Category: 2023 Entries
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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 Nightmare Japan. Jay McRoy, Nightmare Japan: Contemporary Japanese Horror Cinema, Brill, 2008. 232 pgs. Something has been happening with Asian horror, and it took a…
![[REVIEW] βEnfleshing Horror: Jay McRoyβs πππβπ‘ππππ π½ππππβ by Junnan Chen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/nightmare-japan-1.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Tomoko Hidaka, Salaryman Masculinity: Continuity and Change in Hegemonic Masculinity in Japan, Brill, 2010. 224 pgs. βSalarymanβ is a word thatβs uniquely Japanese, even if the concept is not.…
![[REVIEW] βThe Paradigm to Emulate is the Salarymenβ by Mario Rustan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/group-of-salarymen.webp?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 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 β Michihito Fujii (director), The Journalist, 2019. 113 min.β Michihito Fujii (director), A Family, 2021. 136 min.β Michihito Fujii (director), Village, 2023. 120 min. In these days of ever fewer choices…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Michihito Fujii on Netflix” by Paul French](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/michihito-fujii-1.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Don Mee Choi, DMZ Colony, Wave Books, 2020. 152 pgs. Reading Don Mee Choiβs DMZ Colony is an experience that plunges into a theatre of words, a theatre of…
![[REVIEW] βOblong Oblong: Mirror Words in Transit in Don Mee Choiβs π·ππ πΆππππ𦔠by Pareys Liu Yiyi](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/dmz_colony_cover_for_web-copy.jpg?w=498)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Richard Gordon and Carma Hinton (directors), The Gate of Heavenly Peace, 1995. 180 min. i. There was one rule in our house when I was a child back when…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βOn a Yellow Sticker: πβπ πΊππ‘π ππ π»πππ£ππππ¦ πππππβ by J. Chen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/gate-of-heavenly-peace.jpeg?w=366)
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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 Azar Nafisi, Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books, Penguin Random House, 2003. 356 pgs. There was a time when I was desperate for a reaffirmation of literatureβs…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βWhere Are the Other Voices We Want to Hear? Reading π
ππππππ πΏππππ‘π ππ ππβπππβ by Garfield Chow](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/reading-lolita-in-tehran-1.jpeg?w=675)
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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 Ozawa Minoru (author), Janine Beichman (translator), Well-Versed: Exploring Modern Japanese Haiku, with photography by Maeda ShinzΕ and Akira, Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture, 2021. 375 pgs. Haiku has…
![[REVIEW] βBeautifully ProducedβOzawa Minoruβs ππππ-ππππ ππ: πΈπ₯πππππππ ππππππ π½ππππππ π π»ππππ’β by Michael Tsang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/well-versed.png?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 Chungking Express. Wong Kar-wai (director), Chungking Express, 1994. 92 min. Whenever I think of Wong Kar-waiβs Chungking Express I hear California Dreaminβ by The Mamas…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βTwo Stories in One: Wong Kar-waiβs πΆβπ’ππππππ πΈπ₯ππππ π β by e rathke](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/chungking-express.jpg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Chan Tze-Woon (director), Blue Island, 2022. 97 min. A history student, I linger in the Hong Kong Museum of Historyβs condensed Hong Kong Story exhibition: one room per millennium,…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βA Hong Kong History in Chan Tze-Woonβs π΅ππ’π πΌπ ππππβ by Michelle Suen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/blue-island.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βBeijing Bubbles: Andrew Fieldβs Rocking Chinaβ by Matt Turner Andrew Field, Rocking China: Rock Music Scenes in Beijing, Shanghai & Beyond, Earnshaw Books, 2023. 212 pgs. You can listen…
![[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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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Yudho Aditya (director), Pria, 2017. 22 min. In a world where heterosexuality is still considered the norm, there remain many deterrents for LGBT people from embracing their queerness. And,…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βTraditionalist Material Symbols in Yudho Adityaβs ππππβ by Upasana Dandona](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/pria-fi.jpg?w=600)
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lt usually takes me two short scooter rides, a session on the Puyuma express train, and a fair amount of walking and waiting to get to and from work every day. I’ve recently given up riding my second scooter from…
![[EXCLUSIVE] βThe Temptation of the Claw Machine’s RevengeβΒ by Quenntis Ashby](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/the-24-hour-claw-machine-arcade-on-the-corner-of-fuxing-road-and-lide-street-copy.jpg?w=1022)
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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…
![[REVIEW] βShelter Amid Unfamiliar Rains: Florentyna Leowβs π»ππ€ πΎπ¦ππ‘π π΅πππππ πππ’π π»ππππ‘β by Ari Santiago](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/how-kyoto-breaks-your-heart-1.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Soetsu Yanagi, The Beauty of Everyday Things, Penguin, 2018. 352 pgs. The best book purchases are those of volumes discovered serendipitously on a shop shelf, just as the best…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βCraft Work: Soetsu Yanagiβs πβπ π΅πππ’π‘π¦ ππ πΈπ£πππ¦πππ¦ πβππππ β by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/onta-ware-collected-by-yanagi-soetsu.jpg?w=1024)
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TH: We are pleased to present an exclusive essay by Frances An on her forthcoming novel, Ladder Brake. Frances also offered us an excerpt from the book. On Writing Ladder Brake by Frances An After her high-achieving older sister disappears,…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “On Writing πΏπππππ π΅ππππ” by Frances An](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ladder-brake-1.png?w=1024)
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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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Translated from the Chinese original, also available below, by the author. Drawing of Mimi by the author. Mimi Iβd like to tell you about Mimi. Sheβs a cat, the shop cat of Taihing Fresh Fruit Store, downstairs in the Tai…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “Mimi” by Jasmine Tong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/mimi_jasmine-tong_cha-an-asian-literary-journal-1.jpg?w=1024)
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A scan of a photo I took in August 2015, with a Polaroid camera, using film made by the Impossible Project. It shows a section of a tree that was cut down. A time named “just the next day” and…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “Just the Next Day” by Lydia Kwa](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/tree-shaman-1-1.jpg?w=907)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1989. 288 pgs. The day I began writing this piece, a family of Chinese descent were killed in a shooting…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Amy Tanβs πβπ π½ππ¦ πΏπ’ππ πΆππ’π and the Will to Live” by Fathima M](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/le_joy_luck_club__c1.jpg?w=1024)
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I’ve cried a little todayβat church, during the opening lines of the liturgy, and then again over Sunday brunch with my husband. Little ripples of grief bubble up to the surface, then recede. Another month of trying to get pregnant,…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “Early Spring” by Sheela Jane Menon](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/story_pandemic-pup-1.jpg?w=1024)
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In Laundry City, all life began with the shirt. The rest was optional. Mustard types of men frequently wore that, believing they were invisible, and shame was the weight of a t-shirt. Houses were made of expensive washable elephant hides,…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “The Laundry City” by Meiko Ko](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/the-laundry-city_photo-by-oliver-farry.png?w=1024)
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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 FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Akira Kurosawa (director), Stray Dog, 1949. 122 min. Tokyo is a city that is always changing. Old buildings are constantly being torn down and new ones put up. As I…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βAkira Kurosawa’s ππ‘πππ¦ π·ππ as a View into Post-war Tokyo” by Jeremiah Dutch](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/stray-dog-3.jpg?w=836)
Cha 