Category: Cha Review of Books and Films
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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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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Will in the World: Alexa Alice Joubin’s Shakespeare and East Asia” by Jeff Tompkins Alexa Alice Joubin, Shakespeare and East Asia, Oxford University Press, 2021. 272 pp. Β βWhat country, friends,…
![[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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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Neighbourhood at HeartβWhere Else: An International Hong Kong Poetry Anthology” by Flora Mak ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ Where Else. Jennifer Wong, Jason Eng Hun Lee, and Tim Tim Cheng (editors), Where…
![[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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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “A Recipe for Confusion: Henrietta Harrison’s The Perils of Interpreting” by Laurence Westwood ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ The Perils of Interpreting. Henrietta Harrison, The Perils of Interpreting: The Extraordinary Lives of…
![[ESSAY] “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)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Gaze, Grace, Grief: Gallery in a State of Undress” by Julia Merican Cecil Mariani,Β Gaze, Grace, Grief, RUBANAH – Underground Hub, 2023. When my friend Tara and I walk into the…
![[REVIEW] “πΊππ§π, πΊππππ, πΊππππ: Gallery in a State of Undress” by Julia Merican](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/grieving-path-series-2-the-yellow-kinesthesis.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 Bright Fear. Mary Jean Chan, Bright Fear, Faber & Faber, 2023. 72 pgs. Mary Jean Chan was born and raised in Hong Kong. They now…
![[REVIEW] βThe Thing Itself, Not the Myth: Mary Jean Chanβs π΅πππβπ‘ πΉπππβ by Lydia Kwa](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/bright-fear-cha-an-asian-literary-journal.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 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.…
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “An (Im)possible Document: A Review of Karen Cheung’s The Impossible City” by Luca Griseri ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ The Impossible City. Karen Cheung, The Impossible City: A Hong Kong Memoir, Penguin…
![[REVIEW] “An (Im)possible Document: A Review of Karen Cheung’s πβπ πΌππππ π ππππ πΆππ‘𦔠by Luca Griseri](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-impossible-city_karen-cheung-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 Indelible City. Louisa Lim, Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance in Hong Kong, Text Publishing Melbourne Australia, 2022. 306 pgs. βThere is no escape from the horror…
![[REVIEW] “A Song of Despair, of Burning Rage: Louisa Lim’s πΌππππππππ πΆππ‘𦔠by James Thompson](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/indelible-city-louisa-lim-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 Nightmare Japan. β Jinhee Choi and Mitsuyo Wada-Marciano (editors), Horror to the Extreme: Changing Boundaries in Asian Cinema, Hong Kong University Press, 2009. 284 pgs.β Jay…
![[REVIEW] βThe Golden Age of Asian Horror Film: An Examination of π»πππππ π‘π π‘βπ πΈπ₯π‘ππππ and πππβπ‘ππππ π½ππππβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/horror.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 How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart. Florentyna Leow, How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart, The Emma Press, 2023. 152 pgs. One of my most striking encounters with loneliness…
![[REVIEW] “Loneliness is Universal: Florentyna Leow’s π»ππ€ πΎπ¦ππ‘π π΅πππππ πππ’π π»ππππ‘” by Keziah Cho](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/how-kyoto-breaks-your-heart-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 Bloom. Xi Chuan (author), Lucas Klein (translator), Bloom & Other Poems, New Directions. 2022. 204 pgs. Back in 1973, Harold Bloom imagined a literary landscape…
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Tang Wai-ki (director), Karen Chan Ka-yan and Sing Ip (translators and actors), Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, We Draman, San Po Kong, 2023. One thing about Hong Kong is…
![[REVIEW] “πΏπππππ πΏπππππ πΏπππππ πΏπππππ πΏπππππ Translated into Hongkongersβ Language: The Pain of Being Muted and a Slight Hope of Expressing Feelingβ by Dawna Fung](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/tang-wai-ki-director-lemons-lemons-lemons-lemons-lemons-1.jpeg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Lucy Hamilton, The Widening of Tolo Highway: A Hong Kong Story of Paranoia and Protest, Penguin Random House SEA, 2022. 236 pgs. When, one-third into a novel, you still…
![[REVIEW] βHong Kong as Method: Lucy Hamiltonβs πβπ ππππππππ ππ ππππ π»ππβπ€ππ¦β by Michael Tsang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/the-widening-of-the-tolo-highway-1.jpg?w=426)
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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 Impossible City. Karen Cheung, The Impossible City: A Hong Kong Memoir, Penguin Random House, 2022. 352 pgs. Karen Cheungβs memoir, The Impossible City, opens by…
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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 The Impossible City. Karen Cheung, The Impossible City: A Hong Kong Memoir, Penguin Random House, 2022. 352 pgs. When I was younger, my friends would…
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Gary Bettinson, The Sensuous Cinema of Wong Kar-wai: Film Poetics and the Aesthetic of Disturbance, 2014. 176 pgs. In the summer of 1994, I left a cinema in Tsim…
![[REVIEW] βGetting to the Heart of Wong Kar-wai: Gary Bettinsonβs πβπ ππππ π’ππ’π πΆπππππ ππ ππππ πΎππ-π€ππβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/29477id_021_0005_29477id_215.webp?w=800)
Cha 