Category: Cha Review of Books and Films
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “The Forbidden Desires of Women: Salma’s The Dark Hours of the Night” by Fathima M Salma (author), GJV Prasad (translator). The Dark Hours of the Night, Simon & Schuster, 2025.…
![[REVIEW] “The Forbidden Desires of Women: Salma’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝐻𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑁𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡” by Fathima M](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/the-dark-hours-of-the-night-by-salma-.-translated-by-gjv-prasad.jpg?w=991)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Into the Heart of Darkness in Rudraneil Sengupta’s The Beast Within and Nilanjana S. Roy’s Black River” by Rituparna Mukherjee 🌸 Rudraneil Sengupta. The Beast Within, Context, 2025. 352 pgs.🌸…
![[ESSAY] “Into the Heart of Darkness in Rudraneil Sengupta’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛 and Nilanjana S. Roy’s 𝐵𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑅𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟” by Rituparna Mukherjee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/rudraneil-sengupta.-the-beast-within-context-2025.-352-pgs.-nilanjana-s.-roy.-black-river-pushkin-vertigo-2024.-368-pgs.png?w=1024)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “The Weight of a Family Name: Mimi Kwa’s House of Kwa” by Hilda Wong Mimi Kwa. House of Kwa, ABC Books, 2021. 368 pgs. 「家家有本難念的經」: “Every family has a scripture…
![[REVIEW] “The Weight of a Family Name: Mimi Kwa’s 𝐻𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐾𝑤𝑎” by Hilda Wong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/house-of-kwa.webp?w=750)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “The Colonial Gaze at the Dinner Table: Yáng Shuāng-zǐ’s Taiwan Travelogue” by Jennifer Eagleton Yáng Shuāng-zǐ (author), Lin King (translator). Taiwan Travelogue, Graywolf Press, 2024. 320 pgs. Taiwan Travelogue, winner…
![[REVIEW] “The Colonial Gaze at the Dinner Table: Yáng Shuāng-zǐ’s 𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑤𝑎𝑛 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑢𝑒” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/yang-shuang-zi-author-lin-king-translator.-taiwan-travelogue-.jpg?w=1000)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “How Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies Makes Ordinary Moments Unforgettable” by Abhinav Tulachan Jhumpa Lahiri. Interpreter of Maladies, Houghton Mifflin, 1999. 198 pgs. You will find no shortage of stories…
![[REVIEW] “How Jhumpa Lahiri’s 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑠 Makes Ordinary Moments Unforgettable” by Abhinav Tulachan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/interpreter-of-maladies.-jhumpa-lahiri.-houghton-mifflin-1999-p.-page-number-1.jpg?w=1024)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Loss, Survival, and Hope: Yuyutsu Sharma’s In God’s Messy Workplace” by Arun Budhathoki Yuyutsu Sharma. In God’s Messy Workplace: New Poems, Nirala Publications, 2026. 110 pgs. The COVID-19 pandemic generated…
![[REVIEW] “Loss, Survival, and Hope: Yuyutsu Sharma’s 𝐼𝑛 𝐺𝑜𝑑’𝑠 𝑀𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑦 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒” by Arun Budhathoki](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/in-gods-messy-workplace-new-poems-by-yuyutsu-sharma-author-.jpg?w=1007)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Finding My Own Silent Friends: From the Botanical Garden to Hong Kong’s Streets” by Jennifer Eagleton Click HERE to read all entries in Chaon SILENT FRIEND. Ildikó Enyedi (director), Silent…
![[ESSAY] “Finding My Own Silent Friends: From the Botanical Garden to Hong Kong’s Streets” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/screenshot-2026-06-02-at-10.42.17.png?w=824)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “What Lingers: On Babitha Marina Justin’s The Way Madmen Smell” by Ankush Banerjee Babitha Marina Justin. The Way Madmen Smell, Red River Press, 2026. 149 pgs. Noted Trivandrum-based academic, poet,…
![[ESSAY] “What Lingers: On Babitha Marina Justin’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑊𝑎𝑦 𝑀𝑎𝑑𝑚𝑒𝑛 𝑆𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑙” by Ankush Banerjee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/the-way-madmen-smell-by-babitha-marina-justin-.jpg?w=868)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Between the Rabbit and the Not-Rabbit: Yoo Heekyung’s Surrealism in Winter Night Rabbit Worries” by San Kwon Yoo Heekyung (author), Stine An (translator). Winter Night Rabbit Worries, Ugly Duckling Press,…
![[REVIEW] “Between the Rabbit and the Not-Rabbit: Yoo Heekyung’s Surrealism in 𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑁𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑅𝑎𝑏𝑏𝑖𝑡 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠” by San Kwon](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/winter-night-rabbit-worries-1.jpg?w=600)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “The Taste of Loneliness: On Joseph Hsu’s Little Big Women” by Ray Singh Joseph Chen-Chieh Hsu (director). Little Big Women (孤味), 2020. 124 min. East Asian cinema has always possessed…
![[REVIEW] “The Taste of Loneliness: On Joseph Hsu’s 𝐿𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝐵𝑖𝑔 𝑊𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛” by Ray Singh](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/89348295_2924687147593664_9140641139848642560_o.jpg?w=1024)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “A Landmark in Environmental Science: Ma Tianjie’s In Search of Green China“ by Laurence Westwood Ma Tianjie. In Search of Green China, Polity Books, 2025. 272 pgs. Beginning in the…
![[ESSAY] “A Landmark in Environmental Science: Ma Tianjie’s 𝐼𝑛 𝑆𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝐺𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑎” by Laurence Westwood](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/in-search-of-green-china-tianjie-ma-livres.jpg?w=575)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “We Are Ugly but We Have the Words: Tammy Lai-Ming Ho’s Love Poetry” by Jonathan Han Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on If I Do Not Reply. Tammy Lai-Ming Ho, If I…
![[REVIEW] “We Are Ugly but We Have the Words: Tammy Lai-Ming Ho’s Love Poetry” by Jonathan Han](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/if-i-do-not-reply_tammy-ho.jpg?w=907)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Simmering, Steaming, Spilling: On Hongwei Bao’s Queer Playtext Hot Pot” by Ronny Chan Click HERE to read all entries in Chaon Hot Pot. Hongwei Bao. Hot Pot, Poetic Edge Publishers, 2026. 112 pgs. “To…
![[ESSAY] “Simmering, Steaming, Spilling: On Hongwei Bao’s Queer Playtext 𝐻𝑜𝑡 𝑃𝑜𝑡” by Ronny Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/hongwei-bao.-hot-pot-poetic-edge-publishers-2026.-112-pgs.png?w=1024)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Now and Now and Now and Now: Abyssal Form in Yiyun Li’s Things in Nature Merely Grow” by Ronny Chan Yiyun Li. Things in Nature Merely Grow, Farrar, Straus and…
![[REVIEW] “Now and Now and Now and Now: Abyssal Form in Yiyun Li’s 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑁𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑀𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝐺𝑟𝑜𝑤” by Ronny Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/things-in-nature-merely-grow-by-yiyun-li-farrar-straus-and-giroux-2025.jpg?w=961)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Bodies and Landscapes in Flux: Displacement, Placemaking, and Agency in Mai-Linh Hong’s Continental Drift” by Shui-yin Sharon Yam Click HERE to read all entrieson Continental Drift. Mai-Linh Hong. Continental Drift,…
![[REVIEW] “Bodies and Landscapes in Flux: Displacement, Placemaking, and Agency in Mai-Linh Hong’s 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐷𝑟𝑖𝑓𝑡” by Shui-yin Sharon Yam](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/mai-linh-hong.-continental-drift.webp?w=1024)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “One Script, Many Languages: The Journey of Chinese Writing Across Asia” by Gabriel Corsetti Zev Handel. Chinese Characters across Asia: How the Chinese Script Came to Write Japanese, Korean, and…
![[REVIEW] “One Script, Many Languages: The Journey of Chinese Writing Across Asia” by Gabriel Corsetti](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/chinese-characters-across-asia-how-the-chinese-script-came-to-write-japanese-korean-and-vietnamese-1.jpg?w=667)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Pot Noodles and Power: Junko Takase’s May You Have Delicious Meals” by Anna Nguyen Junko Takase (author), Morgan Giles (translator). May You Have Delicious Meals, Penguin Random House, 2025. 133…
![[REVIEW] “Pot Noodles and Power: Junko Takase’s 𝑀𝑎𝑦 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝐻𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝐷𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑠” by Anna Nguyen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/the-politics-of-the-packed-lunch-junko-takases-may-you-have-delicious-meals.jpg?w=977)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “The Silence Between Metaphors: Ildikó Enyedi’s Silent Friend” by Anna Nguyen Click HERE to read all entries in Chaon SILENT FRIEND. Ildikó Enyedi (director), Silent Friend, 2026. 147 min. In…
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Every Puddle a Reflection: On Dorothy Tse’s City Like Water” by Jennifer Eagleton Click HERE to read all entries in Chaon City Like Water. Dorothy Tse (author), Natascha Bruce (translator). City Like Water, Graywolf…
![[REVIEW] “Every Puddle a Reflection: On Dorothy Tse’s 𝐶𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝐿𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/city-like-water-dorothy-tse-cha-an-asian-literary-journal.jpg?w=1000)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery: On Angie Kim’s Happiness Falls” by Raymond K. Nakamura Angie Kim, Happiness Falls, Hogarth Press, 2023. 336 pgs. The novel Happiness Falls by Korean-American…
![[REVIEW] “A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery: On Angie Kim’s 𝐻𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝐹𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑠” by Raymond K. Nakamura](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/happiness-falls-by-korean-american-writer-angie-kim-.jpg?w=987)
-
FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Yi-Ling Liu’s Portrait of China’s Digital Dissidents in The Wall Dancers” by Johanna M. Costigan Yi-Ling Liu. The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet, Knopf, 2026,…
![[ESSAY] “Yi-Ling Liu’s Portrait of China’s Digital Dissidents in 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑊𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝐷𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑠” by Johanna M. Costigan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/wall-dancers.jpg?w=987)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “No Useless Poems: Tsering Woeser’s Greater Tibet” by Angus Stewart Tsering Woeser (author), edited and translated by Fiona Sze-Lorrain with Dechen Pemba. Ocean, as Much as Rain: Stories, Lyrical Prose, and…
![[REVIEW] “No Useless Poems: Tsering Woeser’s Greater Tibet” by Angus Stewart](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ocean-as-much-as-rain-stories-lyrical-prose-and-poems-from-tibet.jpg?w=1000)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Family, Failure, and Historical Memory in Sagisawa Megumu’s The Running Boy and Other Stories” by James Kin Pong Au Sagisawa Megumu (author), Tyran Grillo (translator). The Running Boy and Other…
![[REVIEW] “Family, Failure, and Historical Memory in Sagisawa Megumu’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑅𝑢𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐵𝑜𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑂𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠” by James Au Kin-Pong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/cornellpress.cornell.edubook9781501749896the-running-boy-and-other-stories.jpg?w=880)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “The Forgotten Chapter of Indian History: A Study of Abbas Panakkal’s Hindu Amir of Muslims” by Kabir Deb Abbas Panakkal, Hindu Amir of Muslims: Indigenized Islam from the Indian Ocean…
![[ESSAY] “The Forgotten Chapter of Indian History: A Study of Abbas Panakkal’s 𝐻𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑢 𝐴𝑚𝑖𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑢𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑠” by Kabir Deb](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/hindu-amir-of-muslims-indigenized-islam-from-the-indian-ocean-littoral-of-malabar-bloomsbury-academic.jpg?w=929)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Influence, Fandom, and Platform Power: On Asian Celebrity Cultures in the Digital Age” by Jennifer Junwa Lau Jian Xu, Glen Donnar, and Divya Garg (editors). Asian Celebrity Cultures in the…
![[REVIEW] “Influence, Fandom, and Platform Power: On 𝐴𝑠𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝐶𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝐶𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑔𝑒” by Jennifer Junwa Lau](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/jennifer-lau-influence-fandom-and-platform-power-asian-celebrity-cultures.png?w=1024)
-
[REVIEW] “A City in Panorama: Hong Kong Through Keith Macgregor’s Lens” by Simon Patton Keith Macgregor. An Eye on Hong Kong, Odyssey Publications, 1999. 196 pgs. It was Martin Booth who once observed that the view of Victoria Harbour regularly…
![[REVIEW] “A City in Panorama: Hong Kong Through Keith Macgregor’s Lens” by Simon Patton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/an-eye-on-hong-kong-keith-macgregor.jpeg?w=582)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Food as Violence, Food as Salvation: Ramya Chamalie Jirasinghe’s Father Cabraal’s Recipe for Love Cake” by Rituparna Mukherjee Ramya Chamalie Jirasinghe. Father Cabraal’s Recipe for Love Cake, Penguin Random House…
![[REVIEW] “Food as Violence, Food as Salvation: Ramya Chamalie Jirasinghe’s 𝐹𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝐶𝑎𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑎𝑙’𝑠 𝑅𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝐶𝑎𝑘𝑒” by Rituparna Mukherjee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/ramya-chamalie-jarasinghe.-father-cabraals-recipe-for-love-cake.jpg?w=940)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “A Librarian’s Take on Zheng Liu’s Cultural Mavericks: The Business and Politics of Independent Bookselling in China” by Raymond Pun Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Cultural Mavericks. Zheng Liu, Cultural…
![[REVIEW] “A Librarian’s Take on Zheng Liu’s 𝐶𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑀𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑠: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑃𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑎” by Raymond Pun](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/cultural-mavericks-the-business-and-politics-of-independent-bookselling-in-china.jpg?w=971)
-
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Moshin Hamid’s Moth Smoke: What Binds and What Breaks Us” by Abhinav Tulachan Moshin Hamid, Moth Smoke, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000. 256 pgs. I was, much to my own…
![[REVIEW] “Moshin Hamid’s 𝑀𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑆𝑚𝑜𝑘𝑒: What Binds and What Breaks Us” by Abhinav Tulachan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/moth-smoke-moshin-hamid.jpg?w=977)
-
[REVIEW] “Collecting the Dead, Preserving the Lives: On Vinu P and Niyas Kareem’s The Corpse Collector” by Kabir Deb Vinu P and Niyas Kareem (authors), Ministhy S. (translator). The Corpse Collector: A True Story. Juggernaut Books, 2023. 237 pgs. Death,…
![[REVIEW] “Collecting the Dead, Preserving the Lives: On Vinu P and Niyas Kareem’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐶𝑜𝑟𝑝𝑠𝑒 𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟” by Kabir Deb](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/the-corpse-collector-a-true-story-niyas-kareem-author-vinu-p-author-ministhy-s.-translator.jpg?w=686)
Cha 