Category: Cha Review of Books and Films
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “No Better Place to Start: FuchsiaΒ Dunlop’s Invitation to a Banquet” by Kyle Muntz Fuchsia Dunlop, Invitation to a Banquet: The Story of Chinese Food, Particular Books, 2023, 480 pgs. China…
![[REVIEW] “No Better Place to Start: FuchsiaΒ Dunlop’s πΌππ£ππ‘ππ‘πππ π‘π π π΅ππππ’ππ‘” by Kyle Muntz](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/invitation-to-a-banquet-chinese-food.jpg?w=961)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Kung Fu Is a Store of Infinite Fun: Reading Jin Yong in Translation, Part I” by Jeff Tompkins Read βReading Jin Yong in Translation, Part IIβ HERE. Jin Yong, aka…
![[ESSAY] “Kung Fu Is a Store of Infinite Fun: Reading Jin Yong in Translation, Part I” by Jeff Tompkins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/legends-of-the-condor-heroes--2.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Leta Hong Fincher, Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China (10th Anniversary Edition), Bloomsbury, 2023. 280 pgs. In Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China Leta Hong…
![[REVIEW] “A Great Cry for Help: Leta Hong Fincher’s πΏπππ‘ππ£ππ πππππ” by Marika Trimigno](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/leta-hong-fincher-leftover-women-the-resurgence-of-gender-inequality-in-china-1.jpg?w=568)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “The Losers of Chinaβs Sexual Revolution: Tsering Yangkyiβs The Flowers of Lhasa” by Kevin McGeary Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on The Flowers of Lhasa. Tsering Yangkyi (author), Christopher Peacock (translator), The…
![[REVIEW] “The Losers of Chinaβs Sexual Revolution: Tsering Yangkyiβs πβπ πΉπππ€πππ ππ πΏβππ π” by Kevin McGeary](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/flowers-of-lhasa_tsering-yangkyi.jpg?w=1024)
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ People from My Neighbourhood. Hiromi Kawakami (author), Ted Goossen (translator), People from My Neighbourhood, Granta Books, 2021. 96 pgs. βWhy did you come here?β I…
![[REVIEW] “How Bizarre To Be Human Amongst Other Humans: Hiromi Kawakami’s ππππππ ππππ ππ¦ ππππβπππ’πβπππ” by Kailee Haong](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 [REVIEW] βWhen Cosmopolitanism Traverses Across the Screen Beyond SubtitlesβFelicia Chan’s Cosmopolitan Cinema: Cross-Cultural Encounters in East Asian Film” by Kathy Nguyen Felicia Chan, Cosmopolitan Cinema: Cross-Cultural Encounters in East Asian Film,…
![[REVIEW] βWhen Cosmopolitanism Traverses Across the Screen Beyond SubtitlesβFelicia Chan’s πΆππ πππππππ‘ππ πΆπππππ: πΆπππ π -πΆπ’ππ‘π’πππ πΈππππ’ππ‘πππ ππ πΈππ π‘ π΄π πππ πΉπππβ by Kathy Nguyen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/east-asian-cinema.jpg?w=980)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “On Behalf of Those Who Weren’t Able to Survive: Kyung-Sook Shin’s Violets” by Beth Adams ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ Violets. Kyung-Sook Shin (author), Anton Hur (translator), Violets, The Feminist Press,…
![[REVIEW] “On Behalf of Those Who Weren’t Able to Survive: Kyung-Sook Shin’s ππππππ‘π ” by Beth Adams](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/violets_anton-hur.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Bae Myung-hoon (author), Stella Kim (translator), Launch Something!, Honford Star, 2023. 368 pgs. Telling us he was inspired by the βridiculous heatwave in the summer of 2018β, Bae Myung-hoon…
![[REVIEW] “A Novel of Space-time: Bae Myung-hoon’s πΏππ’ππβ πππππ‘βπππ!” by Lucy Hamilton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/launch-something.jpg?w=977)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ocean Vuong, Time Is a Mother, Penguin Random House, 2022. 112 pgs. Building a foundation on the aftershocks of his motherβs death, this collection of Ocean Vuong further explores,…
![[REVIEW] βIβve Plagiarised My Life to Give You the Best of Me: Ocean Vuongβs ππππ πΌπ π πππ‘βππ” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/time-is-a-mother-1.jpg?w=932)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Liang Wern Fook (author), Christina Ng (translator), The Joy of a Left Hand, Balestier Press, 2023. 144 pgs. When my youngest child was about two years old, I noticed…
![[REVIEW] βHumans in All States of Emotion: Liang Wern Fookβs πβπ π½ππ¦ ππ π πΏπππ‘ π»πππβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/the-joy-of-a-left-hand.jpg?w=880)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ricky Lee (author), Noelle Q. De Jesus (translator), For B (or How Love Devastates Four out of Every Five of Us), Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2023. 230 pgs.…
![[REVIEW] “Processing Love in Ricky Lee’s Novel πΉππ π΅” by Frances An](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/for-b-or-how-love-devastates-four-out-of-every-five-of-us.png?w=987)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Tania De Rozario, Dinner on Monster Island: Essays, HarperCollins, 2024. 192 pgs. Tania De Rozarioβs Dinner on Monster Island is a lyrical and multi-faceted speech act. The fourteen essays…
![[REVIEW] βDespite Loss, Magic Persists: Tania De Rozario’s π·πππππ ππ ππππ π‘ππ πΌπ ππππ” by Lydia Kwa](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/dinner-on-monster-island.jpg?w=995)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILM Eddie Tay, Hong Kong as Creative Practice, Palgrave, 2022. 110 pgs. The Palgrave Macmillan series that Eddie Tayβs Hong Kong as Creative Practice is part of is a platform…
![[REVIEW] βOne Senses a Quiet Revolution: Eddie Tayβs π»πππ πΎπππ ππ πΆππππ‘ππ£π πππππ‘πππβ by Marsha McDonald](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/hong-kong-as-creative-practice.webp?w=827)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Meena Kandasamy, When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife, Atlantic Books, 2018. 272 pgs. Meena Kandasamyβs When I Hit You, Or Portrait…
![[REVIEW] βPersonal Yet Communal Narrative of Meena Kandasamyβs πβππ πΌ π»ππ‘ πππ’: ππ, π΄ ππππ‘ππππ‘ ππ π‘βπ ππππ‘ππ ππ π πππ’ππ ππππβ by Bervinder Kaur](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/when-i-hit-you.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS ChloΓ« F. Starr, Red-light Novels of the late Qing, Brill Publishing, 2007. 293 pgs. This book should be recognised as a significant academic achievement. It is the result of…
![[REVIEW] βA Niche Book on a Niche Subject: ChloΓ« F. Starrβs π
ππ-πππβπ‘ πππ£πππ ππ π‘βπ πππ‘π ππππβ by Paul Bevan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/red-light.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Hayao Miyazaki (director), The Boy and the Heron, 2023. 125 min. This review contains spoilers. For me, whatβs perhaps most interesting about The Boy and the Heron is that…
![[REVIEW] “Defying Explanation: Hayao Miyazaki’s πβπ π΅ππ¦ πππ π‘βπ π»ππππ” by e rathke](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2f7d7a1e-94d3-48eb-be56-12bcb518f235.sized-1000x1000-1.jpeg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Tanizaki JunβichirΕ (author), Anthony H. Chambers & Paul McCarthy (translators), Longing and Other Stories, Columbia University Press, 2022. 145 pgs. Tanizaki JunβichirΕβs Longing and Other Stories, translated by Anthony…
![[REVIEW] βClash of Ideas: Tanizaki JunβichirΕ’s πΏππππππ πππ ππ‘βππ ππ‘πππππ ” BY JAMES KIN-PONG AU](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/longing-and-other-stories_cha.png?w=1024)
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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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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Feelings Can Creep Up Just Like That: Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love” by Jeff Tompkins Tony Rayns, In the Mood for Love, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015. 96 pgs. βI…
![[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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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “On the Lighter Side: Nektaria Anastasiadou’s A Recipe for Daphne” by Beth Adams Nektaria Anastasiadou, A Recipe for Daphne, Hoopoe Fiction, 2021. 326 pgs. βA monstrous confusion of civilization and…
![[ESSAY] “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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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βThe Extraordinary Story of Bernardine Szold FritzβA Review of Susan Blumberg-Kason’s Bernardine’s Shanghai Salon: The Story of the Doyenne of Old China” by X. H. Collins Susan Blumberg-Kason, Bernardineβs Shanghai…
![[REVIEW] βThe Extraordinary Story of Bernardine Szold FritzβA Review of Susan Blumberg-Kason’s π΅πππππππππβπ πβπππβππ πππππ: πβπ ππ‘πππ¦ ππ π‘βπ 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)
Cha 