aftershock. Holmes Chan (editor), Aftershock: Essays from Hong Kong, Small Tune Press, 2020. 93 pgs. Aftershocks are small…
![[REVIEW] “Hong Kong’s Unstable Fault Lines: A Review of π΄ππ‘πππ βπππ” by Jennifer Anne Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/aftershock_edited-by-holmes-chan.png?w=1024)
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{Written by Quenntis Ashby, this review is part of Issue 46 of Cha.} {Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Jason Erik Lundberg, A Fickle and Restless Weapon, Epigram Books, 2020. 456 pgs. Jason Erik Lundbergβs debut novel is a fascinating and…
![[REVIEW] “Identity is a Constant Negotiation and Struggle for a Self-Worth Fighting For: A Review of Jason Erik Lundbergβs A Fickle and Restless Weapon” by Quenntis Ashby](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/a-fickle-and-restless-weapon.png?w=1024)
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{Written by Cherrie Kwok, this review is part of Issue 46 of Cha.} {Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ Aftershock. Holmes Chan (editor), Aftershock: Essays from Hong Kong, Small Tune Press, 2020. 93 pgs. The cover of Aftershock:…
![[REVIEW] “Traces that Haunt the Scene: A Review of π΄ππ‘πππ βπππ” by Cherrie Kwok](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/aftershock_holmes-chan.png?w=1024)
Cha 