Category: Cha Review of Books and Films
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Shibani Mahtani and Timothy McLaughlin, Among the Braves: Hope, Struggle, and Exile in the Battle for hong Kong and the Future of Global Democracy, Hachette Books, 2023. 336 pgs.…
![[REVIEW] “The Story Isn’t Over Yet: Shibani Mahtani and Timothy McLaughlin’s π΄ππππ π‘βπ π΅πππ£ππ ” by James M Zimmerman](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/shibani-mahtani-and-timothy-mclaughlin.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Tragedies of Inequality: Bong Joon-hoβs Parasite and Jordan Peeleβs Us” by Jonathan Chan Bong Joon-Ho (director), Parasite, 2019. 132 min.Jordan Peele (director), Us, 2019, 116 min. The sociologist Teo You Yenn…
![[ESSAY] “Tragedies of Inequality: Bong Joon-hoβs πππππ ππ‘π and Jordan PeeleβsΒ ππ ” by Jonathan Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/us.png?w=749)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Tony Rayns, In the Mood for Love, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015. 96 pgs. βI didnβt think youβd fall in love with me,β says Mrs Chan. βI didnβt either,β says Mr…
![[REVIEW] “Feelings Can Creep Up Just Like That: Wong Kar-wai’s πΌπ π‘βπ ππππ πππ πΏππ£π” by Jeff Tompkins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/screenshot-2023-12-28-at-13.07.29.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Shen Yang (author), Nicky Harman (translator), More Than One Child: Memoirs of an Illegal Daughter, Balestier Press, 2021. 280 pgs. βI broke the law simply by being bornββShen Yang…
![[REVIEW] “Not Just A Memoir: Shen Yangβs ππππ πβππ πππ πΆβπππ” by Lorenzo Donelli](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/more-than-one-child-1.jpg?w=969)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Nektaria Anastasiadou, A Recipe for Daphne, Hoopoe Fiction, 2021. 326 pgs. βA monstrous confusion of civilization and barbarismββso Constantinople was described in the 18th century. βAnd so it is…
![[REVIEW] “On the Lighter Side: Nektaria Anastasiadou’s π΄ π
πππππ πππ π·ππβππ” by Beth Adams](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2021-02-12-dsc_0074-copy.jpg?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Writing from the Margins: Mahasweta Devi’s Truth/Untruth” by Jack Greenberg Mahasweta Devi (author), Anjum Katyal (translator), Truth/Untruth, Seagull Books, 2023. 144 pgs. Earlier this year, Seagull Books published the late…
![[REVIEW] “Writing from the Margins: Mahasweta Devi’s πππ’π‘β/πππ‘ππ’π‘β” by Jack Greenberg](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/truthuntruth-copy.jpeg?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 Bright Fear. Mary Jean Chan, Bright Fear, Faber & Faber, 2023. 72 pgs. I first encountered Mary Jean Chanβs work in the bookstore I used to…
![[REVIEW] βVibrant Being in Mary Jean Chanβs π΅πππβπ‘ πΉπππ” by Kika W. L. Van Robay](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/bright-fear-mary-jean-chan.png?w=891)
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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 Owlish. Dorothy Tse (author), Natascha Bruce (translator), Owlish, Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2023. 224 pgs. Dorothy Tseβs Owlish, translated from the Chinese by Natascha Bruce, is a novel…
![[REVIEW] “All the Subtle References: Dorothy Tse’s ππ€πππ β” by Ilaria Maria Sala](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/dorothy-tse-cha-an-asian-literary-journal.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Bae Myung-hoon (author), Sung Ryu (translator), Tower, Honford Star, 2021. 262 pgs. In Tower, Bae Myung-Hoon unveils a kaleidoscope of vignettes anchored around the central pillar of the fictional…
![[REVIEW] “More Social-science than Fiction: Bae Myung-hoon’s πππ€ππ” by Lucy Hamilton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/flatmock-uptowerback.png?w=780)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Dung Kai-cheung (author), Bonnie S. McDougall and Anders Hansson (translators), A Catalog of Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made On, Columbia University Press, 2022. 218 pgs. First published in…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βAesthetics of Obsolescence: Dung Kai-cheungβs π΄ πΆππ‘ππππ ππ ππ’πβ ππ‘π’ππ ππ π·πππππ π΄ππ ππππ ππ” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/a-catalog-of-such-stuff-as-dreams-are-made-on_cha-banner.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Wenying Xu, Eating Identities: Reading Food in Asian American Literature, University of Hawai’i Press, 2007. 208 pgs. Food has long occupied an important space in art, whether in literature,…
![[REVIEW] “Formidable Exploration of the Symbolism of Food in LiteratureβWenying Xu’s πΈππ‘πππ πΌππππ‘ππ‘πππ : π
ππππππ πΉπππ ππ π΄π πππ π΄πππππππ πΏππ‘ππππ‘π’ππ” by Janet Hui Ching Tay](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/reading-identities-cha.jpg?w=1024)
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Mimi Okabe, Manga, Murder, and Mystery: The Boy Detectives of Japanβs Lost Generation, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023. 216 pgs. Has any national psyche (if such a thing even exists) ever…
![[REVIEW] βWalking on Thin IceβMimi Okabe’s πππππ, ππ’ππππ, πππ ππ¦π π‘πππ¦: πβπ π΅ππ¦ π·ππ‘πππ‘ππ£ππ ππ π½ππππβπ πΏππ π‘ πΊππππππ‘πππ” by Liam Beale](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/screenshot-2023-11-29-at-13.52.52.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Susan Blumberg-Kason, Bernardineβs Shanghai Salon: The Story of The Doyenne of Old China, Post Hill Press, 2023. 275 pgs. βAcknowledgements are also due toβ¦ Bernardine Szold Fritzβ¦ who, sometimes…
![[REVIEW] βThe Extraordinary Story of Bernardine Szold FritzβA Review of Susan Blumberg-Kason’s π΅πππππππππβπ πβπππβππ πππππ: πβπ ππ‘πππ¦ ππ πβπ π·ππ¦ππππ ππ πππ πΆβπππ” by X. H. Collins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/the-extraordinary-story-of-bernardine-szold-fritze28094a-review-of-susan-blumberg-kasons-bernardines-shanghai-salon-the-story-of-the-doyenne-of-old-china.jpg?w=768)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βA Bittersweet Love for a Tempestuous City: Chan Kwan Ee Tomβs Listen” by Akin Jeje Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Listen. Chan Kwan Ee Tom, Listen, Atmosphere Press, 2023. Inspired…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βA Bittersweet Love for a Tempestuous City: Chan Kwan Ee Tomβs πΏππ π‘ππ” by Akin Jeje](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/listen_chan-kwan-ee-tom.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ho-fung Hung, City on the Edge: Hong Kong under China Rule, Cambridge University Press, 2022. 316 pgs. βPessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will.β Ho-fung Hungβs latest monograph, City…
![[REVIEW] βIs Hong Kong Expired after the National Security Law?βA Review of Ho-fung Hungβs πΆππ‘π¦ ππ π‘βπ πΈπππ: π»πππ πΎπππ π’ππππ πΆβπππ π
π’ππ” by Winnie W. C. Lai](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/city-on-the-edge_cha-banner.png?w=936)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “The Absence that Haunts the CityβA Review of Making Space: A Collection of Writing and Art” by Luca Griseri ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaonΒ Making Space. Nicolette Wong (editor), Making Space: A…
![[REVIEW] “The Absence that Haunts the CityβA Review ofππππππ πππππ: π΄ πΆππππππ‘πππ ππ ππππ‘πππ πππ π΄ππ‘” by Luca Griseri](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/making-space_cha.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “To Write Properly: Hwang Bo-reum’s Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop” by Jack Greenberg Hwang Bo-reum (author), Shanna Tan (translator), Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023. 320 pgs. Welcome…
![[REVIEW] “To Write Properly: Hwang Bo-reum’s πππππππ π‘π π‘βπ π»π¦π’πππ-ππππ π΅ππππ βππ” by Jack Greenberg](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/hwang-bo-reum-author-shanna-tan-translator-welcome-to-the-hyunam-dong-bookshop.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Hangping Xu and Yunte Huang (special issue editors),Β Translatability and Transmediality: Chinese Poetry in/and the World, V20: N1 ofΒ Prism: Theory and Modern Chinese Literature. Duke University Press, March 2023. 252…
![[REVIEW] “Worlds of Translation, Translated Worlds: ππππ π Special Issue πππππ πππ‘ππππππ‘π¦ πππ πππππ ππππππππ‘𦔠by Astrid MΓΈller-Olsen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/prisme28094march-2023.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Alexa Alice Joubin, Shakespeare and East Asia, Oxford University Press, 2021. 272 pp. βWhat country, friends, is this?β Viola asks at the beginning of Shakespeareβs Twelfth Night, when her…
![[REVIEW] “Will in the World: Alexa Alice Joubin’s πβππππ πππππ πππ πΈππ π‘ π΄π ππ” by Jeff Tompkins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20210429_readred_banner-01.png?w=875)
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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 Where Else. Jennifer Wong, Jason Eng Hun Lee, and Tim Tim Cheng (editors), Where Else: An International Hong Kong Poetry Anthology, Verve Poetry Press, 2023. 219…
![[REVIEW] “Neighbourhood at Heartβπβπππ πΈππ π: π΄π πΌππ‘πππππ‘πππππ π»πππ πΎπππ ππππ‘ππ¦ π΄ππ‘βππππ𦔠by Flora Mak](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/where-else_an-international-anthology-of-hong-kong-writing.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Die With Your Pants Down: Patrick Tam’s Nomad” by Matt Turner Patrick Tam (director), Nomad (ηη«ιζ₯), 1982. 157 min. This review contains spoilers. I really didnβt see the final scene coming.…
![[ESSAY] “Die With Your Pants Down: Patrick Tam’s πππππ” by Matt Turner](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/nomad_japanese-poster.webp?w=1024)
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kevin Chen (author) and Darryl Sterk (translator),Β Ghost Town, Europa Editions, 2022. 384 pgs. Told from perspective of members of the Chen family, the plot and relationships in Kevin Chenβs…
![[REVIEW] “Omission and Superstition in Kevin Chenβs πΊβππ π‘ πππ€π” by Frances An](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/ghost-town-1.png?w=984)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kit Fan, The Ink Cloud Reader, Carcanet, 2023. 96 pgs. In his third poetry collection The Ink Cloud Reader, the UK-based Hong Kong poet Kit Fan invites readers to join…
![[REVIEW] “The Muffling Liminality of Oneβs Midlife Condition: Kit Fan’s πβπ πΌππ πΆπππ’π π
πππππ” by Flora Mak](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/the-ink-cloud-reader-1.jpg?w=959)
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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 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] “A Recipe for Confusion: Henrietta Harrison’s πβπ ππππππ ππ πΌππ‘ππππππ‘πππ” by Laurence Westwood](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-1.png?w=1023)
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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 Bloom. Xi Chuan (author), Lucas Klein (translator), Bloom & Other Poems, New Directions. 2022. 204 pgs. In a conversation with the author Xu Zhiyuan, included in…
![[REVIEW] “New Skin, Old Bones: Xi Chuan’s π΅ππππ & ππ‘βππ πππππ ” by Theophilus Kwek](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/bloom-other-poems_lucas-klein_xi-chuan-1.png?w=972)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Stephen To, Eastern Approaches to Western Film: Asian Reception and Aesthetics in Cinema, Bloomsbury, 2019. 304 pgs. What does it mean to appreciate or read a Western film from…
![[REVIEW] “A Noteworthy Project: Stephen Teoβs πΈππ π‘πππ π΄ππππππβππ π‘π πππ π‘πππ πΉπππ” by Joel Gn](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/eastern-approaches-to-western-films.png?w=1024)
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Michael Berry, Translation, Disinformation, and Wuhan Diary: Anatomy of a Transpacific Cyber Campaign, Palgrave Macmillan, 2022. 247 pgs. When Michael Berry took on the project of translating Fang Fangβs…
![[REVIEW] βAn Ode to Translation: Michael Berryβs πππππ πππ‘πππ, π·ππ ππππππππ‘πππ, πππ ππ’βππ π·πππ𦔠by Emma Zhang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/translation-disinformation-and-wuhan-diary-anatomy-of-a-transpacific-cyber-campaign-1.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Matt Alt, Pure Invention: How Japanβs Pop Culture Conquered the World, Crown Publishing, 2020. 384 pages. The subtitle of the book is enough to entice anyone browsing a bookstore…
![[REVIEW] βWeβre All Dreaming of Japan: Matt Altβs π»ππ€ π½ππππβπ πππ πΆπ’ππ‘π’ππ πΆππππ’ππππ π‘βπ πππππ” by Mario Rustan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/pure-invention.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Basil Pao (photographer), Carnival of Dreams, with an introduction by Pico Iyer, Hong Kong University Press, 2023. 208 pgs. Huge cubes float in the air, painted with different images on…
![[REVIEW] βDigital X-Acto: Basil Paoβs photography book πΆπππππ£ππ ππ π·πππππ β by Junnan Chen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/carnival-of-dreams_basil-pao-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 Lockdown Lovers. Michael OβSullivan, Lockdown Lovers, Penguin Random House SEA, 2021. 240 pgs. When Lockdown Lovers opens with βHong Kong FebruaryβMarch, 2020β, we expect a flashback…
![[REVIEW] “Michael OβSullivanβs πΏππππππ€π πΏππ£πππ : The Pandemic as Glocal” by Lucy Hamilton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/lockdown-lovers_michael-osullivan.png?w=1024)
Cha 