Category: 2024 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 Life Ceremony. Sayaka Murata (author), Ginny Tapley Takemori (translator), Life Ceremony, Granta Books, 2022. 266 pgs. Dubbed βCrazy Sayakaβ (γ―γ¬γ€γΈγΌζ²θΆι¦) by her readers,…
![[REVIEW] βFeasting on Futuristic Melancholia: Sayaka Murataβs Life πΏπππ πΆπππππππ¦β by Zifei Wang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/life-ceremony-sayaka-murata.jpg?w=977)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Mahasweta Devi (author), Arunava Sinha (translator), The Murdererβs Mother, Seagull Books, 2023. 248 pgs. The Murdererβs Mother (Murderer Er Maa), originally published in 1992, is the latest…
![[REVIEW] “A Sobering Read: Mahasweta Devi’s πβπ ππ’ππππππβπ πππ‘βππ” by Jack Greenberg](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/mahasweta_murderers_mother__15926.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ 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] βPoetics of Cinema Under Jestersβ Spirits: Qiu Jiongjiongβs π΄ πππ€ πππ ππππ¦β by Octavia Chen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/a-new-old-play.jpg?w=687)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ryo Takebayashi (director), Mondays: See You “This” Week!, 2022. 102 min. Ryo Takebayashiβs time-loop film Mondays: See You “This” Week!βs most obvious film of comparison is Groundhog…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Over and OverβRyo Takebayashi’s ππππππ¦π : πππ πππ’ ‘πβππ ’ ππππ” by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-pigeon.png?w=1024)
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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 Mourning a Breast. Xi Xi (author), Jennifer Feeley (translator), Mourning a Breast, New York Review Books, 2024. 320 pgs. My grandmother was seventy-five when…
![[REVIEW] βLiving On: Xi Xiβs πππ’πππππ π π΅ππππ π‘β 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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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS John Saeki, The Last Tigers of Hong Kong: True Stories of Big Cats that Stalked Britainβs Chinese Colony (with pen-and-ink illustrations by Gary Yeung), Blacksmith Books, 2022.…
![[REVIEW] βThe Forgotten Hunters: John Saekiβs πβπ πΏππ π‘ ππππππ ππ π»πππ πΎπππβ 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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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ 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 Oyamadaβs…
![[REVIEW] “Trapped in The Uncanny Valley: Hiroko Oyamadaβs πβπ π»πππ” by Maria Cohut](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/hiroko-oyamada_the-hole.jpg?w=778)
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My wifeβs family keep asking me if I βlike Chinese thingsβ. We recently went back to Hong Kong to visit them. We have been back to Hong Kong many times and although they know me quite well by now, they…
![[EXCLUSIVE] βDo You Like Chinese Things?β by Jeff Beyl](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/cha-an-asian-literary-journal-1.jpg?w=1024)
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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 Mourning a Breast. Xi Xi (author), Jennifer Feeley (translator), Mourning a Breast, New York Review Books, 2024. 320 pgs. What should those of us…
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Hongwei Bao, The Passion of the Rabbit God, Valley Press, 2024. 81 pgs. There is this book on intimacy, belonging, histories, and motorcycles and leather jackets. It…
![[REVIEW] βSubverting Otherness from Within: Hongwei Baoβs πβπ πππ π πππ ππ π‘βπ π
πππππ‘ πΊππβ 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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About the story “The Singing of the Bluebird” θιΈεΎεΎ: A Chinese man who grew up in poverty on a riverboat studies hard and becomes wealthy. AfterΒ moving abroad, he marries a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Western woman. EnchantedΒ by stories of his childhood among…
![[EXCLUSIVE] βThe Singing of the Bluebirdβ 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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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ 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] βA Profound Exploration of RealityβMaki Kashimadaβs πππ’ππππ π‘βπ πΏπππ ππ π‘βπ π·πππ: ππ€π πππ£πππππ β 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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Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β 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 had originally been used for. It was just a small,…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “The Small Glass Bottle of Feathers” by Jeff BeylΒ Β Β](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/feathers.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Sati Mookherjee, Eye, Ravenna Press, 2022. 67 pgs. Sati Mookherjeeβs lyrical Eye is a moving testament to her grandfather, Sri Anil Hari Chatterjee, who was exiled from…
![[REVIEW] “Under Mother Durgaβs Watchful Eyes: Sati Mookherjee’s πΈπ¦π” by Al Lim](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/sati-mookherjee_eye.jpg?w=986)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Yun Ko-eun (author), Lizzie Buehler (translator), The Disaster Tourist, Serpentβs Tail, 2020. 186 pgs. After reviewing Yun Ko-eunβs latest collection of short stories, published in this journal,…
![[REVIEW] “Navigating the Fault Lines of Travel: Yun Ko-eun’s πβπ π·ππ ππ π‘ππ πππ’πππ π‘” by Jack Greenberg](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/the-disaster-tourist.jpg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ 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 πβπ πΌππ πππππ π»πππ πΎπππ” by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/the-ink-trail.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ 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. Spenceβs…
![[REVIEW] βAn Illuminating Journey: Jonathan D. Spenceβs πβπ πΊππ‘π ππ π»πππ£ππππ¦ πππππβ by Alessia Marini](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/the-gate-of-heavenly-peace.jpg?w=979)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Leslie Shimotakahara, Sisters of the Spruce, Caitlin Press, 2024, 234 pp. Set in the backdrop of World War One, Leslie Shimotakahara‘s Sisters of the Spruce is…
![[REVIEW] “Powerful Storytelling: Leslie Shimotakahara’s πππ π‘πππ ππ π‘βπ ππππ’ππ” 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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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Mouly Surya (director), Something Old, New, Borrowed and Blue, 2019. 4 min. Mouly Suryaβs short film Something Old, New, Borrowed and Blue joins a slate of films that seek…
![[REVIEW] βRich Complexity: Mouly Suryaβs πππππ‘βπππ πππ, πππ€, π΅πππππ€ππ πππ π΅ππ’πβ by Jonathan Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/images-original.png?w=1024)
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π Cha‘s SHΕGUN Feature Well, after telling everyone how great the 1980 ShΕgun miniseries is, I watched the first two episodes of this yearβs new adaptation of James Clavellβs 1975 novel. And itβs really good. Maybe the best show Iβve…
![[SHΕGUN] βOn the Edge of My Seat: πβπππ’π (2024) Episodes I & IIβ by e rathke](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/27shogun-recap-1-videosixteenbynine3000.jpg?w=1024)
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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 People from My Neighbourhood. Hiromi Kawakami (author), Ted Goossen (translator), People from My Neighbourhood, Granta Books, 2021. 96 pgs. The world depicted in Kawakami…
![[REVIEW] βCoexistence of the Familiar and the Unfamiliar: Hiromi Kawakami’s ππππππ ππππ ππ¦ ππππβπππ’πβπππβ by James Kin-Pong Au](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/people-from-my-neighbourhood.jpg?w=1005)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Derek Tsang, Andrew Stanton, Minkie Spiro, and Jeremy Podeswa (directors), 3 Body Problem, 2024. We all die. Being a problem-solving species, this fact leaves us uneasy. The…
![[EXCLUSIVE] βAlien Bless You: A Review of Netflixβs 3 π΅πππ¦ πππππππβ by Angus Stewart](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/3-body-problem.webp?w=1024)
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Chris Songβs Note: βThe Charred Cityβ conveys the manic restlessness Hongkongers felt after 1997. The story is set in the stifling social atmosphere of post-Handover Hong Kong, which was βcharredβ, ironically by pervasive celebratory fireworks. The protagonist, at the behest…
![[TRANSLATION] βThe Charred Cityβ by Lok Fung, Translated by Chris Song](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/lok-fung-cha-an-asian-literary-journal.jpg?w=1024)
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Editor’s note: Matt Turner recently readΒ AnthonyΒ Tao’s new poetry collection, We Met in Beijing, and went to a reading of his in New York. He wrote a short “consideration” about it all and we are pleased to present it, below. Anthony…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “Anthony Tao at Sunset Bar” by Matt Turner](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/anthony-tao_cha-an-asian-literary-journal-1.png?w=1024)
Cha 