Category: 2025 Entries
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βThe Personal βIβ and Conflicted Identities: Paritosh Senβs A Tree in My Villageβ by Dustin Pickering Paritosh Sen, A Tree in My Village, CLASSIX, 2025. 79 pgs. Many contemporary texts…
![[REVIEW] βThe Personal βIβ and Conflicted Identities: Paritosh Senβs π΄ ππππ ππ ππ¦ πππππππβ by Dustin Pickering](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/paritosh-sen.jpg?w=765)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS Editor’s note: In Chris Songβs essay, James Sheaβs Last Day of My Face (University of Iowa Press, 2025) is read in relation to Hong Kong as both a lived city and…
![[ESSAY] “πΏππ π‘ π·ππ¦ ππ ππ¦ πΉπππ, Past Light of a City: Reading James Shea and Hong Kong” by Chris Song](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/https-uipress.uiowa_.edubookslast-day-my-face.jpg?w=970)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “James Sheaβs Last Day of My Face and the Practice of Not Knowing” by Jennifer Eagleton ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ Last Day of My Face. James Shea, The Last Day of…
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] βThe Female Researcher and Patriarchal Figures in Hon Lai Chuβs Mending Bodiesβ by Grace En-Yi Ting Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Mending Bodies. Hon Lai Chu (author), Jacqueline Leung (translator), Mending…
![[ESSAY] βThe Female Researcher and Patriarchal Figures in Hon Lai Chuβs πππππππ π΅πππππ β by Grace En-Yi Ting](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/hon-lai-chu-author-jacqueline-leung-translator-mending-bodies-two-lines-press-2025.-240-pgs.jpg?w=938)
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[ESSAY] βA Woman Named Summer: Rethinking Xu Hongfeiβs Early Sculpture at the Guangzhou Museum of Artβ by Daniel Gauss Xu Hongfei’s Summer, photos by Daniel Gauss Among the many works displayed in the Guangzhou Museum of Art, one marble sculpture…
![[ESSAY] βA Woman Named Summer: Rethinking Xu Hongfeiβs Early Sculpture at the Guangzhou Museum of Artβ by Daniel Gauss](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/img_20251125_110600.jpg?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] βThe Burden of Representation: Pillion and the BDSM Representation on Screenβ by Hongwei Bao Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Pillion & Box Hill. Editor’s note: Hongwei Bao revisits the conversations prompted…
![[ESSAY] βThe Burden of Representation: πππππππ and the BDSM Representation on Screenβ by Hongwei Bao](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/pillion-film-review-2025-cha-an-asian-literary-journal-hongwei-bao.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βMariko Nagaiβs Imaginary Death: The Genre-Bending Architecture of Wartime Testimonyβ by James AuΒ Kin-Pong Mariko Nagai, Imaginary Death, Punctum Books, 2025. 297 pgs. It is difficult to determine the genre to…
![[REVIEW] βMariko Nagaiβs πΌππππππππ¦ π·πππ‘β: The Genre-Bending Architecture of Wartime Testimonyβ by James Au Kin-Pong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/imaginary-death-mariko-nagai.png?w=600)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βWhen News Breaks: Carol Linβs Memoir of Love and Warβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason Carol Lin, When News Breaks, Third Rail Press, 2025. 284 pgs. Carol Lin came of age in…
![[REVIEW] βπβππ πππ€π π΅πππππ : Carol Linβs Memoir of Love and Warβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/when.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βSTEP OUT Studiosβ The Next Movement Blasts Out Futuristic Sounds From the Dancersβ Feetβ by by DawnaΒ Fung Wong Chun-ho (director), Zoe Chan & Cal Tang (artistic directors & choreographers), hirsk…
![[REVIEW] βSTEP OUT Studiosβ πβπ πππ₯π‘ πππ£πππππ‘ Blasts Out Futuristic Sounds From the Dancersβ Feetβ by by Dawna Fung](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/the-next-movement2.jpg?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Kokuho: Lee Sang-ilβs Mesmerizing Portrait of Kabuki Mastery” by Jennifer Eagleton Lee Sang-il (director), Kokuho, 2025. 174 min. What makes Lee Sang-ilβs Kokuho special are the tight closeups of onnagata…
![[REVIEW] “πΎπππ’βπ: Lee Sang-ilβs Mesmerizing Portrait of Kabuki Mastery” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/httpsgkids.comfilmskokuho.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βThe Endearing Sisterhood in Yoko Ogawaβs Mina’s Matchboxβ by Fathima M Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Mina’s Matchbox. YΕko Ogawa (author), Stephen B. Snyder (translator), Minaβs Matchbox, Pantheon Books, 2024. 288…
![[REVIEW] βThe Endearing Sisterhood in Yoko Ogawaβs ππππβπ πππ‘πβπππ₯β by Fathima M](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/819ycgclrml._sl1500_.jpg?w=940)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βWhere Do We Belong? On Language, Migration, & Teresa Wongβs All Our Ordinary Stories” by Rebekah Chan Teresa Wong, All Our Ordinary Stories, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2024. 240 pgs.…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βWhere Do We Belong? On Language, Migration, and Teresa Wongβs π΄ππ ππ’π ππππππππ¦ ππ‘πππππ β by Rebekah Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/arsenal-pulp-press-our-ordinary-stories.jpg?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βEtienne PΓ©rierβs Bridge to the Sun and Extremism Abroadβ by Jeremiah Dutch Etenne PΓ©rier (director), Bridge to the Sun, 1961. 113 min. Living abroad and watching oneβs homeland descend…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βEtienne PΓ©rierβs π΅πππππ π‘π π‘βπ ππ’π and Extremism Abroadβ by Jeremiah Dutch](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/bridge-to-the-sun-cha.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βLight, Heat, Power: Rescuing the Modern in Leo Ou-fan Leeβs Shanghai Modern: The Flowering of a New Urban Culture in China, 1930-1945” by Victoria Green Leo Lee Ou-fan, Shanghai Modern:…
![[REVIEW] βLight, Heat, Power: Rescuing the Modern in Leo Ou-fan Leeβs πβπππβππ ππππππ: πβπ πΉπππ€πππππ ππ π πππ€ πππππ πΆπ’ππ‘π’ππ ππ πΆβπππ, 1930-1945″ by Victoria Green](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/leo-lee-ou-fan-shanghai-modern-the-flowering-of-a-new-urban-culture-in-china-1.jpg?w=1019)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS Editor’s note: In βE.T. 3 is Lying in a Coffin Outside Wuhan”, Angus Stewart explores Xiaosha Zhangβs 2018 mockumentary My Son Went to an Alien Planet (E.T. Made in China), situating…
![[ESSAY] “E.T. 3 is Lying in a Coffin Outside Wuhan” by Angus Stewart](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/https-mubi.comenbefilmse-t-made-in-china.webp?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βImpossible (Between) Girls: Lilly Huβs One Girl Infiniteβ by Hongwei Bao Lilly Hu (director), One Girl Infinite δΈε―θ½ε₯³ε©, 2025. 102 min. The Chinese title of Lilly Huβs (also known in…
![[REVIEW] βImpossible (Between) Girls: Lilly Huβs πππ πΊπππ πΌππππππ‘πβ by Hongwei Bao](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/one-girl-infinite-e4b88de58fafe883bde5a5b3e5ada9-2025.jpeg?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βWhoβs Afraid of Not Conjoined Bodies?: Hon Lai Chuβs Mending Bodiesβ by Tin Yuet Tam Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Mending Bodies. Hon Lai Chu (author), Jacqueline Leung (translator), Mending Bodies,…
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[ESSAY] “Wong Bar Wine: A Cinematic Oasis in Hanoi” by Zalman S.Β Davis On a calm Monday evening, I found myself at 14B Hai BΓ TrΖ°ng in Hanoi, drawn to a cosy corner on TrΓ ng Tiα»n that radiated a warm, amber…
![[ESSAY] “Wong Bar Wine: A Cinematic Oasis in Hanoi” by Zalman S. Davis](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/img_20241222_010158-e1761994105173.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Hisham Matar,Β The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land In Between,Β Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2016, 256 pgs.Β You walk into a memoir anticipating something deeply personal. You expect to encounter…
![[REVIEW] βA Memory of Absence: Hisham Matarβs πβπ π
ππ‘π’ππβ by Varsha Nair](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/hisham-matar-the-return-fathers-sons-and-the-land-in-between-2.jpg?w=660)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “From Silence to Sound: Kaori Laiβs Microhistorical Poetics of the White Terror” by Serena De Marchi Kaori Lai (author), Sylvia Li-chun Lin and Howard Goldblatt (translators), Portraits in White, Columbia…
![[REVIEW] “From Silence to Sound: Kaori Laiβs Microhistorical Poetics of the White Terror” by Serena De Marchi](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/portraits-in-white-by-kaori-lai.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Quan Manh Ha and Quynh H. Vo (translators), Longings: Contemporary Fiction by Vietnamese Women Writers, Texas Tech University Press, 2024. 260 pgs. Vietnamese literature in English translation is…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βFinding Meaning in the Very Act of QuestioningβπΏπππππππ : πΆπππ‘ππππππππ¦ πΉπππ‘πππ ππ¦ ππππ‘πππππ π πππππ ππππ‘πππ β by Rebecca Maine](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/longings-contemporary-fiction-by-vietnamese-women-writers.jpg?w=907)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Jerrold Tarog (director), Quezon, 2025. 135 min. βAny man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are…
![[REVIEW] βTarogβs ππ’ππ§ππ: A Definition of Machiavellian Politicsβ by Gene Michael M. Atanacio](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/jerrold-tarog-director-quezon-2.png?w=1024)
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Editor’s note: We are honoured to present the personal reflection βCurriculum Vitae in Silenceβ and the poem of the same title by Liu Hongbin, a Chinese British poet of Tiananmen exile. He was shaped by a childhood torn between pastoral…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “Curriculum Vitae in Silence” by Liu Hongbin](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/marble-feature.webp?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βChris Martinezβs Kontrabida Academy and the Anatomy of a Filipino Teleseryeβ by Bryan Elijah Trajano Chris Martinez (director), Kontrabida Academy, 2025. 107 min. Teleserye (drama), whether on television or in…
![[REVIEW] βChris Martinezβs πΎπππ‘ππππππ π΄ππππππ¦ and the Anatomy of a Filipino Teleseryeβ by Bryan Elijah Trajano](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/chris-martinez-director-kontrabida-academy-2025.-107-min.jpg?w=1000)
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Chris Song’s Note: Liu Yichangβs εδ»₯ι¬― (1918β2018) short story βRiotβ εδΊ, set against the backdrop of the 1967 Hong Kong Riots, is a hauntingly experimental meditation on violence, urban alienation, and the blurred boundary between the living and the inanimate.…
![[TRANSLATION] “Riot” by Liu Yichang, Translated by Chris Song](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/liu-yichang-and-chris-song-1.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 Pillion & Box Hill. Editor’s note: We are delighted to present Hongwei Baoβs essayistic film review, which blends cultural history, theory, and critique through the…
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS James Albon (author and illustrator), Love Languages, Top Shelf Productions, 2025. 176 pgs. The book begins with six pages of vibrant illustrations depicting people of diverse cultural backgrounds at…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βLife Outside the Bubble in James Albonβs πΏππ£π πΏππππ’ππππ β by Vanessa Winghei Yeung](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/lovelangs_jalbon-2.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Uno Chiyo (author), Rebecca Copeland (translator), The Story of a Single Woman, Pushkin Press, 2025. 106 pgs. Everything in Uno Chiyoβs The Story of a Single Woman, translated from…
![[REVIEW]Β βThe Trembling of Memory: Self and Society in Uno Chiyoβs πβπ ππ‘πππ¦ ππ π ππππππ πππππβ by Wani Nazir](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/uno-chiyo-author-rebecca-copeland-translator-the-story-of-a-single-woman-pushkin-press-1.jpg?w=977)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βAlternative Local and Translocal Hong Kong Histories in Larissa Laiβs The Lost Centuryβ by Yiwen Liu Larissa Lai, The Lost Century: A Novel, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2022. 374 pgs. Published…
![[REVIEW] βAlternative Local and Translocal Hong Kong Histories in Larissa Laiβs πβπ πΏππ π‘ πΆπππ‘π’ππ¦β by Yiwen Liu](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/larissa-lai-the-lost-century.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βThe Mountains Speak: The Himalayan Arc” by Abhinav Tulachan Namita Gokhale (editor), The Himalayan Arc: Journeys East of South-east, HarperCollins India, 2018. 352 pgs. Namche Bazaar has always been my…
![[REVIEW] βThe Mountains Speak: πβπ π»ππππππ¦ππ π΄ππβ by Abhinav Tulachan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/namche-bazaar-the-himalayan-arc-journeys-east-of-south-east-copy.jpg?w=695)
Cha 