Category: 2024 Entries
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Wondrous Challenges of Translation: Eric Reinders’s Reading Tolkien in Chinese” by Raymond K. Nakamura Eric Reinders, Reading Tolkien in Chinese: Religion, Fantasy and Translation, Bloomsbury, 2024. 200 pgs. The availability…
![[REVIEW] “Wondrous Challenges of Translation: Eric Reinders’s 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑇𝑜𝑙𝑘𝑖𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑒” by Raymond K. Nakamura](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/eric-reinders-reading-tolkien-in-chinese.jpg?w=1000)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Keeping You Captivated: Kyung-sook Shin’s Violets” by Dorina Tataran Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Violets. Kyung-sook Shin (author), Anton Hur (translator), Violets, The Feminist Press, 2022. 218 pgs. I fell in…
![[REVIEW] “Keeping You Captivated: Kyung-sook Shin’s 𝑉𝑖𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑠” by Dorina Tataran](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/violets.jpg?w=932)
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[INCIDENTAL] “He Wrote On” by Jeff Beyl It is difficult, at best, to take a leisurely walk in Hong Kong. The streets are congested with cars and trucks and buses, and the sidewalks are jam-packed with people. It is said…
![[INCIDENTAL] “He Wrote On” by Jeff Beyl](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/cha-an-asian-literary-journal.jpg?w=1024)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “A Dreamlike Book: Natsume Sōseki’s Ten Nights Dreaming and The Cat’s Grave” by Marsha McDonald Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Natsume Sōseki. Natsume Sōseki (author), Matt Treyvaud (translator), Ten Nights Dreaming…
![[REVIEW] “A Dreamlike Book: Natsume Sōseki’s 𝑇𝑒𝑛 𝑁𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠 𝐷𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐶𝑎𝑡’𝑠 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒” by Marsha McDonald](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ten-nights-dreaming-and-the-cats-grave.jpg?w=647)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS 📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Alexandra A. Chan, In the Garden Behind the Moon, Flashpoint, 2024. 432 pgs. On paper, Alexandra A. Chan seems to have it all. A doctor of archaeology, a professor,…
![[REVIEW] “Remembering Through Memoir: Alexandra A. Chan’s 𝐼𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐺𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑛 𝐵𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑜𝑜𝑛” by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/in-the-garden-behind-the-moon.jpg?w=1000)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS 📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Pat Boonnitipat (director), How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, 2024. 127 min. This review may contain spoilers. Dare I say it, Pat Boonnitipat’s How to Make Millions Before…
![[REVIEW] “Amah, You’re My First Place: Pat Boonnitipat’s 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑜 𝑀𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝐵𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑚𝑎 𝐷𝑖𝑒𝑠” By Rhanydell Bien Baysa](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/before-grandma-dies.png?w=936)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS 📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Thuận (author), Nguyễn An Lý (translator), Chinatown, New Directions, 2022. 160 pgs. A train in the Paris Metro is brought to a halt by a potential bomb threat. Her commute disrupted, the unnamed narrator of Chinatown begins…
![[REVIEW] “On the Primal and Final Mystery: Her Mind Unravels in Thuận’s 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑤𝑛” by Kammy Lee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/chinatown.jpg?w=800)
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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 The Woman in the Purple Skirt. Natsuko Imamura (author), Lucy North (translator), The Woman in the Purple Skirt, Penguin Random House, 2021. 224…
![[REVIEW] “Obsessed: On Natsuko Imamura’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑊𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑢𝑟𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑆𝑘𝑖𝑟𝑡” by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-woman-in-the-purple-skirt.jpg?w=925)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Jopy Arnaldo (director), Gitling, 2023. 105 min. The world’s noise fades into the background when you’re with the right person. Gitling (or Hyphen in English) (2023) is…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Love In Translation: Decoding Jopy Arnaldo’s 𝐺𝑖𝑡𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔” by Richard Muñiz](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/gitling_film-still-3-1.jpg?w=1000)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kumar Shahani (director) Maya Darpan, 1972. 107 min. Kumar Shahani (1940-2024), one of the doyens of Indian parallel cinema breathed his last on 24 February this year.…
![[REVIEW] “An Aesthetic Exploration of the Trials and Tribulations of a Woman: Kumar Shahani’s 𝑀𝑎𝑦𝑎 𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑝𝑎𝑛” by M S Murali Krishna](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/maya-darpan-the-illusory-mirror-1972.jpeg?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 Life Ceremony. Sayaka Murata (author), Ginny Tapley Takemori (translator), Life Ceremony, Granta Books, 2022. 266 pgs. Dubbed “Crazy Sayaka” (クレイジー沙耶香) by her readers,…
![[REVIEW] “Feasting on Futuristic Melancholia: Sayaka Murata’s Life 𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝐶𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑦” by Zifei Wang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/life-ceremony-sayaka-murata.jpg?w=977)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “A Sobering Read: Mahasweta Devi’s The Murderer’s Mother” by Jack Greenberg Mahasweta Devi (author), Arunava Sinha (translator), The Murderer’s Mother, Seagull Books, 2023. 248 pgs. The Murderer’s Mother (Murderer Er…
![[REVIEW] “A Sobering Read: Mahasweta Devi’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑢𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑟’𝑠 𝑀𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟” by Jack Greenberg](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/mahasweta_murderers_mother__15926.jpg?w=1024)
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[REVIEW] “Poetics of Cinema Under Jesters’ Spirits: Qiu Jiongjiong’s 𝐴 𝑁𝑒𝑤 𝑂𝑙𝑑 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑦” by Octavia Chen
📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Qiu Jiongjiong (director), A New Old Play, 2021. 179 min. After watching this film you will briefly be aphasic, with equal amounts of excitement and despondency, and…
![[REVIEW] “Poetics of Cinema Under Jesters’ Spirits: Qiu Jiongjiong’s 𝐴 𝑁𝑒𝑤 𝑂𝑙𝑑 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑦” by Octavia Chen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/a-new-old-play.jpg?w=687)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ryo Takebayashi (director), Mondays: See You “This” Week!, 2022. 102 min. Ryo Takebayashi’s time-loop film Mondays: See You “This” Week!’s most obvious film of comparison is Groundhog…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Over and Over—Ryo Takebayashi’s 𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠: 𝑆𝑒𝑒 𝑌𝑜𝑢 ‘𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠’ 𝑊𝑒𝑒𝑘” by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-pigeon.png?w=1024)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Living On: Xi Xi’s Mourning a Breast” by Susan Blumberg-Kason Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Mourning a Breast. Xi Xi (author), Jennifer Feeley (translator), Mourning a Breast, New York Review Books, 2024.…
![[REVIEW] “Living On: Xi Xi’s 𝑀𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡” by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/mourning-a-breast_xi-xi_jennifer-feeley.jpg?w=938)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS John Saeki, The Last Tigers of Hong Kong: True Stories of Big Cats that Stalked Britain’s Chinese Colony (with pen-and-ink illustrations by Gary Yeung), Blacksmith Books, 2022.…
![[REVIEW] “The Forgotten Hunters: John Saeki’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑇𝑖𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐻𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝐾𝑜𝑛𝑔” by Radha Shah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-last-tigers-of-hong-kong-true-stories-of-big-cats-that-stalked-britains-chinese-colony.jpg?w=968)
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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. Hiroko Oyamada (author), David Boyd (translator), The Hole, New Directions Publishing, 2020. 112 pgs. Hiroko Oyamada’s…
![[REVIEW] “Trapped in The Uncanny Valley: Hiroko Oyamada’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑒” by Maria Cohut](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/hiroko-oyamada_the-hole.jpg?w=778)
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[INCIDENTAL] “Do You Like Chinese Things?” by Jeff Beyl My wife’s family keep asking me if I “like Chinese things”. We recently went back to Hong Kong to visit them. We have been back to Hong Kong many times and…
![[INCIDENTAL] “Do You Like Chinese Things?” by Jeff Beyl](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/cha-an-asian-literary-journal-1.jpg?w=1024)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Living Life to the Fullest: Xi Xi’s Mourning a Breast” by Lydia Kwa Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Mourning a Breast. Xi Xi (author), Jennifer Feeley (translator), Mourning a Breast, New York…
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Subverting Otherness from Within: Hongwei Bao’s The Passion of the Rabbit God” by Kika W. L. Van Robays Hongwei Bao, The Passion of the Rabbit God, Valley Press, 2024. 81…
![[REVIEW] “Subverting Otherness from Within: Hongwei Bao’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑅𝑎𝑏𝑏𝑖𝑡 𝐺𝑜𝑑” by Kika W. L. Van Robays](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/the-passion-of-the-rabbit-god_hongwei-bao.jpg?w=973)
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[TRANSLATION] “The Singing of the Bluebird” by Yuan Jinmei, translated by Kevin McGeary About the story: A Chinese man who grew up in poverty on a riverboat studies hard and becomes wealthy. After moving abroad, he marries a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Western…
![[TRANSLATION] “The Singing of the Bluebird” by Yuan Jinmei, translated by Kevin McGeary](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/yuan-jinmei_kevin-mcgeary.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 Touring the Land of the Dead. Maki Kashimada (author), Haydn Trowell (translator), Touring the Land of the Dead (and Ninety-Nine Kisses), Europa Editions, 2021.…
![[REVIEW] “A Profound Exploration of Reality—Maki Kashimada’s 𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑑: 𝑇𝑤𝑜 𝑁𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑠” by James Kin Pong Au](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/touring-the-land-of-the-dead-and-ninety-nine-kiss.jpg?w=890)
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[INCIDNETAL] “The Small Glass Bottle of Feathers” by Jeff Beyl I found a small glass bottle lying in the street in Hong Kong. The bottle had no label, no embossing, no top. There was no indication of what it…
![[INCIDENTAL] “The Small Glass Bottle of Feathers” by Jeff Beyl](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/feathers.jpg?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Sati Mookherjee, Eye, Ravenna Press, 2022. 67 pgs. Sati Mookherjee’s lyrical Eye is a moving testament to her grandfather, Sri Anil Hari Chatterjee, who was exiled from…
![[REVIEW] “Under Mother Durga’s Watchful Eyes: Sati Mookherjee’s 𝐸𝑦𝑒” by Al Lim](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/sati-mookherjee_eye.jpg?w=986)
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[REVIEW] “Navigating the Fault Lines of Travel: Yun Ko-eun’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡” by Jack Greenberg
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Navigating the Fault Lines of Travel: Yun Ko-eun’s The Disaster Tourist” by Jack Greenberg Yun Ko-eun (author), Lizzie Buehler (translator), The Disaster Tourist, Serpent’s Tail, 2020. 186 pgs. After reviewing…
![[REVIEW] “Navigating the Fault Lines of Travel: Yun Ko-eun’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡” by Jack Greenberg](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/the-disaster-tourist.jpg?w=1000)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Andreas von Buddenbrock, The Ink Trail Hong Kong, Blacksmith Books, 2024. 96 pgs. When I moved to Hong Kong in 1990, I arrived with a long list…
![[REVIEW] “Intricate Sketches: Andreas von Buddenbrock’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐼𝑛𝑘 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑙 𝐻𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝐾𝑜𝑛𝑔” by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/the-ink-trail.jpg?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Jonathan D. Spence, The Gate of Heavenly Peace: The Chinese and Their Revolution, Penguin, 1982. 560 pgs. Contrary to what the title might suggest, Jonathan D. Spence’s…
![[REVIEW] “An Illuminating Journey: Jonathan D. Spence’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐺𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑃𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑒” by Alessia Marini](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/the-gate-of-heavenly-peace.jpg?w=979)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Powerful Storytelling: Leslie Shimotakahara’s Sisters of the Spruce” by Namrata All things Leslie Shimotakahara in Cha. Leslie Shimotakahara, Sisters of the Spruce, Caitlin Press, 2024, 234 pp. Set in…
![[REVIEW] “Powerful Storytelling: Leslie Shimotakahara’s 𝑆𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑝𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑒” by Namrata](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/leslie-shimotakahara.jpg?w=900)
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No more the acrobats, singers and dancers,Prostitutes and pimps, criminals and chancers. …………..A green veil is drawn over all. …………..Rain drips down in an empty hall. The sound of hammers shovels and picks,Drowned out by the river of traffic,Flowing east…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “A Great World: Poem and Introduction” by Paul Bevan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/shanghai-2012-architecture-pingwang-jie.jpg?w=1024)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Rich Complexity: Mouly Surya’s Something Old, New, Borrowed and Blue” by Jonathan Chan Mouly Surya (director), Something Old, New, Borrowed and Blue, 2019. 4 min. Mouly Surya’s short film Something Old,…
![[REVIEW] “Rich Complexity: Mouly Surya’s 𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑂𝑙𝑑, 𝑁𝑒𝑤, 𝐵𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐵𝑙𝑢𝑒” by Jonathan Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/images-original.png?w=1024)
Cha 