Category: 2024 Entries
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่ถ Click HERE for all First Impressions entries. Illustration by Ruby van der Hoeven We are constantly seeking submissions for ๐ ๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ, a section of Cha: An Asian Literary Journal devoted to compact reviews of books and films (300โ800 words;…
![[CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS] First Impressions](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/first-impressions-banner.png?w=1024)
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๐RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS โ Lin Zhao, Flowing Creek ๆตๆบช (originally published in Mandarin Chinese), Shanghai Sanlian Publishing Company, 2020, 192 pgs.โ Lin Zhao, Tidal Chart ๆฝฎๅคๅ (originally published in Mandarin Chinese with a variety…
![[EXCLUSIVE] โRewriting the Southeast Chinese Frontier with Tenderness: Lin Zhaoโs ๐น๐๐๐ค๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ and ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ถโ๐๐๐กโ by Winifred Dongyi Wang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/lin-zhao.jpeg?w=600)
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๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Marcus Fedder, My Shanghai Neighbours, Black Spring Press, 2023. 130 pgs. Having spent four years living in a Shanghai lane between 2012 and 2016 (when I left China), I…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] โResurrecting Longtang Memories: Marcus Fedderโs ๐๐ฆ ๐โ๐๐๐โ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐โ๐๐๐ข๐๐ โ by S.C. Gordon](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/my-shanghai-neighbours-1.jpg?w=985)
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๐RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Jose Lorenzo โPepeโ Diokno, Isang Himala, 2024. 145 min. Isang Himala (A Miracle), directed by Jose Lorenzo โPepeโ Diokno, is an adaptation on three levelsโof the screenplay by National…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] โThe Miracle of Adaptation in Pepe Dioknoโs ๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐โ by Richell Isaiah Flores](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/jose-lorenzo-pepe-diokno-isang-himala-2024_2-2.jpg?w=1024)
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๐RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN 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 Nakayasuโs ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ” by Tim Tim Cheng](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pink-waves.png?w=1024)
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๐RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Stuart Heisler (director), Tokyo Joe, 1949. 89 min. Of all the gin joints in all the world, Humphrey Bogart had to walk into yet another one. Swap North Africa…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] โPlay it againโฆ Ito?: Stuart Heislerโs ๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ฝ๐๐โ by Jeremiah Dutch](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/tokyo-joe-old-japan-hollywood-movie-humphrey-bogart-film-shibuya-tokyo-japanese-history-9.webp?w=1024)
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๐RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Izumi Kyลka (author), Charles Shirล Inouye (translator and author of introduction and afterword), Japanese Gothic Tales, University of Hawaiโi Press, 1996. 202 pgs. Japan Gothic Tales comprises four short…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS]โThe Haunting World of Random Encounters in Izumi Kyลkaโs ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐บ๐๐กโ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ โ by Vanessa Winghei Yeung](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/japanese-gothic-tales-1.png?w=1024)
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๐RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kogonada (director), Columbus, 2017. 100 min. Thereโs a profound sense of openness in Kogonadaโs Columbus (2017). The film invites us to step into its scenes, transforming them into spaces…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] โBeyond the Physicality of Places: Kogonadaโs ๐ถ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ข๐ โ by V Clark](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/columbus-1.jpg?w=736)
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Artwork by Raimonda I suppose youโve seen obituaries shared on WeChat. People post them thoughtlessly, almost as if itโs routine. It feels strange, doesnโt it, that a life concludes in such a trivial manner? I used to find it unsettling,…
![[EXCLUSIVEโFICTION] “A Social Post” by Edward Allen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/a-social-post-by-edward-allen_illustration-by-raimonda-1.jpg?w=1024)
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๐RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS John Wells (director), August: Osage County, 2013. 116 min. As Christmas draws near in the West, the East prepares for the arrival of Lunar New Year. To those unfamiliar…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Hereโs To Family Drama, In All Its Universalityโ๐ด๐ข๐๐ข๐ ๐ก: ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐ข๐๐ก๐ฆ” by Hai-Mo Hu](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/1.august-osagecountyensemblecastpic.jpg?w=1024)
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TIFF 2024 โ Introductionโ 8. Band of Outsiders: On Neo Sora’s Happyendโ 7. The Soul of an Artist: On Hong Sang-sooโs By The Streamโ 6. The Two Maidens: On Trฦฐฦกng Minh Quรฝโs Viet and Namโ 5. The Master and Her…
![[TIFF 2024] โThe Soul of an Artist: On Hong Sang-sooโs ๐ต๐ฆ ๐โ๐ ๐๐ก๐๐๐๐” by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/by-the-stream.png?w=1024)
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๐RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Toshihiko Tanaka (director), Rei ่ใฎๅฏพ, 2024. 190 min. Toshihiko Tanaka, an actor and photography enthusiast, crafts a compelling narrative in his minimalist yet emotionally resonant debut, Rei. The story…
![[REVIEW] โThe Parallax Effect: Toshihiko Tanakaโs ๐
๐๐โ by Marianna Jaลniak](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/rei-1.png?w=1024)
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๐RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Matthew Meyer (author and illustrator), The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons: A Field Guide to Japanese Yokai, Hardcover Collector’s Edition, 2015. 224 pgs. Images copyright 2015-2025 ยฉ Matthew…
![[REVIEW] “Tales of Japanese monsters, ghosts, and spirits: Matthew Meyer’s ๐โ๐ ๐๐๐โ๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ป๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐ ” by Marsha McDonald](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/screenshot-2024-11-29-at-22.20.32.png?w=1024)
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๐RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Yan Lianke (author), Carlos Rojas (translator), Sound and Silence: My Experience with China and Literature, Duke University Press, 2024. 192 pgs. In late April 2024, Literary Hub released an…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Yan Lianke: The Reader Comes First” by A. B. Freeman](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/feb5978a-5dfd-11ea-be3e-43af5536d789_image_hires_104029.jpeg?w=1024)
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๐RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Clickย HERE to readย all entriesย in Cha on The Life of Tu Fu. Eliot Weinberger, The Life of Tu Fu, New Directions, 2024. 64 pgs. A flying goose dropping out of…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “A Fictional Autobiography: Eliot Weinberger’s ๐โ๐ ๐ฟ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ข ๐น๐ข” by Juan Josรฉ Morales](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/screenshot-2024-11-29-at-17.39.54.png?w=1024)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] โBeyond Stereotypes: Ronald Weitzerโs Sex Tourism in Thailandโ by Akin Jeje Ronald Weitzer, Sex Tourism in Thailand: Inside Asiaโs Premier Erotic Playground, New York University Press, 2023. 337 pgs. Ronald…
![[REVIEW] โBeyond Stereotypes: Ronald Weitzerโs ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐โ๐๐๐๐๐๐โ by Akin Jejeย ย](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/sex-tourism-in-thailand-inside-asias-premier-erotic-playground-1.jpg?w=1000)
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๐RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Sanaka Hiiragi (author), Jesse Kirkwood (translator), The Lantern of Lost Memories, Picador, 2024. 224 pgs. What if, when you die, someone greets you with drinks and snacks, briefing you…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] โBetween the Living and the Dead: Sanaka Hiiragiโs ๐โ๐ ๐ฟ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ โ by Aditi Yadav](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/sanaka-hiiragi.png?w=1024)
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๐RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN 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] โDress Up for Indonesia: Benjamin Hegartyโs The Made-Up Stateโ by Mario Rustan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/finalreadingsbooklaunch20april2023_poster.jpg?w=816)
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๐RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Yasunari Kawabata (author), Edward G. Seidensticker (translator), Snow Country, Vintage, 1996. 192 pgs. The short review goes a little something like this: Is it possible for one to love…
![[REVIEW] โLove Lies Wasted: Yasunari Kawabataโsย ๐๐๐๐ค ๐ถ๐๐ข๐๐ก๐๐ฆโ by A. B. Freeman](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/yasunari-kawabata.jpeg?w=1000)
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๐RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Paul French, Her Lotus Year: China, the Roaring Twenties, and the Making of Wallis Simpson, St. Martin’s Press, 2024. 298 pgs. Wallis Simpson will forever be imprinted on British…
![[REVIEW] โRemembering WallisโPaul Frenchโs ๐ป๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐ก๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐: ๐ถโ๐๐๐, ๐กโ๐ ๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ค๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ , ๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐โ by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/f09d90bbf09d9192f09d919f-f09d90bff09d919cf09d91a1f09d91a2f09d91a0-f09d918cf09d9192f09d918ef09d919f-f09d90b6e2848ef09d9196f09d919bf09d918e-f09d91a1e2848ef09d9192-f09d9185f09d919cf09d918ef.png?w=1024)
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๐RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Shiori Ito (director), Black Box Diaries, 2024. 102 min. This review may contain spoilers. In Bangkok, I went with a friend to see Black Box Diaries, directed by Shiori…
![[REVIEW] “Shiori Ito’s ๐ต๐๐๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ฅ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐ : Documentation is a Political Action, Courage Too” by Peixuan Xie](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/screenshot-2024-11-25-at-19.39.56-1.png?w=1024)
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Chris Song’s note: Roses in the Floating World ๆตฎไธ่่ is the debut novel of Luwei Rose Luqiu ้ญไธ้ฒ่, bearing an autobiographical touch as it recounts the lives of three generations of womenโMiss Zhao, Ruolin, and Xiaoyu. The narrative follows these…
![[TRANSLATION] “๐
๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ [An Excerpt]” by Luwei Rose Luqiu, translated by Chris Song](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/luwei-rose-luqiu-and-chris-song_cha-an-asian-literary-journal.png?w=1024)
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๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on All We Imagine as Light. Payal Kapadia (director), All We Imagine as Light, 2024. 118 min. Payal Kapadiaโs debut feature All We Imagine as Light is…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “A Poetic, Nocturnal Film: Payal Kapadia’s ๐ด๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐โ๐ก” by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/all-we-imagine-as-light.png?w=1024)
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๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Permutations (detail), 1976. Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (South Korean, 1951โ1982). Black and white, 16 mm film on video, silent; 10 min. Collection of the University of California, Berkeley Art…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “On Memory” by Jonathan Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/permutations-detail-1976.-theresa-hak-kyung-cha-south-korean-1951e280931982.jpg?w=904)
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TIFF 2024 โ Introductionโ 8. Band of Outsiders: On Neo Sora’s Happyendโ 7. The Soul of an Artist: On Hong Sang-sooโs By The Streamโ 6. The Two Maidens: On Trฦฐฦกng Minh Quรฝโs Viet and Namโ 5. The Master and Her…
![[TIFF 2024] โThe Two Maidens: On Trฦฐฦกng Minh Quรฝโs ๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐โ by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/viet-and-nam.jpg?w=753)
Cha 