Category: 2023 Books
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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 A Cha Chaan Teng That Does Not Exist. Derek Chung (author), May Huang (translator), A Cha Chaan Teng That Does Not Exist, Zephyr…
![[REVIEW] βA Bilingual Local Tasting Menu: Derek Chungβs π΄ πΆβπ πΆβπππ ππππ πβππ‘ π·πππ πππ‘ πΈπ₯ππ π‘β by William Lau](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/a-cha-chaan-teng-that-does-not-exist.jpg?w=1024)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS πRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kim Hyesoon (author), Don Mee Choi (translator), Phantom Pain Wings, New Directions, 2023. 208 pgs. Reading Kim Hyesoonβs Phantom Pain Wings is an uncanny experience of growing wings and…
![[REVIEW] “The Birth of Deathly Birds: Kim Hyesoonβs πβπππ‘ππ ππππ πππππ ” by Kammy Lee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/phantom-pain-wings.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, 2023. 272 pgs. Sayaka Murataβs Life Ceremony is a disturbing…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βWhen The Translations Hit, They Really Hit: Sayaka Murata’s πΏπππ πΆπππππππ¦β by Grace Najmulski](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/life-ceremony_cha.jpg?w=933)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILM Wang Anyi (author), Todd Foley (translator), I Love Bill and Other Stories, Foreword by Xudong Zhang, Cornell University Press, 2023. 260 pgs. Since reading the original in 2001, I…
![[REVIEW] “Chinaβs Most Important Woman Writer of The Last Half-century: A Review of Wang Anyi’s πΌ πΏππ£π π΅πππ πππ ππ‘βππ ππ‘πππππ ” by Sabina Knight](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/copy-of-copy-of-copy-of-chris-song.png?w=940)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “The Banality That Starts It All: Dorothy Tse’s Owlish” by Luca Griseri Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Owlish. Dorothy Tse (author), Natascha Bruce (translator), Owlish, Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2023. 224 pgs. Many reviewers…
![[REVIEW] “The Banality That Starts It All: Dorothy Tse’s ππ€πππ β” by Luca Griseri](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/dorothy-tse-cha-an-asian-literary-journal.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILM Jing Tsu, Kingdom of Characters, Riverhead Books, 2023. 336 pgs. The earliest known empire is the Sumerian. It is also the first civilisation known to have written down numbers.…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “History As Written by the Successful Underdogs: Jing Tsu’s πΎππππππ ππ πΆβπππππ‘πππ ” by Kevin McGeary](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/jing-tsu-kingdom-of-characters.jpg?w=994)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “No Better Place to Start: FuchsiaΒ Dunlop’s Invitation to a Banquet” by Kyle Muntz Fuchsia Dunlop, Invitation to a Banquet: The Story of Chinese Food, Particular Books, 2023, 480 pgs. China…
![[REVIEW] “No Better Place to Start: FuchsiaΒ Dunlop’s πΌππ£ππ‘ππ‘πππ π‘π π π΅ππππ’ππ‘” by Kyle Muntz](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/invitation-to-a-banquet-chinese-food.jpg?w=961)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Leta Hong Fincher, Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China (10th Anniversary Edition), Bloomsbury, 2023. 280 pgs. In Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China Leta Hong…
![[REVIEW] “A Great Cry for Help: Leta Hong Fincher’s πΏπππ‘ππ£ππ πππππ” by Marika Trimigno](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/leta-hong-fincher-leftover-women-the-resurgence-of-gender-inequality-in-china-1.jpg?w=568)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Bae Myung-hoon (author), Stella Kim (translator), Launch Something!, Honford Star, 2023. 368 pgs. Telling us he was inspired by the βridiculous heatwave in the summer of 2018β, Bae Myung-hoon…
![[REVIEW] “A Novel of Space-time: Bae Myung-hoon’s πΏππ’ππβ πππππ‘βπππ!” by Lucy Hamilton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/launch-something.jpg?w=977)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Liang Wern Fook (author), Christina Ng (translator), The Joy of a Left Hand, Balestier Press, 2023. 144 pgs. When my youngest child was about two years old, I noticed…
![[REVIEW] βHumans in All States of Emotion: Liang Wern Fookβs πβπ π½ππ¦ ππ π πΏπππ‘ π»πππβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/the-joy-of-a-left-hand.jpg?w=880)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ricky Lee (author), Noelle Q. De Jesus (translator), For B (or How Love Devastates Four out of Every Five of Us), Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2023. 230 pgs.…
![[REVIEW] “Processing Love in Ricky Lee’s Novel πΉππ π΅” by Frances An](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/for-b-or-how-love-devastates-four-out-of-every-five-of-us.png?w=987)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Paul Lynch, Prophet Song, Oneworld Books, 2023. 320 pgs. Although I was reading about a fictitious Ireland, as I began Prophet Song, Paul Lynchβs Booker Prize-winning novel, I felt…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “To Flee or Not to Flee: Paul Lynch’s ππππβππ‘ ππππ” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/prophet-song.jpg?w=978)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Shibani Mahtani and Timothy McLaughlin, Among the Braves: Hope, Struggle, and Exile in the Battle for hong Kong and the Future of Global Democracy, Hachette Books, 2023. 336 pgs.…
![[REVIEW] “The Story Isn’t Over Yet: Shibani Mahtani and Timothy McLaughlin’s π΄ππππ π‘βπ π΅πππ£ππ ” by James M Zimmerman](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/shibani-mahtani-and-timothy-mclaughlin.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Writing from the Margins: Mahasweta Devi’s Truth/Untruth” by Jack Greenberg Mahasweta Devi (author), Anjum Katyal (translator), Truth/Untruth, Seagull Books, 2023. 144 pgs. Earlier this year, Seagull Books published the late…
![[REVIEW] “Writing from the Margins: Mahasweta Devi’s πππ’π‘β/πππ‘ππ’π‘β” by Jack Greenberg](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/truthuntruth-copy.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 Bright Fear. Mary Jean Chan, Bright Fear, Faber & Faber, 2023. 72 pgs. I first encountered Mary Jean Chanβs work in the bookstore I used to…
![[REVIEW] βVibrant Being in Mary Jean Chanβs π΅πππβπ‘ πΉπππ” by Kika W. L. Van Robay](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/bright-fear-mary-jean-chan.png?w=891)
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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 Owlish. Dorothy Tse (author), Natascha Bruce (translator), Owlish, Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2023. 224 pgs. Dorothy Tseβs Owlish, translated from the Chinese by Natascha Bruce, is a novel…
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Mimi Okabe, Manga, Murder, and Mystery: The Boy Detectives of Japanβs Lost Generation, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023. 216 pgs. Has any national psyche (if such a thing even exists) ever…
![[REVIEW] βWalking on Thin IceβMimi Okabe’s πππππ, ππ’ππππ, πππ ππ¦π π‘πππ¦: πβπ π΅ππ¦ π·ππ‘πππ‘ππ£ππ ππ π½ππππβπ πΏππ π‘ πΊππππππ‘πππ” by Liam Beale](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/screenshot-2023-11-29-at-13.52.52.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Susan Blumberg-Kason, Bernardineβs Shanghai Salon: The Story of The Doyenne of Old China, Post Hill Press, 2023. 275 pgs. βAcknowledgements are also due toβ¦ Bernardine Szold Fritzβ¦ who, sometimes…
![[REVIEW] βThe Extraordinary Story of Bernardine Szold FritzβA Review of Susan Blumberg-Kason’s π΅πππππππππβπ πβπππβππ πππππ: πβπ ππ‘πππ¦ ππ πβπ π·ππ¦ππππ ππ πππ πΆβπππ” by X. H. Collins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/the-extraordinary-story-of-bernardine-szold-fritze28094a-review-of-susan-blumberg-kasons-bernardines-shanghai-salon-the-story-of-the-doyenne-of-old-china.jpg?w=768)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βA Bittersweet Love for a Tempestuous City: Chan Kwan Ee Tomβs Listen” by Akin Jeje Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Listen. Chan Kwan Ee Tom, Listen, Atmosphere Press, 2023. Inspired…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βA Bittersweet Love for a Tempestuous City: Chan Kwan Ee Tomβs πΏππ π‘ππ” by Akin Jeje](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/listen_chan-kwan-ee-tom.jpg?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “The Absence that Haunts the CityβA Review of Making Space: A Collection of Writing and Art” by Luca Griseri ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaonΒ Making Space. Nicolette Wong (editor), Making Space: A…
![[REVIEW] “The Absence that Haunts the CityβA Review ofππππππ πππππ: π΄ πΆππππππ‘πππ ππ ππππ‘πππ πππ π΄ππ‘” by Luca Griseri](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/making-space_cha.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “To Write Properly: Hwang Bo-reum’s Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop” by Jack Greenberg Hwang Bo-reum (author), Shanna Tan (translator), Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023. 320 pgs. Welcome…
![[REVIEW] “To Write Properly: Hwang Bo-reum’s πππππππ π‘π π‘βπ π»π¦π’πππ-ππππ π΅ππππ βππ” by Jack Greenberg](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/hwang-bo-reum-author-shanna-tan-translator-welcome-to-the-hyunam-dong-bookshop.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Hangping Xu and Yunte Huang (special issue editors),Β Translatability and Transmediality: Chinese Poetry in/and the World, V20: N1 ofΒ Prism: Theory and Modern Chinese Literature. Duke University Press, March 2023. 252…
![[REVIEW] “Worlds of Translation, Translated Worlds: ππππ π Special Issue πππππ πππ‘ππππππ‘π¦ πππ πππππ ππππππππ‘𦔠by Astrid MΓΈller-Olsen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/prisme28094march-2023.png?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 Where Else. Jennifer Wong, Jason Eng Hun Lee, and Tim Tim Cheng (editors), Where Else: An International Hong Kong Poetry Anthology, Verve Poetry Press, 2023. 219…
![[REVIEW] “Neighbourhood at Heartβπβπππ πΈππ π: π΄π πΌππ‘πππππ‘πππππ π»πππ πΎπππ ππππ‘ππ¦ π΄ππ‘βππππ𦔠by Flora Mak](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/where-else_an-international-anthology-of-hong-kong-writing.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kit Fan, The Ink Cloud Reader, Carcanet, 2023. 96 pgs. In his third poetry collection The Ink Cloud Reader, the UK-based Hong Kong poet Kit Fan invites readers to join…
![[REVIEW] “The Muffling Liminality of Oneβs Midlife Condition: Kit Fan’s πβπ πΌππ πΆπππ’π π
πππππ” by Flora Mak](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/the-ink-cloud-reader-1.jpg?w=959)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS R.F. Kuang, Yellowface, William Morrow, 2023. 336 pgs. The title of the novel and its bright yellow cover suggests that the subject matter might having something to do with…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Can An Author Write About Anything? Reading R.F. Kuang’s ππππππ€ππππ” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/yellowface_wide-a73252995366ad95b7c30c94329e78559d919765-s1400-c100.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Basil Pao (photographer), Carnival of Dreams, with an introduction by Pico Iyer, Hong Kong University Press, 2023. 208 pgs. Huge cubes float in the air, painted with different images on…
![[REVIEW] βDigital X-Acto: Basil Paoβs photography book πΆπππππ£ππ ππ π·πππππ β by Junnan Chen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/carnival-of-dreams_basil-pao-1.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 Bright Fear. Mary Jean Chan, Bright Fear, Faber & Faber, 2023. 72 pgs. Mary Jean Chan was born and raised in Hong Kong. They now…
![[REVIEW] βThe Thing Itself, Not the Myth: Mary Jean Chanβs π΅πππβπ‘ πΉπππβ by Lydia Kwa](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/bright-fear-cha-an-asian-literary-journal.png?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 Where Else. Jennifer Wong, Jason Eng Hun Lee, and Tim Tim Cheng (editors), Where Else: An International Hong Kong Poetry Anthology, Verve Poetry Press, 2023.…
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Click HERE to read Frances An’s Review of Eternal Summer of Homeland. Writingβlike learning a new language, like moving across continentsβis an adventure fraught with vulnerability. I began to write my first fiction collection, Eternal Summer of My Homeland, shortly…
![[EXCLUSIVE] βOn Writing, Language, and the Longing for Homeβ BY Agnes Chew](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/agnes-chew-1.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 How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart. Florentyna Leow, How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart, The Emma Press, 2023. 152 pgs. One of my most striking encounters with loneliness…
![[REVIEW] “Loneliness is Universal: Florentyna Leow’s π»ππ€ πΎπ¦ππ‘π π΅πππππ πππ’π π»ππππ‘” by Keziah Cho](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/how-kyoto-breaks-your-heart-1.jpg?w=1024)
Cha 