Category: Cha Review of Books and Films
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} β Fiona Sze-Lorrain, Rain in Plural, Princeton University Press, 2020. 120 pgs.β Yin Lichuan (author), Fiona Sze-Lorrain (translator), Karma, Tolsun Books, 2020. 222 pgs.β Ye Lijun (author), Fiona Sze-Lorrain (translator), My Mountain…
![[REVIEW] “Fiona Sze-Lorrain: Poetry and Translations” by Elizabeth Chung](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/fiona-sze-lorrain-7.png?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 Not Written Words. Xi Xi (author), Jennifer Feeley (translator), Not Written Words, Zephyr Press and MCCM Creations, 2016. 152 pgs. . βWhen I grow up,β writes…
![[REVIEW] “Quietly Radical: Xi Xi’s πππ‘ ππππ‘π‘ππ πππππ ” by Kyle Muntz](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/not-a-written-words_xi-xi.png?w=758)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Yeng Pway Ngon (author), Natascha Bruce (translator), Lonely Face, Balestier Press, 2019. 152 pgs. Yeng Pway Ngonβs novella Lonely Face, translated into English by Natascha Bruce, relates an unnamed middle-aged manβs reflections on his…
![[REVIEW] βExistential Capsules and Cusps in Yeng Pway Ngonβs πΏπππππ¦ πΉπππβ by Frances An](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/lonely_face-1-1.jpeg?w=902)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Liang Luo, The Global White Snake, University of Michigan Press, 2021. 373 pgs. βNo culture can be fully understood in isolation,β writes Liang Luo in the introduction to her book The Global…
![[REVIEW] “Culture Is That Which Appropriates: A Review of Liang Luo’s πβπ πΊπππππ πβππ‘π πππππ” by Noah Arthur Weber](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/the-global-white-snake-1.jpeg?w=667)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Liu Xinwu (author), Jeremy Tiang (translator), The Wedding Party, Amazon Crossing, 2021. 400 pgs. Time is a recurring theme in Liu Xinwuβs novel, The Wedding Party, recently translated from the Chinese into English…
![[REVIEW] “A Rich Tapestry for Tomorrowβs Beijingers: A Review of πβπ πππππππ ππππ‘𦔠by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/theweddingparty-1.jpeg?w=700)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Mang Ke (author), Lucas Klein, Huang Yibing and Jonathan Stalling (translators), October Dedications: Selected Poetry of Mang Ke, Zephyr Press, 2018. 152 pgs. This summer, all five floors of the National Art…
![[REVIEW] “Shockingly Direct and Heterodox: Mang Ke’s πππ‘ππππ π·ππππππ‘ππππ ” by David Harrison Horton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/october-dedications_mang-ke.png?w=994)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Takashina ShΕ«ji (author), Matt Treyvaud (translator), Japanese Art in Perspective: East-West Encounters, Japan Library, 2021. 191 pgs. An amateur of Japanese art might have heard about ukiyo-e (or floating painting), as well…
![[REVIEW] “(Re)formation of Ideas: π½ππππππ π π΄ππ‘ ππ ππππ ππππ‘ππ£π” by James Au Kin-Pong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/japanese-art-in-perspective-east-west-encounters.jpeg?w=1024)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Artist and author Fiona Hawthorne grew up in Hong Kong and much of her work is informed by her childhood, including two new books out this year: Drawing on the Inside: Kowloon…
![[REVIEW] “Fiona Hawthorne and Kowloon Walled City” by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/fiona-hawthorne.png?w=1024)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Tahi Saihate (author) and Kalau Almony (translator), Astral Season, Beastly Season, Honford Star, 2021. 144 pgs. Tahi Saihate’s Astral Season, Beastly Season, translated from the Japanese by Kalau Almony, is an odd, beautiful,…
![[REVIEW] βRoughness of Thought: A Review of Tahi Saihate’s π΄π π‘πππ ππππ ππ, π΅πππ π‘ππ¦ ππππ ππβ by Maks Sipowicz](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/astral-season-beastly-season-tahi-saihate-translated-by-kalau-almony.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Peng Hsiao-yen (editor), The Assassin: Hou Hsiao-hsienβs World of Tang China, Hong Kong University Press, 2019. 252 ppgs. Published in 2019 by the Hong Kong University Press, The Assassin: Hou…
![[REVIEW] “A Historically Cosmopolitan, Mixed Culture: π»ππ’ π»π πππ-π»π πππβπ πππππ ππ ππππ πΆβπππβ by Jeff Tompkins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the-assassin.jpeg?w=1024)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ on Liu Yichang.ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ on John Minford. John Minford (general editor), Hong Kong Literature Series, The Chinese University Press, 2020. If the library was on fire…
![[REVIEW] “We Shall Have to Learn How to Live with Ghosts: A Review of John Minford’s π»πππ πΎπππ πΏππ‘ππππ‘π’ππ ππππππ ” by Douglas Kerr](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hong-kong-literature-series-1.png?w=1024)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Nicholas Wong, Besiege Me, Noemi Press, 2021. 88 pgs. Besiege Me (Noemi Press, 2021) is a new poetry collection by the award-winning Anglophone Hong Kong poet Nicholas Wong. The title is apt…
![[REVIEW] βThe Desire to Be Free and the Desire to Be Good: Nicholas Wongβs π΅ππ ππππ ππβ by Liam Blackford](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/besiege-me_nicholas-wong-1.jpeg?w=1024)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Duo Duo (author), Lucas Klein (translator), Words as Grain: New and Selected Poems. Yale University Press, 2021. 246 pgs. What follows can only be read as an impressionistic fleeting encounter between a…
![[REVIEW] “Myriad Powers of Words: Duo Duo’s πππππ ππ πΊππππ” by Liang Luo](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/words-as-grain_lucas-klein_duo-duo.png?w=1024)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} β Ho Chee Lick and Anne Lee Tzu Pheng, Common Life: Drawings and Poems, Ethos Books, 2018. 191 pgs.β Elaine Woo, Put Your Hand in Mine, Signature Editions, 2019. 91 pgs. Each time I…
![[REVIEW] “In Search of the Extraordinary in the Ordinary: A Review of Ho Chee Lick and Anne Lee Tzu Pheng’s πΆπππππ πΏπππ and Elaine Woo’s ππ’π‘ πππ’π π»πππ ππ ππππ” by Stephanie Studzinski](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/common-life_put-your-hand-in-mine-1.png?w=1024)
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Simon Wickhamsmith (translator),Β Suncranes and Other Stories: Modern Mongolian Short Fiction, Columbia University Press, 2021. 296 pgs. As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to disrupt international travel, entry into Mongolia remains…
![[REVIEW] “A Glimpse into Mongolia: ππ’πππππππ πππ ππ‘βππ ππ‘πππππ ” by Sarah KΓΆksal](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/suncranes-and-other-stories_cha-review.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Xuan Juliana Wang, Home Remedies, Penguin Random House, 2019. 240 pgs. Watching Olympic diving is agonisingly tense, even as I sit at my laptop in London to watch, 9,500km…
![[REVIEW] “Building Their Own Universes: A Review of Xuan Juliana Wang’s π»πππ π
πππππππ ” by Suyin Haynes](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/home-remedies_xuan-juliana-wang-copy.jpg?w=1024)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Grace Chia, The Arches of Gerrard Street, Penguin Random House SEA, 2021. 268 pgs. Itβs clear from the prologue alone that Grace Chia has prepared a complex and diverse diasporic world for…
![[REVIEW] “The Heterogeneity of the Vast Chinese Community: Grace Chia’s πβπ π΄ππβππ ππ πΊππππππ ππ‘ππππ‘” by Queenie Au](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/the-arches-of-gerrard-street.png?w=1024)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Jia Zhangke (director), Ash Is Purest White (Chinese name: ζ±ζΉε ε₯³ Jianhu ErnΓΌ), 2018. 136 min. Note: This review contains spoilers. One of the most influential Chinese independent film directors today, Jia Zhangke turns to the…
![[REVIEW] “Not Her Story: Jia Zhangkeβs π΄π β πΌπ ππ’πππ π‘ πβππ‘π” by Michael Tsang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/ash-is-purest-white.jpeg?w=1024)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Tsering DΓΆndrup (author), Christopher Peacock (translator), The Handsome Monk and Other Stories, Columbia University Press, 2019. 216 pgs. Tsering DΓΆndrupβs The Handsome Monk and Other Stories shows that literatures from less visible…
![[REVIEW] “Noir Fables of Tibet: Tsering DΓΆndrupβs πβπ π»ππππ πππ ππππ πππ ππ‘βππ ππ‘πππππ ” by Michael Tsang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/the-handsome-monk-and-other-stories_asian-cha.png?w=1024)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books andΒ Films.} Kang Kyeong-ae (author), Anton Hur (translator), The Underground Village, Honford Star, 2018. 288 pgs. The Underground Village is a collection of short stories by one of colonial Koreaβs pioneer female authors, Kang Kyeong-ae, translated…
![[REVIEW] βLamentable Conditions and the Decrepit Body: A Review of Kang Kyeong-aeβs πβπ πππππππππ’ππ πππππππβ by Suhasini Patni](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/the-underground-village-kang-kyeong-ae-1.png?w=718)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} The Bauhinia Project, Hong Kong Without Us: A Peopleβs Poetry, University of Georgia Press, 2021. 120 pgs. Unusual times call for unusual ways of self-expression. At a time when civil freedoms in Hong…
![[REVIEW] “Poetry Blossoms Everywhere: A Review of π»πππ πΎπππ πππ‘βππ’π‘ ππ ” by Michael Tsang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/hong-kong-without-us.png?w=1024)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Sakinu Ahronglong (author), Darryl Sterk (translator), Hunter School, Honford Star, 2020. 184 pgs. Sakinu Ahronglongβs Hunter School, in a brilliant English translation by Darryl Sterk, is an engaging exploration of indigenous selfhood.…
![[REVIEW] “An Unapologetic, Proud Celebration of Paiwan Identity: Sakinu Ahronglong’s π»π’ππ‘ππ ππβπππ” by Serena De Marchi](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/hunter-school_sakinu-ahronglong-1.png?w=1024)
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{Written by Tim Murphy, this review is part of Issue 46 of Cha.} {Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βCanonical Stories, Replacement Texts: A Review of The Japanese Discovery of Chinese…
![[REVIEW] βCanonical Stories, Replacement Texts: A Review of πβπ π½ππππππ π π·ππ πππ£πππ¦ ππ πΆβππππ π πΉπππ‘πππβ by Tim Murphy](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/william-c.-hedberg-the-japanese-discovery-of-chinese-fiction.jpeg?w=870)
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{Written by Ari Santiago, this review is part of Issue 46 of Cha.} {Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Tahi Saihate (author) and Kalau Almony (translator), Astral Season, Beastly Season, Honford Star, 2021. 144 pgs. Contemporary young adult fiction has a…
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} YΕ« Miri (author), Morgan Giles (translator), Tokyo Ueno Station, Tilted Axis Press, 2021. 197 pgs. Though hosting the Olympic Games has often been seen as an attempt by governments to boost the…
![[REVIEW] “The Plight of the Homeless in Japan: A Review of YΕ« Miri’s ππππ¦π ππππ ππ‘ππ‘πππ” by James Au Kin-Pong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/tokyouenostation-2.jpg?w=762)
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Click HERE to read Michael O’Sullivan’s reflection on writing Lockdown Lovers, written exclusively for Cha, and an excerpt from the novel. πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ Lockdown Lovers. Michael O’Sullivan, Lockdown…
![[REVIEW] βBefore We Know How It Will End: A Review of Michael OβSullivanβs πΏππππππ€π πΏππ£πππ β by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/lockdown-lovers_michael-osullivan.png?w=1024)
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{Written by Frances An, this review is part of Issue 46 of Cha.} {Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Yeng Pway Ngon (author), Jeremy Tiang (translator), Costume, Balestier Press, 2020. 269 pgs. βLike so many of his characters, he [Yeng Pway Ngon] was…
![[REVIEW] βCantonese Opera as Collective Imagination: A Review of Yeng Pway Ngonβs πΆππ π‘π’ππβ by Frances An](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/yeng-pway-ngon_costume_jeremy-tiang.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Layered Spaces: A Review of Chi Ta-wei’sΒ The Membranes” by Serena De Marchi Chi Ta-wei (author), Ari Larissa Heinrich (translator),Β The Membranes, Columbia University Press, 2021. 168 pgs. Chi Ta-weiβs classic of…
![[REVIEW] “Layered Spaces: A Review of Chi Ta-wei’sΒ πβπ πππππππππ ” by Serena De Marchi](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/layered-spaces-a-review-of-chi-ta-weis-the-membranes-1.png?w=1024)
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{Written by Wong Yang, this review is part of Issue 46 of Cha.} {Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Daryl Lim Wei Jie, A Book of Changes, Math Paper Press, 2016. 65 pgs. Few collections coming out of Singapore literatureβs βnew waveβ of…
![[REVIEW] “No Absolutes: A Review of Daryl Lim Wei Jie’s π΄ π΅πππ ππ πΆβπππππ ” by Wong Yang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/bookofchanges_front_078e160a-9c71-4861-a841-247fdebb0332.jpg?w=1024)
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{Written by Susan Blumberg-Kason, this review is part of Issue 46 of Cha.} {Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Stephen Griffiths, The Kowloon English Club, Blacksmith Books, 2021. 292 pgs. Hong Kong in 1996 was a special time. The Handover was a…
![[REVIEW] “The Centre of the Universe: A Review of Stephen Griffiths’s The Kowloon English Club” by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/kowloon-english-club-800px.jpeg?w=672)
Cha 