Category: 2021 Books
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “The Weight of a Family Name: Mimi Kwa’s House of Kwa” by Hilda Wong Mimi Kwa. House of Kwa, ABC Books, 2021. 368 pgs. 「家家有本難念的經」: “Every family has a scripture…
![[REVIEW] “The Weight of a Family Name: Mimi Kwa’s 𝐻𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐾𝑤𝑎” by Hilda Wong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/house-of-kwa.webp?w=750)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN 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 narratives—curious onlookers of…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “A Playwright’s Memoir: Girish Karnad’s 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑦” by Kathiravan Annamalai](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/girish-karnads-this-life-at-play.jpg?w=998)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Téa 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] “Broad and Balanced: Téa Sernelj’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑅𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙 𝑖𝑛 𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑤𝑎𝑛” 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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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Narrative Reclamation: Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s The Mountains Sing” by Zalman S. Davis Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, The Mountains Sing, Algonquin Books, 2021. 368 pgs. Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s The…
![[REVIEW] “Narrative Reclamation: Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑔” 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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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 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] “Negotiating Love and Labour in Anna Qu’s 𝑀𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑎” by Fion Tse](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/made-in-china-anna-qu.jpg?w=993)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “The Importance of Nomenclature in Pattern, Language, Setting—A Glossary of City Spaces in Hong Kong” By Vanessa Winghei Yeung in.light.of.living—Sik.Faan (author), jck (illustrator), and daanngaazai (calligrapher), Pattern, Language, Setting—A…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “The Importance of Nomenclature in 𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛, 𝐿𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑎𝑔𝑒, 𝑆𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔—𝐴 𝐺𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑆𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝐻𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝐾𝑜𝑛𝑔” 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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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 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 China’s Sound Art, Bloomsbury, 2021. 232 pgs. Jing Wang’s Half…
![[REVIEW] “Overhearing 𝑄𝑖: Jing Wang’s 𝐻𝑎𝑙𝑓 𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑, 𝐻𝑎𝑙𝑓 𝑃ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑦” 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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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 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 Imamura’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑊𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑢𝑟𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑆𝑘𝑖𝑟𝑡” by Fathima M](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-woman-in-the-purple-skirt.jpg?w=925)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 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] “It’s Only Love: Kelly H. Chong’s 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝐴𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝐵𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠” 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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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 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 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 𝐻𝑎𝑙𝑓 𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑, 𝐻𝑎𝑙𝑓 𝑃ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑦” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/half-sound-half-philosophy.png?w=938)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 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 𝑂𝑐𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑃𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑠” 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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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 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. In Natsuko…
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Cho Nam-joo. Cho Nam-joo (author), Jamie Chang (translator), Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, Liveright, 2021. 176 pgs. Everyone who has read Cho Nam-joo’s debut novel Kim…
![[REVIEW] “The Limited Life of a Woman: Cho Nam-joo’s 𝐾𝑖𝑚 𝐽𝑖𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑔, 𝐵𝑜𝑟𝑛 1982” by Dorina Tataran](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/kim-jiyoung-born-1982.jpg?w=923)
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[REVIEW] “Deception and Distrust: Henrietta Harrison’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔” by James Thompson
📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 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 Harrison’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔” 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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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 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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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 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] “A Profound Exploration of Reality—Maki Kashimada’s 𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑑: 𝑇𝑤𝑜 𝑁𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑠” 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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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 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] “Coexistence of the Familiar and the Unfamiliar: Hiromi Kawakami’s 𝑃𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑀𝑦 𝑁𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑟ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑑” by James Kin-Pong Au](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/people-from-my-neighbourhood.jpg?w=1005)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 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 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐶𝑎𝑡 𝑊ℎ𝑜 𝑆𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑠” 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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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “The People in These Stories Have Found a Soulmate—On Cats: An Anthology” by Marsha McDonald On Cats: An Anthology, introduction by Margaret Atwood and photographs by Elliot Ross, Notting Hill…
![[REVIEW] “The People in These Stories Have Found a Soulmate—𝑂𝑛 𝐶𝑎𝑡𝑠: 𝐴𝑛 𝐴𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑦” by Marsha McDonald](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/oncats.webp?w=1024)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Extraordinarily ordinary?: Hiromi Kawakami’s People from My Neighbourhood” by Marsha McDonald 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,…
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 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. “Why did you come here?” I…
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Kit Fan’s Diamond Hill: A Revelation of 1980s Hong Kong” by Lynn Yin Lam Chui Kit Fan, Diamond Hill, Diamond Books, 2021. 352 pgs. Kit Fan’s Diamond Hill, published in…
![[REVIEW] “Kit Fan’s 𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝐻𝑖𝑙𝑙: A Revelation of 1980s Hong Kong” by Lynn Yin Lam Chui](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/81lvo74xxsl._sl1500_.jpg?w=972)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 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. 144…
![[REVIEW] “Enigmatic Prose: Maki Kashimada’s 𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑑” 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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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 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. “I broke the law simply by being born”—Shen Yang…
![[REVIEW] “Not Just A Memoir: Shen Yang’s 𝑀𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑂𝑛𝑒 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑” by Lorenzo Donelli](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/more-than-one-child-1.jpg?w=969)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 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. “A monstrous confusion of civilization and…
![[ESSAY] “On the Lighter Side: Nektaria Anastasiadou’s 𝐴 𝑅𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐷𝑎𝑝ℎ𝑛𝑒” by Beth Adams](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2021-02-12-dsc_0074-copy.jpg?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 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 𝑇𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟” by Lucy Hamilton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/flatmock-uptowerback.png?w=780)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Will in the World: Alexa Alice Joubin’s Shakespeare and East Asia” by Jeff Tompkins Alexa Alice Joubin, Shakespeare and East Asia, Oxford University Press, 2021. 272 pp. “What country, friends,…
![[REVIEW] “Will in the World: Alexa Alice Joubin’s 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐸𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝐴𝑠𝑖𝑎” by Jeff Tompkins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20210429_readred_banner-01.png?w=875)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “A Recipe for Confusion: Henrietta Harrison’s The Perils of Interpreting” by Laurence Westwood Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on The Perils of Interpreting. Henrietta Harrison, The Perils of Interpreting: The Extraordinary Lives of…
![[ESSAY] “A Recipe for Confusion: Henrietta Harrison’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔” 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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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Lockdown Lovers. Michael O’Sullivan, Lockdown Lovers, Penguin Random House SEA, 2021. 240 pgs. When Lockdown Lovers opens with “Hong Kong February–March, 2020”, we expect a flashback…
![[REVIEW] “Michael O’Sullivan’s 𝐿𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠: 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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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ozawa Minoru (author), Janine Beichman (translator), Well-Versed: Exploring Modern Japanese Haiku, with photography by Maeda Shinzō and Akira, Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture, 2021. 375 pgs. Haiku has…
![[REVIEW] “Beautifully Produced—Ozawa Minoru’s 𝑊𝑒𝑙𝑙-𝑉𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑑: 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑀𝑜𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑛 𝐽𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝐻𝑎𝑖𝑘𝑢” by Michael Tsang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/well-versed.png?w=1024)
Cha 