Category: Cha Review of Books and Films
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βLiving Life to the Fullest: Xi Xiβs Mourning a Breastβ 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…
![[REVIEW] βLiving Life to the Fullest: Xi Xiβs πππ’πππππ π π΅ππππ π‘β by Lydia Kwa](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 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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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] βThe Places We Would Rather Be: Yan Geβs Elsewhereβ by X. H. Collins Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Yan Ge. Yan Ge, Elsewhere: Stories, Scribner, 2023. 304 pgs. I became interested…
![[ESSAY] βThe Places We Would Rather Be: Yan Geβs πΈππ ππ€βπππβ by X. H. Collins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/elsewhere-yan-ge.jpg?w=994)
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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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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ 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, Serpentβs Tail, 2020. 186 pgs. After reviewing…
![[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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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βA Series of Cyanotypes: Xi Xiβs Mourning a Breastβ by Marsha McDonald Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Mourning a Breast. Xi Xi (author), Jennifer Feeley (translator), Mourning a Breast, New York Review…
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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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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entriesΒ in Cha on The Life of Tu Fu. Eliot Weinberger, The Life of Tu Fu, New Directions, 2024, 80 pp. In an authorβs…
![[REVIEW] “He Records the Dawns and the Sunsets: Eliot Weinberger’s πβπ πΏπππ ππ ππ’ πΉπ’” by Jeff Tompkins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/the-life-of-tu-fu.jpg?w=745)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βRich Complexity: Mouly Suryaβs Something Old, New, Borrowed and Blueβ by Jonathan Chan Mouly Surya (director), Something Old, New, Borrowed and Blue, 2019. 4 min. Mouly Suryaβs short filmΒ Something Old,…
![[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 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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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [EXCLUSIVE] βAlien Bless You: A Review of Netflixβs 3 Body Problemβ by Angus Stewart Derek Tsang, Andrew Stanton, Minkie Spiro, and Jeremy Podeswa (directors), 3 Body Problem, 2024. We all die.…
![[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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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka (directors), Stonewalling, 2022. 148 min. The first time she wears the t-shirt she paces before a mirror practicing a tongue twister. βForty…
![[REVIEW] βFemme Fatale: On Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsukaβs ππ‘ππππ€ππππππβ by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/huang-ji-ryuji-otsuka-return-with-third-collaboration-with-yao-honggui-stonewalling.webp?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Yiu-Wai Chu, Hong Kong Pop Culture in the 1980s: A Decade of Splendour, Asian Visual Cultures series, Amsterdam University Press, 2023. 305 pgs. While my previous two…
![[REVIEW] “Esprit of the City: Yiu-Wai Chuβs π»πππ πΎπππ πππ πΆπ’ππ‘π’ππ ππ π‘βπ 1980π ” by Mario Rustan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/hong-kong-pop-culture-in-the-1980s.jpg?w=930)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Makoto Shinkai and Naruki Nagakawa (authors), Ginny Tapley Takemori (translator), She and Her Cat, Washington Square Press, 2024. 144 pgs. As a reader, Iβd never thought that Iβd be…
![[REVIEW] βUniversally Relevant Today: Makoto ShinkaiΒ &Β Naruki Nagakawaβs πβπ πππ π»ππ πΆππ‘β by Saliha HaddadΒ](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/she-and-her-cat.jpg?w=966)
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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 A Cha Chaan Teng That Does Not Exist. Derek Chung (author), May Huang (translator), A Cha Chaan Teng That Does Not Exist, Zephyr…
![[REVIEW] βA Bilingual Local Tasting Menu: Derek Chungβs π΄ πΆβπ πΆβπππ ππππ πβππ‘ π·πππ πππ‘ πΈπ₯ππ π‘β by William Lau](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/a-cha-chaan-teng-that-does-not-exist.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS BuYun Chen, Empire of Style: Silk and Fashion in Tang China, University of Washington Press, 2019. 272 pgs. Although the name βSilk Roadβ is a fairly modern…
![[REVIEW] βTantalising with Questions: BuYun Chen’s πΈπππππ ππ ππ‘π¦ππβ by Stephen Maire](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/empire-of-style-silk-and-fashion-in-tang-china.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Dennis WΓΌrthner (translator), Tales of the Strange by a Korean Confucian Monk: KΕmo sinhwa by Kim SisΕp, University of Hawaiβi Press, 2020. 402 pgs. Also known as…
![[REVIEW] βFound in Translation: πππππ ππ π‘βπ ππ‘πππππ ππ¦ π πΎπππππ πΆππππ’ππππ ππππβ by Lydia Kwa](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/dennis-wurthner.jpg?w=940)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Leanne Dunic, Wet, Talonbooks, April 2024. 133 pgs. Interwoven throughout Wet, Leanne Dunicβs most recent book named as one of the 37 poetry collections the Canadian Broadcasting…
![[REVIEW] “A Poem Epic in Length, Powerfully Cautionary: Leanne Dunic’s πππ‘” by Marsha McDonald](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/wet_leanne-dunic-wet-talonbooks.jpg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Bingbing Shi (editor), Fu Xiuying (author, tr. Christopher MacDonald), Xu Zechen (author, tr. Eric Abrahamsen), Xu Kun (author, tr. Katherine Tse), Qiu Huadong (author, tr. Paul Harris),…
![[REVIEW] βA Quirky Composite Portrait: πβπ π΅πππ ππ π΅ππππππβ by Sabina Knight](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/bingbing-shi-editor-the-book-of-beijing.jpg?w=732)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Sosuke Natsukawa (author), Louise Heal Kawai (translator), The Cat Who Saved Books, HarperCollins, 2021. 208 pgs. The Cat Who Saved Books starts sadly when the main character, Rintaro…
![[REVIEW] “A Criticism of the Ways in Which Modern Society Treats, Sees, and Produces Books: Sosuke Natsukawa’s πβπ πΆππ‘ πβπ πππ£ππ π΅ππππ ” by Hui-Hua Lu](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/the-cat-who-saved-cats_sosuke-natsukawa.jpg?w=992)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Jessica J. Lee, Two Trees Make a Forest, Catapult, 2020, 282 pgs. The first day in the cloud forest softened me to fogβ¦ Behind me, if I held…
![[REVIEW] βOur Histories House So Much Loss But They House So Much Love Too: Jessica J. Lee’s ππ€π πππππ ππππ π πΉππππ π‘β by Tracy Hwang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/two-trees-make-a-forest.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Amy Lin, Here After, Zibby Books, 2024, 272 pgs. My dad became a widower in his late thirties. I was born a few years after that, a…
![[REVIEW] βTo Mourn and Remember: Amy Linβs π»πππ π΄ππ‘ππβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/here-after-amy-lin-copy.jpg?w=817)
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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 Chungking Express. Wong Kar-wai (director), Chungking Express (4K Restored Edition), 2021 (1994). 103 min. To mark the 30th anniversary of the original release…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “An Ode to Unrequited Love, 30 Years Later: Wong Kar-wai’s πΆβπ’ππππππ πΈπ₯ππππ π ” by Soo Ryon Yoon](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/chungking-express_3.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS On Cats: An Anthology, introduction by Margaret Atwood and photographs by Elliot Ross, Notting Hill Editions, 2021. 84 pgs. Cats are a curious and ancient animal choice…
![[REVIEW] “The People in These Stories Have Found a Soulmateβππ πΆππ‘π : π΄π π΄ππ‘βππππ𦔠by Marsha McDonald](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/oncats.webp?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 In the Mood for Love. Wong Kar-wai (director), In the Mood for Love, 2000. 98 min. Wong Kar-Waiβs In the Mood for Love…
![[REVIEW] βLost in Translation: The Perverse Pains and Pleasures of Globalisation in Wong Kar-Waiβs πΌπ π‘βπ ππππ πππ πΏππ£πβ by Lorraine Yang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/in-the-mood-for-love-wong-kar-wai-2020-4k-red-ds-os-195-_blur.webp?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 Untold. Bae Suah (author), Deborah Smith (translator), Untold Night and Day, Jonathan Cape, 2020. 155 pgs. Where do…
![[REVIEW] βAt the Edge of Impermanence: Bae Suahβs πππ‘πππ πππβπ‘ πππ π·ππ¦β by Jonah Wu](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/untold-night-and-day.jpg?w=985)
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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 Perfect Days. Wim Wenders (director), Perfect Days, 2023. 123 min. Wim Wenders is not alone among Western filmmakers in having a fascination with…
![[REVIEW] “Clean Work: Wim Wenders’s πππππππ‘ π·ππ¦π ” by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/74409c07-88f6-44de-94a4-98f879833225.jpeg?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Original and Surreal: Yun Ko-eun’s Table for One” by Jack Greenberg ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ Table for One. Yun Ko-eun (author), Lizzie Buehler (translator), Table for One: Stories, Columbia University…
![[REVIEW] “Original and Surreal: Yun Ko-eun’s πππππ πππ πππ” by Jack Greenberg](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/yun-ko-eun_table-for-one.png?w=1024)
Cha 