Category: 2024 Entries
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “The Makan Republic—Nicole Tarulevicz’s Eating Her Curries and Kway: A Cultural History of Food in Singapore” by Mario Rustan Nicole Tarulevicz, Eating Her Curries and Kway: A Cultural History of…
![[REVIEW] “The 𝑀𝑎𝑘𝑎𝑛 Republic—Nicole Tarulevicz’s 𝐸𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐻𝑒𝑟 𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐾𝑤𝑎𝑦: 𝐴 𝐶𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝐻𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝐹𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑒” by Mario Rustan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/eating-her-curries-and-kway-a-cultural-history-of-food-in-singapore-university-of-illinois-press-1.jpg)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Thomas William Whyke and Melissa Shani Brown (authors), Queering Gender, Sexuality, and Becoming-Human in Qing Dynasty Zhiguai: Querying the Strange Tales, Palgrave Macmillan, 2023. 246 pgs. The title of this…
![[REVIEW] “Between Queering and Querying: Thomas William Whyke and Melissa Shani Brown’s 𝑄𝑢𝑒𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟, 𝑆𝑒𝑥𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐵𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔-𝐻𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑄𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐷𝑦𝑛𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑦 𝑍ℎ𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑎𝑖” by Jonathan Ferguson](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/queering-gender-sexuality-and-becoming-human-in-qing-dynasty-zhiguai-querying-the-strange-tales-1.jpg)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Our Yangon: San Lin Tun’s Yangon Days” by Peixuan Xie San Lin Tun, Yangon Days: A Collection of Urban Short Stories, Penguin Random House SEA, 2024. 240 pgs. If the…
![[REVIEW] “Our Yangon: San Lin Tun’s 𝑌𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑜𝑛 𝐷𝑎𝑦𝑠” by Peixuan Xie](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/yangon-days-a-collection-of-urban-short-stories.jpg)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Send in the Marines: Yao-Chang Chen’s Puppet Flower” by Jeff Tompkins Yao-Chang Chen (author), Pao-Fang Hsu, Ian Maxwell, and Tung-Jung Chen (translators). Puppet Flower: A Novel of 1867 Formosa. Columbia…
![[REVIEW] “Send in the Marines: Yao-Chang Chen’s 𝑃𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑡 𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟” by Jeff Tompkins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/puppet-flower-a-novel-of-1867-formosa.jpg)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “A Queer Shape of Smell: Kangyu Garam’s Lucky, Apartment” by Soo Ryon Yoon Kangyu Garam (director), Lucky, Apartment, 2024. 96 min. This review may contain spoilers. What would hate…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “A Queer Shape of Smell: Kangyu Garam’s 𝐿𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑦, 𝐴𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡” by Soo Ryon Yoon](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/lucky-apartment.jpg)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Impeccably Written: Antonia Finnane’s How to Make a Mao Suit” by Paul Bevan All entries entries in Cha on Mao Suit. Antonia Finnane, How to Make a Mao Suit: Clothing the People of Communist China,…
![[REVIEW] “Impeccably Written: Antonia Finnane’s 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑜 𝑀𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑀𝑎𝑜 𝑆𝑢𝑖𝑡” by Paul Bevan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/how-to-make-a-mao-suit-clothing-the-people-of-communist-china.jpg)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS David L. Eng and Shinhee Han, Racial Melancholia, Racial Dissociation: On the Social and Psychic Lives of Asian Americans, Duke University Press, 2018. 232 pgs. Asian Americans are…
![[REVIEW] “A Groundbreaking Conversation: David L. Eng and Shinhee Han’s 𝑅𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑀𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑎, 𝑅𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛” by Elaine Chiew](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/racial-melancholia-racial-dissociation-on-the-social-and-psychic-lives-of-asian-americans.jpg)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ta Duy Anh (author), Quan Manh Ha and Charles Waugh (translators), The Termite Queen, Penguin Random House SEA, 2023. 256 pgs. Ta Duy Anh’s novels, replete as they are…
![[REVIEW] “A Daring and Unsettling Portrait: Ta Duy Anh’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑄𝑢𝑒𝑒𝑛” by Mia Tompkins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/the-termite-queen-copy.jpeg)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “The Critic’s Notebook: On Dennis Lim’s Tale of Cinema” by Nirris Nagendrarajah Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Hong Sang-soo. Dennis Lim, Tale of Cinema, Fireflies Press, 2022. 216 pgs. In February,…
![[REVIEW] “The Critic’s Notebook: On Dennis Lim’s 𝑇𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑚𝑎” by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/dennis-lim-tale-of-cinema-copy.jpeg)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Acknowledging the Everyday Spaces of Working-class Chinese Migrants: Angela Hui’s Takeaway” by Jennifer Wong Angela Hui, Takeaway: Stories from a Childhood Behind the Counter, Orion Books, 2023. 352 pgs. Evocative and…
![[REVIEW] “Acknowledging the Everyday Spaces of Working-class Chinese Migrants: Angela Hui’s 𝑇𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦” by Jennifer Wong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/takeaway-stories-from-a-childhood-behind-the-counter.jpg)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “The Tale of A Material City: Lau Yee-wa’s Tongueless” by Luca Griseri Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Tongueless. Lau Yee-Wa (author), Jennifer Feeley (translator), Tongueless, The Feminist Press, 2024. 280 pgs. The…
![[REVIEW] “The Tale of A Material City: Lau Yee-wa’s 𝑇𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠” by Luca Griseri](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/tongueless_cha.jpg)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Shunryu Suzuki Roshi (author), Trudy Dixon & Richard Baker (editors), Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice, Weatherhill, 1970. 144 pgs. “We must exist…
![[REVIEW] “A ‘Here and Now’ Mantra: Shunryu Suzuki Roshi’s 𝑍𝑒𝑛 𝑀𝑖𝑛𝑑” by Maria Dorillo](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/zen-mind-beginners-mind.jpg)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Outside Cones of Light was Total Darkness: Ha Seong-nan’s Bluebeard’s First Wife” by Jennifer Eagleton Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Bluebeard’s First Wife. Ha Seong-nan (author), Janet Hong (translator), Bluebeard’s First…
![[REVIEW] “Outside Cones of Light was Total Darkness: Ha Seong-nan’s 𝐵𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑑’𝑠 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑊𝑖𝑓𝑒” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ha-seong-nanauthor-janet-hong-translator-bluebeards-first-wife.jpg)
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[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Perhaps Misguided: Aneeta Sundararaj’s 𝑇𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑖𝑛𝑑” by Grace Najmulski
📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Tapestry of the Mind. Aneeta Sundararaj, Tapestry of the Mind and Other Stories, Penguin Random House SEA, 2024. 272 pgs. Aneeta Sundararaj’s Tapestry of the…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Perhaps Misguided: Aneeta Sundararaj’s 𝑇𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑖𝑛𝑑” by Grace Najmulski](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/tapestry-of-the-mind-and-other-stories-aneeta-sundararaj.jpg)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Pang Laikwan, One and All: The Logic of Chinese Sovereignty, Stanford University Press, 2024. 276 pgs. As I finish writing this review, we are a few days away from…
![[REVIEW] “Quest for Genuineness: Pang Laikwan’s 𝑂𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐴𝑙𝑙” by Kaiqing Su](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/one-and-all_pang-laikwan.jpg)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Stunning Memoir: Grace Loh Prasad’s The Translator’s Daughter” by Susan Blumberg-Kason Click HERE to read all entries in Chaon Translator’s Daughter. Grace Loh Prasad, The Translator’s Daughter, The Ohio State University Press, 2024. 272…
![[REVIEW] “Stunning Memoir: Grace Loh Prasad’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟’𝑠 𝐷𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟” by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/the-translators-daughter.jpg)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Such an Indelible Period Texture: Wei Shujun’s Only the River Flows” by Oliver Farry Wei Shujun (director), Only the River Flows, 2023. 101 mins. Wei Shujun’s Only the River Flows,…
![[REVIEW] “Such an Indelible Period Texture: Wei Shujun’s 𝑂𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑅𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑠” by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/only-the-river-flows-banner.jpg)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Qian Guo, Food Cultures of China: Recipes, Cultures and Issues, Bloomsbury, 2023. 272 pgs. The first thing that struck me about Qian Guo’s encyclopaedic undertaking in this book, was…
![[REVIEW] “An Encyclopaedic Undertaking: Qian Guo’s 𝐹𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝐶𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑎” by Ceri Hwi-Li Holloway](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/food-cultures-of-china.jpg)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ralph Jennings, 50 Useful Tips on China, from a Guy Who ALMOST Got It, Earnshaw Books, 2024. 260 pgs. Ralph Jennings is a seasoned journalist who has spent the…
![[REVIEW] “Resonating with Anyone Who Travels Internationally: Ralph Jennings’s 50 𝑈𝑠𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑇𝑖𝑝𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑎” by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/50-useful-tips-on-china-from-a-guy-who-almost-got-it.jpg)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Read Madeleine Slavick’s “The Yellow Chair” HERE. Madeleine Slavick, Town, The Cuba Press, 2024. 132 pgs. Imagine a poet and a photographer collaborating. What will they create? Town is such…
![[REVIEW] “Where Ripples Intersect: Madeleine Slavick’s Photopoetry Collection 𝑇𝑜𝑤𝑛” by Aqua Kaiyun Zheng](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/town_madeleine-slavick.jpg)
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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 Cho Nam-joo. Cho Nam-joo (author), Jamie Chang (translator), Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, Liveright, 2021. 176 pgs. Everyone who has read Cho Nam-joo’s debut novel Kim…
![[REVIEW] “The Limited Life of a Woman: Cho Nam-joo’s 𝐾𝑖𝑚 𝐽𝑖𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑔, 𝐵𝑜𝑟𝑛 1982” by Dorina Tataran](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/kim-jiyoung-born-1982.jpg)
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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 Mao Suit. Antonia Finnane, How to Make a Mao Suit: Clothing the People of Communist China, 1949–1976, Cambridge University Press, 2023. 386 pgs. Here is…
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Master in Its Own House: On Thomas Barker’s Indonesian Cinema After the New Order” by Mario Rustan Thomas Barker, Indonesian Cinema After the New Order: Going Mainstream, Hong Kong University…
![[REVIEW] “Master in Its Own House: On Thomas Barker’s 𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝐶𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑚𝑎 𝐴𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑁𝑒𝑤 𝑂𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟” by Mario Rustan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/thomas-barker-indonesian-cinema-after-the-new-order-going-mainstream-1.jpg)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Osamu Dazai (author), Sam Bett (translator), The Flowers of Buffoonery, New Directions, 2023. 63 pgs. The Flowers of Buffoonery (『道化の華』/ Dōke no Hana), an early work by Osamu Dazai…
![[REVIEW] “Constructing a Performative Self: Osamu Dazai’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐵𝑢𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑦” by James Kin Pong Au](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/the-flowers-of-buffoonery.jpg)
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[INCIDENTAL] “The Chinese Girl” by Jeff Beyl “What would you think about moving here?” We were on a bus heading to Hong Kong International Airport on Lantau Island. It was dark outside. We were going to catch an early-morning flight…
![[INCIDENTAL] “The Chinese Girl” by Jeff Beyl](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/screenshot-2024-07-03-at-06.31.04.png)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Yasunari Kawabata (author), Haydn Trowell (translator), The Rainbow, Penguin, 2023. 400 pgs. Yasunari Kawabata’s The Rainbow, recently translated into English for the first time, evokes in me a strong…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Carrying On: Yasunari Kawabata’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑅𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑏𝑜𝑤” by Gabrielle Tse](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/the-rainbow-kawabata-yasunari.jpg)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Salman Rushdie, Knife: Meditations After An Attempted Murder, Penguin Random House, 2024. 224 pgs. “Life is not what one lived, but what one remembers, and how one remembers it…
![[REVIEW] “An Achingly Poignant Personal Trauma Narrative: Salman Rushdie’s 𝐾𝑛𝑖𝑓𝑒” by Sudeep Ghosh](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/knife-salman-rushdie.jpg)
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[REVIEW] “Deception and Distrust: Henrietta Harrison’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔” by James Thompson
📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on The Perils of Interpreting. Henrietta Harrison, The Perils of Interpreting: The Extraordinary Lives of Two Translators between Qing China and the British Empire, Princeton University Press,…
![[REVIEW] “Deception and Distrust: Henrietta Harrison’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔” by James Thompson](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/the-perils-of-interpreting-the-extraordinary-lives-of-two-translators-between-qing-china-and-the-british-empire.png)
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Chris Song’s note: In “A Night Flight”, the passengers endure days of eerie silence and mounting despair, with many succumbing to death and some choosing to leap into the night. The story draws a haunting parallel to the Flight MH370…
![[TRANSLATION] “A Night Flight” by Liu Waitong, translated by Chris Song](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/liu-waitong_cha.png)
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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 Natsume Sōseki. Natsume Sōseki (author), Matt Treyvaud (translator), Ten Nights Dreaming and The Cat’s Grave, Dover Publications, 2015. 96 pgs. It was the twilight of…
![[REVIEW] “Reading Natsume Sōseki as a Historian of Twentieth-Century East Asia” by Emily Matson](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/natsume-soseki.png)