Category: 2022 Books
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Larissa Lai, The Lost Century: A Novel, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2022. 374 pgs. Published in 2022 and penned by one of the most influential Chinese Canadian writers, Larissa Lai,…
![[REVIEW] βAlternative Local and Translocal Hong Kong Histories in Larissa Laiβs πβπ πΏππ π‘ πΆπππ‘π’ππ¦β by Yiwen Liu](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/larissa-lai-the-lost-century.png?w=1024)
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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 Yiyun Li.Β Yiyun Li, The Book of Goose, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2022. 368 pgs. Yiyun Liβs The Book of Goose is a novel…
![[REVIEW] βFiction as Control: Yiyun Liβs Exacting πβπ π΅πππ ππ πΊπππ πβ by Zalman S. Davis](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/yiyun-li-the-book-of-goose-farrar-straus-and-giroux.jpg?w=978)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Rajan Kurai Krishnan, Ravindran Sriramachandran, and V.M.S Subagunarajan, Rule of the Commoner: DMK and the Formations of the Political in Tamil Nadu, 1949β1967, Cambridge University Press, 2022. 280 pgs.…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βPolitics of the Plebsβπ
π’ππ ππ π‘βπ πΆπππππππ: π·ππΎ πππ π‘βπ πΉπππππ‘ππππ ππ π‘βπ πππππ‘ππππ ππ πππππ ππππ’” by Kathiravan Annamalai](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/rule-of-the-commoner.jpg?w=419)
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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 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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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 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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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Weike Wang, Joan Is Okay, Penguin Random House, 2022. 224 pgs. Joan is Okay, the sophomore novel by Weike Wang, opens with the line: βWhen I think about…
![[REVIEW] βThe Telos of Toil: Reading Weike Wang’s π½πππ ππ ππππ¦ Through Labour and Identityβ by Tiffany Troy](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/weike-wang-joan-is-okay.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Nicholas de Villiers, Cruisy, Sleepy, Melancholy: Sexual Disorientation in the Films of Tsai Ming-liang, The University of Minnesota Press, 2022. 216 pgs. As one of the most celebrated Chinese-language…
![[REVIEW] “Feeling QueerβNicholas de Villiersβs πΆππ’ππ π¦, ππππππ¦, ππππππβπππ¦: πππ₯π’ππ π·ππ ππππππ‘ππ‘πππ ππ π‘βπ πΉππππ ππ ππ ππ ππππ-πππππ” by Haley Agcaoili B.](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/cruisy-sleepy-melancholy-sexual-disorientation-in-the-films-of-tsai-ming-liang.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 Idol, Burning. Rin Usami (author), Asa Yoneda (translator), Idol, Burning, Canongate, 2022. 96 pgs. Rin Usamiβs Idol, Burning (γζ¨γγηγγ, 2020) offers an incisive exploration of…
![[REVIEW] “Belief, Devotion, and Estrangement in Rin Usamiβs πΌπππ, π΅π’πππππ” by James Au Kin-Pong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/idol-burning-canongate.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 Idol, Burning. Rin Usami (author), Asa Yoneda (translator), Idol, Burning, HarperVia, 2022.144 pgs. Japan, for me, has long been a pop music paradise. On my…
![[REVIEW] βWhen a Passion Turns Toxic: Rin Usamiβs πΌπππ, π΅π’πππππβ by Wendy Tokunaga](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/rin-usami-author-asa-yoneda-translator-idol-burning.jpg?w=946)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Sawako Nakayasu, Pink Waves, Omnidawn, 2022. 90 pgs. When I received Sawako Nakayasu’s Pink Waves, I was drawn to its cover. Green, black, and blue arranged in shapes suggest…
![[REVIEW] “She Was Elegylight: Sawako Nakayasuβs ππππ πππ£ππ ” by Tim Tim Cheng](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pink-waves.png?w=1024)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Benjamin Hegarty, The Made-Up State: Technology, Trans Femininity, and Citizenship in Indonesia, Cornell University Press, 2022. 198 pgs. I grew up seeing transwomen day and night. During the day,…
![[REVIEW] βDress Up for Indonesia: Benjamin Hegartyβs The Made-Up Stateβ by Mario Rustan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/finalreadingsbooklaunch20april2023_poster.jpg?w=816)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Emi Yagi (author), David BoydΒ andΒ Lucy NorthΒ (translators), Diary of a Void, Viking, 2022. 213 pgs. Shibata works for a cardboard tube company on the fourth floor of an overheated office.…
![[REVIEW] βReimagining the Void: Emi Yagi’s π·ππππ¦ ππ π ππππ” by Lucy Hamilton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/review-reimagining-the-void-emi-yagis-diary-of-a-void22-by-lucy-hamilton.jpg?w=925)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Shuang Xuetao (author), Jeremy Tiang (translator), Rouge Street: Three Novellas, Metropolitan Books, 2022. 216 pgs. Over the past few years, China has seen a resurgence of interest in its…
![[REVIEW] βFinding Hope in Despair: Shuang Xuetaoβs π
ππ’ππ ππ‘ππππ‘β by Kammy Lee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/rouge-street-three-novellas.jpg?w=971)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βThe Criticβs Notebook: On Dennis Limβs Tale of Cinemaβ by Nirris Nagendrarajah Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Hong Sang-soo. Dennis Lim, Tale of Cinema, Fireflies Press, 2022. 216 pgs. In February,…
![[REVIEW] βThe Criticβs Notebook: On Dennis Limβs ππππ ππ πΆπππππβ by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/dennis-lim-tale-of-cinema-copy.jpeg?w=500)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Violets. Kyung-sook Shin (author), Anton Hur (translator), Violets, The Feminist Press, 2022. 218 pgs. I fell in love with Kyung-sook Shinβs writing after reading the…
![[REVIEW] βKeeping You Captivated: Kyung-sook Shinβs ππππππ‘π β by Dorina Tataran](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/violets.jpg?w=932)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS πRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS ThuαΊn (author), Nguyα» n An LΓ½ (translator), Chinatown, New Directions, 2022. 160 pgs. A train in the Paris Metro is brought to a halt by a potential bomb threat. Her commute disrupted, the unnamed narrator of Chinatown begins…
![[REVIEW] βOn the Primal and Final Mystery: Her Mind Unravels in ThuαΊnβs πΆβππππ‘ππ€πβ by Kammy Lee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/chinatown.jpg?w=800)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Tiantian Zheng, Violent Intimacy: Family Harmony, State Stability, and Intimate Partner Violence in Post-Socialist China, Bloomsbury, 2022. 224 pgs. Intimate partner violence is a worldwide problem. On…
![[REVIEW] βRather Demolish Ten Temples Than Destroy One Marriage: Tiantian Zhengβs πππππππ‘ πΌππ‘πππππ¦β by Laurence Westwood](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/violent-intimacy-family-harmony-state-stability-and-intimate-partner-violence-in-post-socialist-china.jpg?w=1000)
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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. Dubbed βCrazy Sayakaβ (γ―γ¬γ€γΈγΌζ²θΆι¦) by her readers,…
![[REVIEW] βFeasting on Futuristic Melancholia: Sayaka Murataβs Life πΏπππ πΆπππππππ¦β by Zifei Wang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/life-ceremony-sayaka-murata.jpg?w=977)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS John Saeki, The Last Tigers of Hong Kong: True Stories of Big Cats that Stalked Britainβs Chinese Colony (with pen-and-ink illustrations by Gary Yeung), Blacksmith Books, 2022.…
![[REVIEW] βThe Forgotten Hunters: John Saekiβs πβπ πΏππ π‘ ππππππ ππ π»πππ πΎπππβ by Radha Shah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-last-tigers-of-hong-kong-true-stories-of-big-cats-that-stalked-britains-chinese-colony.jpg?w=968)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Sati Mookherjee, Eye, Ravenna Press, 2022. 67 pgs. Sati Mookherjeeβs lyrical Eye is a moving testament to her grandfather, Sri Anil Hari Chatterjee, who was exiled from…
![[REVIEW] “Under Mother Durgaβs Watchful Eyes: Sati Mookherjee’s πΈπ¦π” by Al Lim](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/sati-mookherjee_eye.jpg?w=986)
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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 Flowers of Lhasa. Tsering Yangkyi (author), Christopher Peacock (translator), The Flowers of Lhasa, Balestier Press, 2022. 205 pgs. The city of Lhasa in Tibet is…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Four Women Migrant Workers: TSERING YANGKYIβS πβπ πΉπππ€πππ ππ πΏβππ π” by David W. Landrum](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/flowers-of-lhasa_tsering-yangkyi.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 Flowers of Lhasa. Tsering Yangkyi (author), Christopher Peacock (translator), The Flowers of Lhasa, Balestier Press, 2022. 205 pgs. In recent decades China has been…
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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 Violets. Kyung-Sook Shin (author), Anton Hur (translator), Violets, The Feminist Press, 2022. 218 pgs. Kyung-Sook Shin burst onto the Korean literary scene in 1985, after…
![[REVIEW] “On Behalf of Those Who Weren’t Able to Survive: Kyung-Sook Shin’s ππππππ‘π ” by Beth Adams](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/violets_anton-hur.jpg?w=1024)
Cha 