Category: Cha Review of Books and Films
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] βItβs My House, and I Live Here: Weike Wangβs Rental Houseβ by Peixuan Xie Weike Wang, Rental House, Riverhead Books, 2024. 224 pgs. Reading Rental House is, for a Chinese…
![[ESSAY] βItβs My House, and I Live Here: Weike Wangβs π
πππ‘ππ π»ππ’π πβ by Peixuan Xie](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/rental-house.jpg?w=994)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Winifred Dongyi Wang, Dissection of the Moon, Accent Edition, 2025. 232 pgs. Dissection of the Moon is a hybrid workβa knotted thing. It unspools the lines drawn across gender,…
![[REVIEW] βKnotted Threads: Memory, Language, and Violence in Winifred Dongyi Wangβs π·ππ π πππ‘πππ ππ π‘βπ ππππβ by Heather Y. Kim](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/https-accentaccent.comforthcoming-dissection-of-the-moon.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ Cha on Vigil.Β Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Vigil: The Struggle for Hong Kong, Brixton Ink, 2025. 176 pgs. Jeffrey Wasserstromβs Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink was…
![[REVIEW] βHong Kong Remembered and Rewritten: Jeffrey Wasserstromβs πππππβ by Wayne Wong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/vigil.jpg?w=977)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ming-sho Ho, Challenging Beijingβs Mandate of Heaven: Taiwanβs Sunflower Movement and Hong Kongβs Umbrella Movement, Temple University Press, 2018. 270 pgs. Ming-sho Hoβs Challenging Beijingβs Mandate of Heaven compares…
![[REVIEW] βRadicals, Realists, and RevolutionsβA Tale of Two Movements: Ming-sho Hoβs πΆβπππππππππ π΅ππππππβπ ππππππ‘π ππ π»πππ£ππβ by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/this-is-just-the-begining.jpg?w=720)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ee Ling Quah, Fire Dragon Feminism: Asian Migrant Womenβs Tales of Migration, Coloniality and Racial Capitalism, Bloomsbury, 2025. 216 pgs. βAn exchange of glances, light nods and eye contacts…
![[REVIEW] βDecorative Roles and Dehumanising Gazes: Reflections on Ee Ling Quahβs πΉπππ π·πππππ πΉππππππ πβ by Loritta Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/fire-dragon-feminism-asian-migrant-womens-tales-of-migration-coloniality-and-racial-capitalism.jpg?w=978)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Alvin Pang, All That is Left of the Sea: Selected Poems, Red River Press, 2025. 148 pgs. Emotions and poetry often operate by falling into sync with one another.…
![[REVIEW] βA Bubble of the Sea Holds the Cosmos and Its Caricature: Alvin Pangβs π΄ππ πβππ‘ ππ πΏπππ‘ ππ π‘βπ πππβ by Kabir Deb](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/alvin-pang-all-that-is-left-of-the-sea-selected-poems-1.jpg?w=792)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kyung-Ran JoΒ (author),Β Chi-Young KimΒ (translator), Blowfish, Astra House, 2025. 304 pgs. Blowfish is a taut, deceptively quiet novel, structured as a contrapuntal meditation on grief, disconnection, and stillness. The stillness seethes…
![[REVIEW] “To Stay, To See, To Not Flee: Kyung-Ran Jo’s π΅πππ€πππ β” by Ananya Singh](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/blowfish-a-novel-hardcover-e28093-july-15-2025-by-kyung-ran-jo-author-chi-young-kim-translator-1.jpg?w=979)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “The Worst Kind of Dystopia: Hon Lai Chu’s Mending Bodies” by Luca Griseri ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaonΒ Mending Bodies. Hon Lai Chu (author), Jacqueline Leung (translator), Mending Bodies, Two Lines…
![[REVIEW] “The Worst Kind of Dystopia: Hon Lai Chu’s πππππππ π΅πππππ ” by Luca Griseri](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/hon-lai-chu-author-jacqueline-leung-translator-mending-bodies-two-lines-press-2025.-240-pgs.jpg?w=938)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βThe Partyβs Interests Come First: Joseph Torigianβs The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi JinpingβΒ by Susan Blumberg-Kason Joseph Torigian, The Party’s Interests Come First: The Life of Xi…
![[REVIEW] βThe Partyβs Interests Come First: Joseph Torigianβs πβπ πΏπππ ππ ππ πβππππ₯π’π, πΉππ‘βππ ππ ππ π½ππππππβΒ by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/xi-jinping.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kimβ―Wonβseok (director), When Life Gives You Tangerines, 2025. 16βepisode Netflix original series, split into four volumes. Falling under the category of K-drama, When Life Gives You Tangerines is Netflixβs…
![[REVIEW] βThe Sweetness of Resilience: Unraveling Netflixβs πβππ πΏπππ πΊππ£ππ πππ’ ππππππππππ β by Dinisha Nayak](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/aaaabfesqbulveyjma9rfwntp2u9hy-6mavdb4lcblrsvdvhzrh8w6dh4ity37vmdt1pnjzdsmaz2jrr6noncmrimqhvgyu6cdsxalvb.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Jeet Thayil (author), The Elsewhereans: A Documentary Novel, Fourth Estate, 2025. 219 pgs. With time and the evolution of human civilisation, the significance of stories has become increasingly apparent.…
![[REVIEW] βWhen Time Flies With Us, We Live Many Lives: Jeet Thayilβs πβπ πΈππ ππ€βππππππ β by Kabir Deb](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/jeet-thayils-the-elsewhereans-1.jpg?w=1002)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Niloufar-Lily Soltani, Zulaikha, Inanna Publications, 2023. 332 pgs. If there is a single word that can encapsulate the novel Zulaikha, it is beautyβa beauty that transcends the physical…
![[REVIEW] βBeauty and Strength in Niloufar-Lily Soltaniβs ππ’ππππβπβ by Fathima M](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/in-niloufar-lily-soltanis-zulaikha.jpg?w=1000)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βBetween Rupture and Continuity: Charting Anachronistic Literary Modernity in Satoru Hashimotoβs Afterlives of Lettersβ by Charlie Ng Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Afterlives. Satoru Hashimoto, Afterlives…
![[REVIEW] βBetween Rupture and Continuity: Charting Anachronistic Literary Modernity in Satoru Hashimotoβs π΄ππ‘πππππ£ππ ππ πΏππ‘π‘πππ β by Charlie Ng](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/afterlives-of-letters-the-transnational-origins-of-modern-literature-in-china-japan-and-korea.jpg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Meena Kandasamy, Exquisite Cadavers, Simon & Schuster India, 2025. 112 pgs. Borrowed from the French term cadavre exquisβa technique devised by the Surrealists to produce collective, chance-based creationsβthe title…
![[REVIEW] βFragments Toward a Whole: Meena Kandasamyβs πΈπ₯ππ’ππ ππ‘π πΆππππ£πππ β by Ananya Singh](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/meena-kandasamy.jpg?w=568)
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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 Vigil. Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Vigil: The Struggle for Hong Kong, Brixton Ink, 2025. 176 pgs. The ability to document pivotal historical events with scholarly…
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Quan Manh Ha and Paul Christiansen (translators). Light Out and Modern Vietnamese Stories, 1930β1954. Northern Illinois University Press, an imprint of Cornell University Press, 2024. 228 pgs. Light Out…
![[REVIEW] βWriting Against Empire: πΏππβπ‘ ππ’π‘ and Survival in Colonial Vietnamβ by Josie Miller](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/light-out.jpg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Faiqa Mansab, The Sufi Storyteller, Neem Tree Press, 2025. 320 pgs. Faiqa Mansabβs The Sufi Storyteller emerges not merely as a compelling narrative in its own right, but…
![[REVIEW] βIn the Realm of Story: Faiqa Mansabβs πβπ ππ’ππ ππ‘πππ¦π‘πππππ and the Reclaiming of South Asian Mythic Narrativeβ by Namrata](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/https-neemtreepress.combookthe-sufi-storyteller-1.jpg?w=977)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ryan Dunch and Ashley Esarey (editors), Taiwan in Dynamic Transition: Nation Building and Democratization, University of Washington Press, 2020. 256 pgs. Taiwan has long been a focal point in the study…
![[REVIEW] βTaiwanβs Political Evolution and the Study of Comparative Politics as seen in ππππ€ππ ππ π·π¦πππππ πππππ ππ‘πππβ by Eric D. de Roulet](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/taiwan-in-dynamic-transition-nation-building-and-democratization-1.jpg?w=1000)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ming-sho Ho, Be Water: Collective Improvisation in Hong Kongβs Anti-Extradition Protests, Temple University Press, 2025. 258 pgs. The Hong Kong protests of 2019, which erupted in opposition to the…
![[REVIEW] “Improvising Revolution: Hong Kongβs Protests Through the Lens of Ming-sho Ho” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-flowers-of-democracy-are-everywhere.jpg?w=1024)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Mending Bodies. Hon Lai Chu (author), Jacqueline Leung (translator), Mending Bodies, Two Lines Press, 2025. 240 pgs. For those who haven’t read the original Chinese…
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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 Life Ceremony. Sayaka Murata (author), Ginny Tapley Takemori (translator), Life Ceremony, Granta Books, 2022. 266 pgs. Whenever I encounter the name Sayaka Murata,…
![[REVIEW] “Tender Aberrations: Reading Sayaka Murata’s πΏπππ πΆππππππ𦔠by Tyran Grillo](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/sayaka-murata-author-ginny-tapley-takemori-translator.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βAdaptation and the Illusion of Home: Manjushree Thapaβs Seasons of Flightβ by Abhinav Tulachan Manjushree Thapa, Seasons of Flight, Penguin India, 2011. 226 pgs. βThe flap of a butterflyβs wings…
![[REVIEW] βAdaptation and the Illusion of Home: Manjushree Thapaβs ππππ πππ ππ πΉπππβπ‘β by Abhinav Tulachan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/manjushree-thapa-seasons-of-flight-1.jpg?w=881)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Social Room. Andrew Barker, Social Room: Modern Shakespearean Sonnets (Book Three, Sonnets 204β305), Mycroft Publishers, 2025. 186 pgs. βSo choose your enemies, Iβve chosen…
![[REVIEW] “Between Heckle & Hush: The Public & Private Voices of a Poet” by Michael Ingham](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/andrew-barker-cha-an-asian-literary-journal.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Social Room. Andrew Barker, Social Room: Modern Shakespearean Sonnets (Book Three, Sonnets 204β305), Mycroft Publishers, 2025. 186 pgs. Named after the bar where the…
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Also read “Feature: Lu Xun” in Cha. Lu Xun (author), Eileen J. Cheng (translator), Theodore Huters (editor), Wild Grass & Morning Blossoms Gathered at Dusk, Harvard University Press,…
![[REVIEW] “One of the Greatest Writers, Full Stop: Lu Xun’s ππππ πΊπππ π & πππππππ π΅πππ π πππ πΊππ‘βππππ ππ‘ π·π’π π” by Robert Postings](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/wild-grass-and-morning-blossoms-gathered-at-dusk-harvard-university-press-2022.-272-pgs.jpg?w=955)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Derek Currie, When βJesusβ Came to Hong Kong: The Remarkable Story of the First European Football Star in Asia, Blacksmith Books, 2023. 404 pgs. This is my second…
![[REVIEW] βJesusβ Pub Tales: Derek Currieβs πβππ βπ½ππ π’π β πΆπππ π‘π π»πππ πΎπππβ by Mario Rustan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/when-jesus-came-to-hong-kong.jpg?w=962)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Stephanie Foo, What My Bones Know, Ballantine Books, 2022. 352 pgs. Addressing trauma is never an easy undertakingβespecially when it is the survivor herself who must confront it. Stephanie…
![[REVIEW] βThe Invisible Pain of Abuse and its Diagnosis: Stephanie Fooβs πβππ‘ ππ¦ π΅ππππ πΎπππ€β by Fathima M](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/stephanie-foo-what-my-bones-know-1.jpg?w=987)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS R.T. Samuel, Rakesh K. and Rashmi R.D. (editors), The Blaft Book of Anti-Caste SF, Blaft Publications, 2025. 428 pgs. It is a curious irony that speculative fictionβso often described…
![[REVIEW] βThe Fierce Imagination of π΄ππ‘π-πΆππ π‘π πππππ’πππ‘ππ£π πΉπππ‘πππβ by Ananya Singh](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/r.t.-samuel-rakesh-k.-and-rashmi-r.d.-editors-the-blaft-book-of-anti-caste-sf--1.jpg?w=938)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Order in the City: Tammy Lai-Ming Ho’sIf I Do Not Reply” by Luca Griseri Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on If I Do Not Reply. Tammy Lai-Ming Ho, If I Do Not…
![[ESSAY] “Order in the City: Tammy Lai-Ming Ho’s πΌπ πΌ π·π πππ‘ π
πππ𦔠by Luca Griseri](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/if-i-do-not-reply_tammy-ho.jpg?w=907)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on The Milk Tea Alliance. Jeffrey Wasserstrom, The Milk Tea Alliance: Inside Asiaβs Struggle against Autocracy and Beijing, Columbia Global Reports, 2025. 104 pgs. The…
![[REVIEW] “Boba, Grass Jelly, Light Ice, Democracy: On Jeffrey Wasserstrom’s πβπ ππππ πππ π΄πππππππ” by Nick Zeller](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/the-milk-tea-alliance-inside-asias-struggle-against-autocracy-and-beijing.jpg?w=1000)
Cha 