Category: Cha Review of Books and Films
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Daryl Lim Wei Jie, Hamid Roslan, Melizarani T. Selva, and William Tham (editors), The Second Link: An Anthology of Malaysian and Singaporean Writing, Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2023. 320 pgs.…
![[REVIEW] “Reunion Dinner: πβπ ππππππ πΏπππ Serves Up A Careful Feast” by Theophilus Kwek](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/the-second-link-an-anthology-of-malaysian-and-singaporean-writing.png?w=892)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Tim Tim Cheng, The Tattoo Collector, Nine Arches Press, 2024. 72 pp. In case you hadnβt known that the British ruled Hong Kong until 1997 or needed sudden clarification…
![[REVIEW] βBlue Fires Burning in Tim Tim Chengβs πβπ πππ‘π‘ππ πΆππππππ‘ππβ by Michelle Suen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/cheng-tim-tim-the-tattoo-collector.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Erin Suzuki, Ocean Passages: Navigating Pacific Islander and Asian American Literatures, Temple University Press, 2021. 269 pgs. When the territories between land seem easier to define, the territories that…
![[REVIEW] “Connecting in a Sea of Islands: Erin Suzuki’s πππππ πππ π ππππ ” by Tin Yuet Tam](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/erin-suzuki-ocean-passages-navigating-pacific-islander-and-asian-american-literatures.jpg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Emi Yagi (author), David BoydΒ andΒ Lucy NorthΒ (translators), Diary of a Void, Viking, 2022. 213 pgs. Shibata works for a cardboard tube company on the fourth floor of an overheated office.…
![[REVIEW] βReimagining the Void: Emi Yagi’s π·ππππ¦ ππ π ππππ” by Lucy Hamilton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/review-reimagining-the-void-emi-yagis-diary-of-a-void22-by-lucy-hamilton.jpg?w=925)
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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 Woman in the Purple Skirt. Natsuko Imamura (author), Lucy North (translator),Β The Woman in the Purple Skirt, Penguin Random House, 2021. 224 pgs. In Natsuko…
![[REVIEW] βLingering Suspense: Natsuko Imamura’s πβπ πππππ ππ π‘βπ ππ’ππππ πππππ‘β BY James Kin Pong Au](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 Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Tapestry of the Mind. Aneeta Sundararaj, Tapestry of the Mind and Other Stories, Penguin Random House SEA, 2024. 272 pgs. Aneeta Sundararajβs Tapestry of the…
![[REVIEW] βA Powerful and Stimulating Collection: Aneeta Sundararaj’s πππππ π‘ππ¦ ππ π‘βπ ππππ” by Namrata](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/tapestry-of-the-mind-and-other-stories-aneeta-sundararaj.jpg?w=977)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Karen Tei Yamashita, Through the Arc of the Rain Forest, Coffee House Press, 1990. 212 pgs. Through the Arc of the Rain Forest opens with a memoryβa memory, that…
![[REVIEW] “A Stage for Life and Death: Karen Tei Yamashitaβs πβπππ’πβ π‘βπ π΄ππ ππ π‘βπ π
πππ πΉππππ π‘” by Anna Chung](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/through-the-arc-of-the-rain-forest.png?w=683)
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Sayantani Dasgupta, Brown Women Have Everything: Essays on (Dis)comfort and Delight, The University of North Carolina Press, 2024. 180 pgs. When you cheerfully but firmly believe that your brown-woman…
![[REVIEW] βExpanding Our World: Sayantani Dasguptaβs π΅πππ€π πππππ π»ππ£π πΈπ£πππ¦π‘βπππβ by Donna Miscolta](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/brown-women.jpg?w=970)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Pawo Choyning Dorji (director), The Monk and the Gun, 2023. 107 min. The Kingdom of Bhutan, 2006. Bhutan enters the modern world, becoming the last country in the world…
![[REVIEW] “Democracy Should Be Thought of as a Verb: Pawo Choyning Dorji’s πβπ ππππ πππ π‘βπ πΊπ’π” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/pawo-choyning-dorji-.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Shuang Xuetao (author), Jeremy Tiang (translator), Rouge Street: Three Novellas, Metropolitan Books, 2022. 216 pgs. Over the past few years, China has seen a resurgence of interest in its…
![[REVIEW] βFinding Hope in Despair: Shuang Xuetaoβs π
ππ’ππ ππ‘ππππ‘β by Kammy Lee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/rouge-street-three-novellas.jpg?w=971)
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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. A human heart, resting on a bed of rice noodles,…
![[REVIEW] βA Hearty Feast: Food, Cannibalism, and the Human Condition in Sayaka Murataβs πΏπππ πΆπππππππ¦β by Lucy Hamilton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/life-ceremony.jpg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Hiro Arikawa (author), Philip Gabriel (translator), The Travelling Cat Chronicles, Berkley, 2018. 277 pgs. Hiro Arikawaβs The Travelling Cat Chronicles, translated by Philip Gabriel, is a heart-warming book that…
![[REVIEW] βOut Beyond the Horizon: Hiro Arikawaβs πβπ ππππ£ππππππ πΆππ‘ πΆβππππππππ β by Hui-Hua Lu](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/screenshot-2024-08-28-at-15.31.04.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Nicole Tarulevicz, Eating Her Curries and Kway: A Cultural History of Food in Singapore, University of Illinois Press, 2014. 224 pgs. Anyone who has been to Singapore or Malaysia,…
![[REVIEW] βThe πππππ RepublicβNicole Taruleviczβs πΈππ‘πππ π»ππ πΆπ’πππππ πππ πΎπ€ππ¦: π΄ πΆπ’ππ‘π’πππ π»ππ π‘πππ¦ ππ πΉπππ ππ πππππππππβ by Mario Rustan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/eating-her-curries-and-kway-a-cultural-history-of-food-in-singapore-university-of-illinois-press-1.jpg?w=500)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Thomas William Whyke and Melissa Shani Brown (authors), Queering Gender, Sexuality, and Becoming-Human in Qing Dynasty Zhiguai: Querying the Strange Tales, Palgrave Macmillan, 2023. 246 pgs. The title of this…
![[REVIEW] βBetween Queering and Querying: Thomas William WhykeΒ and Melissa Shani Brownβs ππ’ππππππ πΊπππππ, πππ₯π’ππππ‘π¦, πππ π΅πππππππ-π»π’πππ ππ ππππ π·π¦πππ π‘π¦ πβπππ’ππβ by Jonathan Ferguson](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/queering-gender-sexuality-and-becoming-human-in-qing-dynasty-zhiguai-querying-the-strange-tales-1.jpg?w=827)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βOur Yangon: San Lin Tunβs Yangon Daysβ by Peixuan Xie San Lin Tun, Yangon Days: A Collection of Urban Short Stories, Penguin Random House SEA, 2024. 240 pgs. If the…
![[REVIEW] βOur Yangon: San Lin Tunβs ππππππ π·ππ¦π β by Peixuan Xie](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/yangon-days-a-collection-of-urban-short-stories.jpg?w=977)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βSend in the Marines: Yao-Chang Chenβs Puppet Flowerβ by Jeff Tompkins Yao-Chang Chen (author), Pao-Fang Hsu, Ian Maxwell, and Tung-Jung Chen (translators). Puppet Flower: A Novel of 1867 Formosa. Columbia…
![[REVIEW] βSend in the Marines: Yao-Chang Chenβs ππ’ππππ‘ πΉπππ€ππβ by Jeff Tompkins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/puppet-flower-a-novel-of-1867-formosa.jpg?w=972)
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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 Mao Suit. Antonia Finnane, How to Make a Mao Suit: Clothing the People of Communist China, 1949β1976, Cambridge University Press, 2023. 386 pgs. I have used…
![[REVIEW] “Impeccably Written: Antonia Finnane’sΒ π»ππ€ π‘π ππππ π πππ ππ’ππ‘” by Paul Bevan](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 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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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Acknowledging the Everyday Spaces of Working-class Chinese Migrants: Angela Hui’s Takeaway” by Jennifer Wong Angela Hui, Takeaway: Stories from a Childhood Behind the Counter, Orion Books, 2023. 352 pgs. Evocative and…
![[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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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βStunning Memoir: Grace Loh Prasadβs The Translator’s Daughterβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaonΒ Translator’s Daughter. Grace Loh Prasad, The Translatorβs Daughter, The Ohio State University Press, 2024. 272…
![[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)
Cha 