Category: 2021 Books
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Girish Karnad, This Life at Play: Memoirs, Fourth Estate, 2021. 320 pgs. Memoirs strip writers of their literary pedestals. They become characters in their own narrativesβcurious onlookers of…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βA Playwrightβs Memoir: Girish Karnadβs πβππ πΏπππ ππ‘ ππππ¦β by Kathiravan Annamalai](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/girish-karnads-this-life-at-play.jpg?w=998)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS TΓ©a Sernelj, The Confucian Revival in Taiwan: Xu Fuguan and His Theory of Chinese Aesthetics, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2021. 280 pgs. In The Confucian Revival in Taiwan: Xu…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βBroad and Balanced: TΓ©a Serneljβs πβπ πΆππππ’ππππ π
ππ£ππ£ππ ππ ππππ€ππβ by Hantian Zhang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/tea-sernelj-the-confucian-revival-in-taiwan-xu-fuguan-and-his-theory-of-chinese-aesthetics-cambridge-scholars-publishing.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βNarrative Reclamation: Nguyα» n Phan QuαΊΏ Mai’s The Mountains Singβ by Zalman S. Davis Nguyα» n Phan QuαΊΏ Mai, The Mountains Sing, Algonquin Books, 2021. 368 pgs. Nguyα» n Phan QuαΊΏ Maiβs The…
![[REVIEW] βNarrative Reclamation: Nguyα»
n Phan QuαΊΏ Mai’s πβπ πππ’ππ‘ππππ ππππβ by Zalman S. Davis](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/the-mountains-sing-hardcover-e28093-march-17-2020-by-nguyen-phan-que-mai.jpg?w=996)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Anna Qu, Made in China: A Memoir of Love and Labor, Catapult, 2021. 224 pgs. Made in China is a sensitive, thoughtful exploration of the inextricable ties between labour,…
![[REVIEW] βNegotiating Love and Labour in Anna Quβs ππππ ππ πΆβπππβ by Fion Tse](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/made-in-china-anna-qu.jpg?w=993)
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS in.light.of.livingβSik.Faan (author), jck (illustrator), and daanngaazai (calligrapher), Pattern, Language, SettingβA Glossary of City Spaces in Hong Kong, Enlighten & Fish, 2021. 240 pgs. Pattern, Language, SettingβA Glossary of City…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “The Importance of Nomenclature in πππ‘π‘πππ, πΏππππ’πππ, πππ‘π‘πππβπ΄ πΊπππ π πππ¦ ππ πΆππ‘π¦ ππππππ ππ π»πππ πΎπππ” By Vanessa Winghei Yeung](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/in.light_.of_.livinge28094sik.faan-author-jck-illustrator-and-daanngaazai-calligrapher-pattern-language-setting-e28093-a-glossary-of-city-spaces-in-hong-kong.jpeg?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 Half Sound, Half Philosophy. Jing Wang, Half Sound, Half Philosophy: Aesthetics, Politics, and History of Chinaβs Sound Art, Bloomsbury, 2021. 232 pgs. Jing Wangβs Half…
![[REVIEW] “Overhearing ππ: Jing Wangβs π»πππ πππ’ππ, π»πππ πβππππ ππβ𦔠by Maurice Windleburn](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/half-sound-half-philosophy-aesthetics-politics-and-history-of-chinas-sound-art.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 The Woman in the Purple Skirt. Natsuko Imamura (author), Lucy North (translator), The Woman in the Purple Skirt, Penguin Random House, 2021. 224 pgs. The conventional…
![[REVIEW] “Thin Line Between Observing and Stalking: Natsuko Imamuraβs πβπ πππππ ππ π‘βπ ππ’ππππ πππππ‘” by Fathima M](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-woman-in-the-purple-skirt.jpg?w=925)
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kelly H. Chong, Love Across Borders: Asian Americans, Race, and the Politics of Intermarriage and Family-Making, Routledge, 2021, 246 pgs. As a single Asian man, I was once oversensitive…
![[REVIEW] “Itβs Only Love: Kelly H. Chongβs πΏππ£π π΄ππππ π π΅ππππππ ” by Mario Rustan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/love-across-borders-asian-americans-race-and-the-politics-of-intermarriage-and-family-making.jpg?w=1000)
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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 Half Sound, Half Philosophy. Jing Wang, Half Sound, Half Philosophy: Aesthetics, Politics of China’s Sound Art, Bloomsbury Academic, 2021. 232 pgs. Half Sound, Half Philosophy:…
![[REVIEW] “The World of Sound as Art in China: Jing Wang’s π»πππ πππ’ππ, π»πππ πβππππ ππβ𦔠by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/half-sound-half-philosophy.png?w=938)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Erin Suzuki, Ocean Passages: Navigating Pacific Islander and Asian American Literatures, Temple University Press, 2021. 269 pgs. When the territories between land seem easier to define, the territories that…
![[REVIEW] “Connecting in a Sea of Islands: Erin Suzuki’s πππππ πππ π ππππ ” by Tin Yuet Tam](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/erin-suzuki-ocean-passages-navigating-pacific-islander-and-asian-american-literatures.jpg?w=1000)
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ The Woman in the Purple Skirt. Natsuko Imamura (author), Lucy North (translator),Β The Woman in the Purple Skirt, Penguin Random House, 2021. 224 pgs. In Natsuko…
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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 Cho Nam-joo. Cho Nam-joo (author), Jamie Chang (translator), Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, Liveright, 2021. 176 pgs. Everyone who has read Cho Nam-jooβs debut novel Kim…
![[REVIEW] βThe Limited Life of a Woman: Cho Nam-jooβs πΎππ π½ππ¦ππ’ππ, π΅πππ 1982β by Dorina Tataran](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/kim-jiyoung-born-1982.jpg?w=923)
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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 The Perils of Interpreting. Henrietta Harrison, The Perils of Interpreting: The Extraordinary Lives of Two Translators between Qing China and the British Empire, Princeton University Press,…
![[REVIEW] “Deception and Distrust: Henrietta Harrisonβs πβπ ππππππ ππ πΌππ‘ππππππ‘πππ” by James Thompson](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/the-perils-of-interpreting-the-extraordinary-lives-of-two-translators-between-qing-china-and-the-british-empire.png?w=1023)
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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 The Woman in the Purple Skirt. Natsuko Imamura (author), Lucy North (translator), The Woman in the Purple Skirt, Penguin Random House, 2021. 224…
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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 Touring the Land of the Dead. Maki Kashimada (author), Haydn Trowell (translator), Touring the Land of the Dead (and Ninety-Nine Kisses), Europa Editions, 2021.…
![[REVIEW] βA Profound Exploration of RealityβMaki Kashimadaβs πππ’ππππ π‘βπ πΏπππ ππ π‘βπ π·πππ: ππ€π πππ£πππππ β by James Kin Pong Au](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/touring-the-land-of-the-dead-and-ninety-nine-kiss.jpg?w=890)
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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 People from My Neighbourhood. Hiromi Kawakami (author), Ted Goossen (translator), People from My Neighbourhood, Granta Books, 2021. 96 pgs. The world depicted in Kawakami…
![[REVIEW] βCoexistence of the Familiar and the Unfamiliar: Hiromi Kawakami’s ππππππ ππππ ππ¦ ππππβπππ’πβπππβ by James Kin-Pong Au](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/people-from-my-neighbourhood.jpg?w=1005)
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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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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 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…
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ People from My Neighbourhood. Hiromi Kawakami (author), Ted Goossen (translator), People from My Neighbourhood, Granta Books, 2021. 96 pgs. βWhy did you come here?β I…
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kit Fan, Diamond Hill, Diamond Books, 2021. 352 pgs. Kit Fanβs Diamond Hill, published in May 2021, centres on Hong Kongβs Diamond Hill squatter settlement, one of the last…
![[REVIEW] βKit Fanβs π·ππππππ π»πππ: A Revelation of 1980s Hong Kongβ by Lynn Yin Lam Chui](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/81lvo74xxsl._sl1500_.jpg?w=972)
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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 Touring the Land of the Dead. Maki Kashimada (author), Haydn Trowell (translator), Touring the Land of the Dead (and Ninety-Nine Kisses), Europa Editions, 2021. 144…
![[REVIEW] βEnigmatic Prose: Maki Kashimadaβs πππ’ππππ π‘βπ πΏπππ ππ π‘βπ π·πππβ by Jane McBride](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/touring-the-land-of-the-dead-and-ninety-nine-kiss-1.jpg?w=890)
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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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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Nektaria Anastasiadou, A Recipe for Daphne, Hoopoe Fiction, 2021. 326 pgs. βA monstrous confusion of civilization and barbarismββso Constantinople was described in the 18th century. βAnd so it is…
![[REVIEW] “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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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Bae Myung-hoon (author), Sung Ryu (translator), Tower, Honford Star, 2021. 262 pgs. In Tower, Bae Myung-Hoon unveils a kaleidoscope of vignettes anchored around the central pillar of the fictional…
![[REVIEW] “More Social-science than Fiction: Bae Myung-hoon’s πππ€ππ” by Lucy Hamilton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/flatmock-uptowerback.png?w=780)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Alexa Alice Joubin, Shakespeare and East Asia, Oxford University Press, 2021. 272 pp. βWhat country, friends, is this?β Viola asks at the beginning of Shakespeareβs Twelfth Night, when her…
![[REVIEW] “Will in the World: Alexa Alice Joubin’s πβππππ πππππ πππ πΈππ π‘ π΄π ππ” by Jeff Tompkins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20210429_readred_banner-01.png?w=875)
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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 The Perils of Interpreting. Henrietta Harrison, The Perils of Interpreting: The Extraordinary Lives of Two Translators between Qing China and the British Empire, Princeton University Press,…
![[REVIEW] “A Recipe for Confusion: Henrietta Harrison’s πβπ ππππππ ππ πΌππ‘ππππππ‘πππ” by Laurence Westwood](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/the-perils-of-interpreting-the-extraordinary-lives-of-two-translators-between-qing-china-and-the-british-empire-1.png?w=1023)
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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 Lockdown Lovers. Michael OβSullivan, Lockdown Lovers, Penguin Random House SEA, 2021. 240 pgs. When Lockdown Lovers opens with βHong Kong FebruaryβMarch, 2020β, we expect a flashback…
![[REVIEW] “Michael OβSullivanβs πΏππππππ€π πΏππ£πππ : The Pandemic as Glocal” by Lucy Hamilton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/lockdown-lovers_michael-osullivan.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ozawa Minoru (author), Janine Beichman (translator), Well-Versed: Exploring Modern Japanese Haiku, with photography by Maeda ShinzΕ and Akira, Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture, 2021. 375 pgs. Haiku has…
![[REVIEW] βBeautifully ProducedβOzawa Minoruβs ππππ-ππππ ππ: πΈπ₯πππππππ ππππππ π½ππππππ π π»ππππ’β by Michael Tsang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/well-versed.png?w=1024)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Ping Zhu and Hui Faye Xiao (editors), Feminisms with Chinese Characteristics, Syracuse University Press, 2021. 408 pgs. In Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, on the shore where the Fu and Nan rivers…
![[REVIEW] βWhat Does It Mean to Be a Feminist in China? Reviewing πΉππππππ ππ Β π€ππ‘β πΆβππππ π πΆβπππππ‘ππππ π‘πππ β by X. H. Collins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/feminists_chinese-characteristics.png?w=1024)
Cha 