Category: Cha Review of Books and Films
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Banana Yoshimoto (author), Michael Emmerich (translator), Asleep, Grove Atlantic, 2001. 171 pgs. If youβve read Banana Yoshimotoβs celebrated novella Kitchen, there wonβt be much surprise in Asleep for…
![[REVIEW] βThe Art of Retelling, Benign Ghosts and ππππ ππ π΄π€πππ in Banana Yoshimotoβs π΄π ππππβ by Elnura Huseynova](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/asleep_banana-yoshimoto.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS David L. Eng and Shinhee Han, Racial Melancholia, Racial Dissociation: On the Social and Psychic Lives of Asian Americans, Duke University Press, 2018. 232 pgs. Asian Americans are…
![[REVIEW] “A Groundbreaking Conversation: David L. Eng and Shinhee Han’s π
πππππ ππππππβππππ, π
πππππ π·ππ π πππππ‘πππ” by Elaine Chiew](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/racial-melancholia-racial-dissociation-on-the-social-and-psychic-lives-of-asian-americans.jpg?w=1000)
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ta Duy Anh (author), Quan Manh Ha and Charles Waugh (translators), The Termite Queen, Penguin Random House SEA, 2023. 256 pgs. Ta Duy Anhβs novels, replete as they are…
![[REVIEW] “A Daring and Unsettling Portrait: Ta Duy Anh’s πβπ ππππππ‘π ππ’πππ” by Mia Tompkins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/the-termite-queen-copy.jpeg?w=625)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βThe Criticβs Notebook: On Dennis Limβs Tale of Cinemaβ by Nirris Nagendrarajah Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Hong Sang-soo. Dennis Lim, Tale of Cinema, Fireflies Press, 2022. 216 pgs. In February,…
![[REVIEW] βThe Criticβs Notebook: On Dennis Limβs ππππ ππ πΆπππππβ by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/dennis-lim-tale-of-cinema-copy.jpeg?w=500)
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Angela Hui, Takeaway: Stories from a Childhood Behind the Counter,Β Orion Books, 2023. 352 pgs. Evocative and painstakingly honest, Angela Huiβs memoir Takeaway centres on the everyday lives of Chinese…
![[REVIEW] “Acknowledging the Everyday Spaces of Working-class Chinese Migrants: Angela Hui’s ππππππ€π𦔠by Jennifer Wong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/takeaway-stories-from-a-childhood-behind-the-counter.jpg?w=978)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “The Tale of A Material City: Lau Yee-wa’s Tongueless” by Luca Griseri ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ Tongueless. Lau Yee-Wa (author), Jennifer Feeley (translator), Tongueless, The Feminist Press, 2024. 280 pgs. The…
![[REVIEW] “The Tale of A Material City: Lau Yee-wa’s πππππ’ππππ π ” by Luca GriseriΒ](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/tongueless_cha.jpg?w=938)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Shunryu Suzuki Roshi (author), Trudy Dixon & Richard Baker (editors), Zen Mind, Beginnerβs Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice, Weatherhill, 1970. 144 pgs. βWe must exist…
![[REVIEW] βA βHere and Now’ Mantra: Shunryu Suzuki Roshi’s πππ ππππβ by Maria Dorillo](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/zen-mind-beginners-mind.jpg?w=955)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ Bluebeard’s First Wife. Ha Seong-nan (author), Janet Hong (translator), Bluebeardβs First Wife, Open Letter Books, 2020. 230 pgs. The following words resonate throughout the eleven…
![[REVIEW] βOutside Cones of Light was Total Darkness: Ha Seong-nanβs π΅ππ’ππππππβπ πΉπππ π‘ ππππβ by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ha-seong-nanauthor-janet-hong-translator-bluebeards-first-wife.jpg?w=971)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Pang Laikwan, One and All: The Logic of Chinese Sovereignty, Stanford University Press, 2024. 276 pgs. As I finish writing this review, we are a few days away from…
![[REVIEW] βQuest for Genuineness: Pang Laikwanβs πππ πππ π΄ππβ by Kaiqing Su](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/one-and-all_pang-laikwan.jpg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Grace Loh Prasad, The Translatorβs Daughter, The Ohio State University Press, 2024. 272 pgs. Grief occurs in many forms. Thereβs the mourning of a loved one who has passed…
![[REVIEW] βStunning Memoir: Grace Loh Prasadβs πβπ πππππ πππ‘ππβπ π·ππ’πβπ‘ππβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/the-translators-daughter.jpg?w=880)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Wei Shujun (director), Only the River Flows, 2023. 101 mins. Wei Shujunβs Only the River Flows, an adaptation of Yu Huaβs novella Mistakes by the River set in 1995,…
![[REVIEW] βSuch an Indelible Period Texture: Wei Shujunβs ππππ¦ π‘βπ π
ππ£ππ πΉπππ€π β by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/only-the-river-flows-banner.jpg?w=512)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Qian Guo, Food Cultures of China: Recipes, Cultures and Issues, Bloomsbury, 2023. 272 pgs. The first thing that struck me about Qian Guoβs encyclopaedic undertaking in this book, was…
![[REVIEW] βAn Encyclopaedic Undertaking: Qian Guoβs πΉπππ πΆπ’ππ‘π’πππ ππ πΆβπππβ by Ceri Hwi-Li Holloway](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/food-cultures-of-china.jpg?w=994)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ralph Jennings, 50 Useful Tips on China, from a Guy Who ALMOST Got It, Earnshaw Books, 2024. 260 pgs. Ralph Jennings is a seasoned journalist who has spent the…
![[REVIEW] βResonating with Anyone Who Travels Internationally: Ralph Jenningsβs 50 ππ πππ’π ππππ ππ πΆβπππβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/50-useful-tips-on-china-from-a-guy-who-almost-got-it.jpg?w=971)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Read Madeleine Slavick’s “The Yellow Chair” HERE. Madeleine Slavick, Town, The Cuba Press, 2024. 132 pgs. Imagine a poet and a photographer collaborating. What will they create? Town is such…
![[REVIEW] βWhere Ripples Intersect: Madeleine Slavickβs Photopoetry Collection πππ€πβ by Aqua Kaiyun Zheng](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/town_madeleine-slavick.jpg?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 ChaΒ onΒ Cho Nam-joo. Cho Nam-joo (author), Jamie Chang (translator), Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, Liveright, 2021. 176 pgs. Everyone who has read Cho Nam-jooβs debut novel Kim…
![[REVIEW] βThe Limited Life of a Woman: Cho Nam-jooβs πΎππ π½ππ¦ππ’ππ, π΅πππ 1982β by Dorina Tataran](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/kim-jiyoung-born-1982.jpg?w=923)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ Mao Suit. Antonia Finnane, How to Make a Mao Suit: Clothing the People of Communist China, 1949β1976, Cambridge University Press, 2023. 386 pgs. Here is…
![[REVIEW] βA Rare, Exciting Academic Book: Antonia Finnaneβs π»ππ€ π‘π ππππ π πππ ππ’ππ‘β by Ilaria Maria Sala](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/how-to-make-a-mao-suit-clothing-the-people-of-communist-china.jpg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Thomas Barker, Indonesian Cinema After the New Order: Going Mainstream, Hong Kong University Press, 2019, 244 pgs. After reviewing several books on East Asian films and pop culture, it…
![[REVIEW] “Master in Its Own House: On Thomas Barkerβs πΌππππππ πππ πΆπππππ π΄ππ‘ππ π‘βπ πππ€ πππππ” by Mario Rustan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/thomas-barker-indonesian-cinema-after-the-new-order-going-mainstream-1.jpg?w=1001)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Salman Rushdie, Knife: Meditations After An Attempted Murder, Penguin Random House, 2024. 224 pgs. “Life is not what one lived, but what one remembers, and how one remembers it…
![[REVIEW] βAn Achingly Poignant Personal Trauma Narrative: Salman Rushdieβs πΎππππβ by Sudeep Ghosh](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/knife-salman-rushdie.jpg?w=1000)
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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 Perils of Interpreting. Henrietta Harrison, The Perils of Interpreting: The Extraordinary Lives of Two Translators between Qing China and the British Empire, Princeton University Press,…
![[REVIEW] “Deception and Distrust: Henrietta Harrisonβs πβπ ππππππ ππ πΌππ‘ππππππ‘πππ” by James Thompson](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.png?w=1023)
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[REVIEW] βReading Natsume SΕseki as a Historian of Twentieth-Century East Asiaβ by Emily Matson
πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Natsume SΕseki. Natsume SΕseki (author), Matt Treyvaud (translator), Ten Nights Dreaming and The Catβs Grave, Dover Publications, 2015. 96 pgs. It was the twilight of…
![[REVIEW] βReading Natsume SΕseki as a Historian of Twentieth-Century East Asiaβ by Emily Matson](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/natsume-soseki.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βWondrous Challenges of Translation: Eric Reinders’s Reading Tolkien in Chineseβ by Raymond K. Nakamura Eric Reinders, Reading Tolkien in Chinese: Religion, Fantasy and Translation, Bloomsbury, 2024. 200 pgs. The availability…
![[REVIEW] βWondrous Challenges of Translation: Eric Reinders’s π
ππππππ πππππππ ππ πΆβππππ πβ by Raymond K. Nakamura](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/eric-reinders-reading-tolkien-in-chinese.jpg?w=1000)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Violets. Kyung-sook Shin (author), Anton Hur (translator), Violets, The Feminist Press, 2022. 218 pgs. I fell in love with Kyung-sook Shinβs writing after reading the…
![[REVIEW] βKeeping You Captivated: Kyung-sook Shinβs ππππππ‘π β by Dorina Tataran](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/violets.jpg?w=932)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Natsume SΕseki. Natsume SΕseki (author), Matt Treyvaud (translator), Ten Nights Dreaming and The Catβs Grave, Dover Publications, 2015. 96 pgs. Natsume SΕsekiβs Ten Nights Dreaming…
![[REVIEW] βA Dreamlike Book: Natsume SΕsekiβs πππ πππβπ‘π π·πππππππ πππ πβπ πΆππ‘’π πΊπππ£πβ by Marsha McDonald](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ten-nights-dreaming-and-the-cats-grave.jpg?w=647)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS πRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Alexandra A. Chan, In the Garden Behind the Moon, Flashpoint, 2024. 432 pgs. On paper, Alexandra A. Chan seems to have it all. A doctor of archaeology, a professor,…
![[REVIEW] βRemembering Through Memoir: Alexandra A. Chanβs πΌπ π‘βπ πΊπππππ π΅πβπππ π‘βπ ππππβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/in-the-garden-behind-the-moon.jpg?w=1000)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS πRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Pat Boonnitipat (director), How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, 2024. 127 min. This review may contain spoilers. Dare I say it, Pat Boonnitipatβs How to Make Millions Before…
![[REVIEW] βAmah, Youβre My First Place: Pat Boonnitipatβs π»ππ€ π‘π ππππ ππππππππ π΅πππππ πΊππππππ π·πππ ” By Rhanydell Bien Baysa](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/before-grandma-dies.png?w=936)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS πRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS ThuαΊn (author), Nguyα» n An LΓ½ (translator), Chinatown, New Directions, 2022. 160 pgs. A train in the Paris Metro is brought to a halt by a potential bomb threat. Her commute disrupted, the unnamed narrator of Chinatown begins…
![[REVIEW] βOn the Primal and Final Mystery: Her Mind Unravels in ThuαΊnβs πΆβππππ‘ππ€πβ by Kammy Lee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/chinatown.jpg?w=800)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Tiantian Zheng, Violent Intimacy: Family Harmony, State Stability, and Intimate Partner Violence in Post-Socialist China, Bloomsbury, 2022. 224 pgs. Intimate partner violence is a worldwide problem. On…
![[REVIEW] βRather Demolish Ten Temples Than Destroy One Marriage: Tiantian Zhengβs πππππππ‘ πΌππ‘πππππ¦β by Laurence Westwood](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/violent-intimacy-family-harmony-state-stability-and-intimate-partner-violence-in-post-socialist-china.jpg?w=1000)
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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 Woman in the Purple Skirt. Natsuko Imamura (author), Lucy North (translator), The Woman in the Purple Skirt, Penguin Random House, 2021. 224…
![[REVIEW] βObsessed: On Natsuko Imamuraβs πβπ πππππ ππ π‘βπ ππ’ππππ πππππ‘β by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-woman-in-the-purple-skirt.jpg?w=925)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kumar Shahani (director) Maya Darpan, 1972. 107 min. Kumar Shahani (1940-2024), one of the doyens of Indian parallel cinema breathed his last on 24 February this year.…
![[REVIEW] βAn Aesthetic Exploration of the Trials and Tribulations of a Woman: Kumar Shahaniβs πππ¦π π·πππππβ by M S Murali Krishna](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/maya-darpan-the-illusory-mirror-1972.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 Life Ceremony. Sayaka Murata (author), Ginny Tapley Takemori (translator), Life Ceremony, Granta Books, 2022. 266 pgs. Dubbed βCrazy Sayakaβ (γ―γ¬γ€γΈγΌζ²θΆι¦) by her readers,…
![[REVIEW] βFeasting on Futuristic Melancholia: Sayaka Murataβs Life πΏπππ πΆπππππππ¦β by Zifei Wang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/life-ceremony-sayaka-murata.jpg?w=977)
Cha 