Category: 2023 Books
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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)
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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 Bloom. Xi Chuan (author), Lucas Klein (translator), Bloom & Other Poems, New Directions. 2022. 204 pgs. The bewitching voice that sears through this collection of…
![[REVIEW] βXi Chuanβs Jagged Rhythms of Life: π΅ππππβ by Nadine Willems](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/bloom-other-poems_lucas-klein_xi-chuan-1.png?w=972)
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Click HERE to read an essay by Agnes Chew and an excerpt from Eternal Summer of Homeland. πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Agnes Chew, Eternal Summer of My Homeland, Epigram Books, 2023. 184 pgs.…
![[REVIEW] βStragglers in Singapore: Agnes Chewβs πΈπ‘πππππ ππ’ππππ ππ ππ¦ π»πππππππβ by Frances An](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/eternal-summer-of-my-homeland.png?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 Making Space.ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ Where Else. β Nicolette Wong (editor), Making Space: A Collection of Writing and Art, Cart Noodles Press, 2023. 163 pgs.β…
![[REVIEW] βI Will Always Return: Reading ππππππ πππππ and πβπππ πΈππ πβ by Vaughan Rapatahana](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/where-else-making-space.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 Owlish. Dorothy Tse (author), Natascha Bruce (translator), Owlish, Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2023. 224 pgs. The β-ishβ in Owlish by Dorothy Tse suggests a suffixed impreciseness, a mutating…
![[REVIEW] βThe Shadow of Hong Kong in Dorothy Tse’s ππ€πππ ββ by Michelle Suen](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 FILMS Lisa See, Lady Tanβs Circle of Women, Scribner, 2023. 368 pgs. A thousand years in the past, a thousand years in the futureβno matter where you live or how…
![[REVIEW] βVibrant Setting of Ancient China: Lisa Seeβs πΏπππ¦ πππβπ πΆπππππ ππ πππππβ by Emma Pei Yin](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/lisa-see_lady-tans-circle-of-women-copy.jpg?w=664)
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Identity, Home and Writing Elsewhere. Jennifer Wong, Identity, Home and Writing Elsewhere in Contemporary Chinese Diaspora Poetry, Bloomsbury, 2023. When Jennifer…
![[REVIEW] βPoetry of the Nomads: Jennifer Wongβs πΌππππ‘ππ‘π¦, π»πππ πππ ππππ‘πππ πΈππ ππ€βπππ ππ πΆπππ‘ππππππππ¦ πΆβππππ π π·πππ ππππ ππππ‘ππ¦β by Emma Zhang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/jennifer-wong-cha-identity-home-and-writing-elsewhere.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 Owlish. Dorothy Tse (author), Natascha Bruce (translator), Owlish, Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2023. 224 pgs. Defying our expectations of time and space, Dorothy…
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Identity, Home and Writing Elsewhere. Jennifer Wong, Identity, Home and Writing Elsewhere in Contemporary Chinese Diaspora Poetry, Bloomsbury, 2023. Jennifer…
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Brian Sze-hang Kwok, Fading Neon Lights: An Archive of Hong Kongβs Visual Culture, City University of Hong Kong Press, 2023. 202 pgs. Brian Sze-hang Kwok may not know the…
![[REVIEW] βPangs of Things That Have PassedβBrian Sze-hang Kwok’s πΉπππππ ππππ πΏππβπ‘π : π΄π π΄ππβππ£π ππ π»πππ πΎπππβπ πππ π’ππ πΆπ’ππ‘π’ππβ by Lian-Hee Wee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/29.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Tan Twan Eng, The House of Doors, Canongate, 2023. 320 pgs. Third novels can be tricky. The second has to prove the first was not a fluke. Something more…
![[REVIEW] βSome Private Morsel of Your Own: Tan Twan Engβs πβπ π»ππ’π π ππ π·ππππ β by Douglas Kerr](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/the-house-of-doors-1.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Andrew Field, Rocking China: Rock Music Scenes in Beijing, Shanghai & Beyond, Earnshaw Books, 2023. 212 pgs. You can listen to the Rocking China playlist HERE. I went to…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βBeijing Bubbles: Andrew Fieldβs π
ππππππ πΆβπππβ by Matt Turner](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/rocking-china-copy.jpg?w=1024)
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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 How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart. Florentyna Leow, How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart, The Emma Press, 2023. 152 pgs. I open Florentyna Leowβs How Kyoto Breaks…
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Nathan Go, Forgiving Imelda Marcos, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2023. 240 pgs. Nathan Goβs novel Forgiving Imelda Marcos comes at a kind of global cultural moment for things Filipino and…
![[REVIEW] βOne Fatherβs Regret: Nathan Goβs πΉπππππ£πππ πΌπππππ ππππππ β by Noelle Q. de Jesus](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/forgiving-imelda-marcos-1.jpg?w=900)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Liu Liangcheng (author), Jeremy Tiang (translator), Bearing Word, Balestier Press, 2023. 340 pgs. Liu Liangchengβs Bearing Word is a story about a polyglot translator, a donkey who can see…
![[REVIEW] “Everything Comes Alive, Every Creature Has Agency: Liu Liangcheng’s π΅ππππππ ππππ” by Serena De Marchi](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/bearing-word-1.jpg?w=657)
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π RETURN TO JUST ANOTHER DAY Today was a sunny day, so this afternoon I decided to visit a couple of Hong Kong’s urban parks. I headed off from my home in Sheung Wan soon after lunch and boarded a tram…
![[JUST ANOTHER DAY] David Clarke](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/just-another-day_cha.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Malcolm Mejin, The Diary of a Rich Kid: Lost in Space, Penguin Random House SEA, 2023. 208 pgs. Malcolm Mejinβs The Diary of a Rich Kid: Lost in Space…
![[REVIEW] βPlay Pretend: Malcolm Mejinβs πβπ π·ππππ¦ ππ π π
ππβ πΎππβ by Frances An](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/diary-of-a-rich-kid-lost-in-space-1.jpg?w=407)
Cha 