Category: 2023 Entries
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Tony Rayns, In the Mood for Love, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015. 96 pgs. “I didn’t think you’d fall in love with me,” says Mrs Chan. “I didn’t either,” says Mr…
![[REVIEW] “Feelings Can Creep Up Just Like That: Wong Kar-wai’s 𝐼𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒” by Jeff Tompkins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/screenshot-2023-12-28-at-13.07.29.png?w=1024)
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TH: James Batcho writes about Bangkok, his introduction to Asia. Normally when I come to Bangkok I stay in Sukhumvit. I’ve been doing that since my Busan days, starting around 2009, I guess. This time I’m in the Khaosan Road…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “Khaosan 1996-2019” by James Batcho](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/khaosan1-blackwhite.jpg?w=1024)
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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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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Mahasweta Devi (author), Anjum Katyal (translator), Truth/Untruth, Seagull Books, 2023. 144 pgs. Earlier this year, Seagull Books published the late Mahasweta Devi’s 1986 urban novella, Truth/Untruth, in a translation…
![[REVIEW] “Writing from the Margins: Mahasweta Devi’s 𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑡ℎ/𝑈𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑡ℎ” by Jack Greenberg](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/truthuntruth-copy.jpeg?w=1024)
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Kendall Heitzman’s introduction: “Project Babel” was published in Japanese in the Tokyo Shimbun on 26 November 2022. It first appeared in English in my translation at a reading on 22 September 2023 at the University of Minnesota. An abridged version was…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “Project Babel” by Li Kotomi, Translated by Kendall Heitzman](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/kendall-heitzman-and-li-kotomi_cha-an-asian-literary-journal-copy-1.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 Bright Fear. Mary Jean Chan, Bright Fear, Faber & Faber, 2023. 72 pgs. I first encountered Mary Jean Chan’s work in the bookstore I used to…
![[REVIEW] “Vibrant Being in Mary Jean Chan’s 𝐵𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝐹𝑒𝑎𝑟” 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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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 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 Tse’s Owlish, translated from the Chinese by Natascha Bruce, is a novel…
![[REVIEW] “All the Subtle References: Dorothy Tse’s 𝑂𝑤𝑙𝑖𝑠ℎ” by Ilaria Maria Sala](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/dorothy-tse-cha-an-asian-literary-journal.jpg?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Anthony Chen (director), Breaking the Ice, 2023. 97 min. Arresting visuals, an immersive soundtrack, and interesting ideas do not ultimately make for a narratively tight film. To me, the largest…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “The Liminality of Being: Anthony Chen’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐼𝑐𝑒” by Jonathan Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/breaking-the-ice_cha-banner.png?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 Hiroko Oyamada. I have had this feeling of being quiet and alone recently, since graduating from university, with the pressure…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Reading on Slow Quiet Days” by Joefel Bolo](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/joefel-bolo_cha.png?w=1024)
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TH: We are pleased to present Chris Song’s English translation of Mary Wong’s short story “Christmas Shopping” 聖誕購物, which is collected in Surviving Central 中環人. The story won the 25th Secondary School Students’ Best Ten Books Award. Ⓖ🅁Ⓞ🅄Ⓝ🄳……🄵Ⓛ🄾Ⓞ🅁 “It’s better…
![[TRANSLATION] “Christmas Shopping” BY MARY WONG, Translated by Chris Song](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/like.png?w=873)
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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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TH: In this essay, Matt Turner meditates on a couple of recent concerts he attended at Dream House and Task, both in New York. In late July this year, I attended a performance at Dream House in lower Manhattan; I…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “A Space for ‘Music'” by Matt Turner](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/dh2023_1.jpg?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Dung Kai-cheung (author), Bonnie S. McDougall and Anders Hansson (translators), A Catalog of Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made On, Columbia University Press, 2022. 218 pgs. First published in…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Aesthetics of Obsolescence: Dung Kai-cheung’s 𝐴 𝐶𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑆𝑡𝑢𝑓𝑓 𝑎𝑠 𝐷𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑠 𝐴𝑟𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑂𝑛” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/a-catalog-of-such-stuff-as-dreams-are-made-on_cha-banner.png?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Wenying Xu, Eating Identities: Reading Food in Asian American Literature, University of Hawai’i Press, 2007. 208 pgs. Food has long occupied an important space in art, whether in literature,…
![[REVIEW] “Formidable Exploration of the Symbolism of Food in Literature—Wenying Xu’s 𝐸𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐼𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠: 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐹𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝐴𝑠𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝐴𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝐿𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒” by Janet Hui Ching Tay](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/reading-identities-cha.jpg?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Mimi Okabe, Manga, Murder, and Mystery: The Boy Detectives of Japan’s Lost Generation, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023. 216 pgs. Has any national psyche (if such a thing even exists) ever…
![[REVIEW] “Walking on Thin Ice—Mimi Okabe’s 𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑎, 𝑀𝑢𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑀𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑦: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑜𝑦 𝐷𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐽𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑛’𝑠 𝐿𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛” 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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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Susan Blumberg-Kason, Bernardine’s Shanghai Salon: The Story of The Doyenne of Old China, Post Hill Press, 2023. 275 pgs. “Acknowledgements are also due to… Bernardine Szold Fritz… who, sometimes…
![[REVIEW] “The Extraordinary Story of Bernardine Szold Fritz—A Review of Susan Blumberg-Kason’s 𝐵𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑒’𝑠 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔ℎ𝑎𝑖 𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑛𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑂𝑙𝑑 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑎” 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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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “A Bittersweet Love for a Tempestuous City: Chan Kwan Ee Tom’s 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] “A Bittersweet Love for a Tempestuous City: Chan Kwan Ee Tom’s 𝐿𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑛” by Akin Jeje](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/listen_chan-kwan-ee-tom.jpg?w=1024)
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TH: Wong King Fai’s short story “The Girl Without a Face” 無相女 was published in the Hong Kong Literary 香港文學 magazine in 2009 and is included in the author’s collection Hong Kong: Mock City 香港：重複的城市. In 2023, it was shortlisted…
![[TRANSLATION] “The Girl Without a Face” by Wong King Fai, Translated by Chris Song](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/girl-without-a-face_cha-an-asian-literary-journal.jpg?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ho-fung Hung, City on the Edge: Hong Kong under China Rule, Cambridge University Press, 2022. 316 pgs. “Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will.” Ho-fung Hung’s latest monograph, City…
![[REVIEW] “Is Hong Kong Expired after the National Security Law?—A Review of Ho-fung Hung’s 𝐶𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑑𝑔𝑒: 𝐻𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝐾𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑅𝑢𝑙𝑒” by Winnie W. C. Lai](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/city-on-the-edge_cha-banner.png?w=936)
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TH: In this very short tale, Guru T Ladakhi presents a defiant woman proud of ownership of her body and choices, unafraid of the gossip and speculation of others. Artwork by Anastasi Holubchyk. I know a great grandmother. She is…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “Tall” by Guru T Ladakhi](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/anastasi-holubchyk1.png?w=940)
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TH: Aileen Blaney explores the gentrification of the Himalayan village in the new work-from-anywhere post-pandemic dispensation. In this piece, the coffee shop is used as a device for depicting the arrival of a cosmopolitan elite in rural India. “They’re ruining the Himalayas with their coffee shops and…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “Basque Cheesecake in the Indian Himalayas” by Aileen Blaney](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/dharamshala-for-digital-nomads.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 Making Space. Nicolette Wong (editor), Making Space: A Collection of Writing and Art, Cart Noodles Press, 2023. 163 pgs. A presence and an absence define Making Space:…
![[REVIEW] “The Absence that Haunts the City—A Review of𝑀𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑆𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒: 𝐴 𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑊𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐴𝑟𝑡” by Luca Griseri](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/making-space_cha.png?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Hwang Bo-reum (author), Shanna Tan (translator), Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023. 320 pgs. Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop is now available to English readers, in a…
![[REVIEW] “To Write Properly: Hwang Bo-reum’s 𝑊𝑒𝑙𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑦𝑢𝑛𝑎𝑚-𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑝” 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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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Hangping Xu and Yunte Huang (special issue editors), Translatability and Transmediality: Chinese Poetry in/and the World, V20: N1 of Prism: Theory and Modern Chinese Literature. Duke University Press, March 2023. 252…
![[REVIEW] “Worlds of Translation, Translated Worlds: 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑚 Special Issue 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦” by Astrid Møller-Olsen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/prisme28094march-2023.png?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Alexa Alice Joubin, Shakespeare and East Asia, Oxford University Press, 2021. 272 pp. “What country, friends, is this?” Viola asks at the beginning of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, when her…
![[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)
Cha 