Category: reviews of translations
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Osamu Dazai (author), Sam Bett (translator), The Flowers of Buffoonery, New Directions, 2023. 63 pgs. The Flowers of Buffoonery (『道化の華』/ Dōke no Hana), an early work by Osamu Dazai…
![[REVIEW] “Constructing a Performative Self: Osamu Dazai’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐵𝑢𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑦” by James Kin Pong Au](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/the-flowers-of-buffoonery.jpg?w=778)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Yasunari Kawabata (author), Haydn Trowell (translator), The Rainbow, Penguin, 2023. 400 pgs. Yasunari Kawabata’s The Rainbow, recently translated into English for the first time, evokes in me a strong…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Carrying On: Yasunari Kawabata’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑅𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑏𝑜𝑤” by Gabrielle Tse](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/the-rainbow-kawabata-yasunari.jpg?w=933)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Natsume Sōseki. Natsume Sōseki (author), Matt Treyvaud (translator), Ten Nights Dreaming and The Cat’s Grave, Dover Publications, 2015. 96 pgs. It was the twilight of…
![[REVIEW] “Reading Natsume Sōseki as a Historian of Twentieth-Century East Asia” by Emily Matson](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/natsume-soseki.png?w=1024)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN 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 Shin’s writing after reading the…
![[REVIEW] “Keeping You Captivated: Kyung-sook Shin’s 𝑉𝑖𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑠” by Dorina Tataran](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/violets.jpg?w=932)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Natsume Sōseki. Natsume Sōseki (author), Matt Treyvaud (translator), Ten Nights Dreaming and The Cat’s Grave, Dover Publications, 2015. 96 pgs. Natsume Sōseki’s Ten Nights Dreaming…
![[REVIEW] “A Dreamlike Book: Natsume Sōseki’s 𝑇𝑒𝑛 𝑁𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠 𝐷𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐶𝑎𝑡’𝑠 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒” 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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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS 📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Thuận (author), Nguyễn An Lý (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] “On the Primal and Final Mystery: Her Mind Unravels in Thuận’s 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑤𝑛” by Kammy Lee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/chinatown.jpg?w=800)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 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] “Obsessed: On Natsuko Imamura’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑊𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑢𝑟𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑆𝑘𝑖𝑟𝑡” by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-woman-in-the-purple-skirt.jpg?w=925)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “A Sobering Read: Mahasweta Devi’s The Murderer’s Mother” by Jack Greenberg Mahasweta Devi (author), Arunava Sinha (translator), The Murderer’s Mother, Seagull Books, 2023. 248 pgs. The Murderer’s Mother (Murderer Er…
![[REVIEW] “A Sobering Read: Mahasweta Devi’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑢𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑟’𝑠 𝑀𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟” by Jack Greenberg](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/mahasweta_murderers_mother__15926.jpg?w=1024)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Living On: Xi Xi’s Mourning a Breast” by Susan Blumberg-Kason Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Mourning a Breast. Xi Xi (author), Jennifer Feeley (translator), Mourning a Breast, New York Review Books, 2024.…
![[REVIEW] “Living On: Xi Xi’s 𝑀𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡” by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/mourning-a-breast_xi-xi_jennifer-feeley.jpg?w=938)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Hiroko Oyamada. Hiroko Oyamada (author), David Boyd (translator), The Hole, New Directions Publishing, 2020. 112 pgs. Hiroko Oyamada’s…
![[REVIEW] “Trapped in The Uncanny Valley: Hiroko Oyamada’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑒” by Maria Cohut](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/hiroko-oyamada_the-hole.jpg?w=778)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Tongueless. Lau Yee-Wa (author), Jennifer Feeley (translator), Tongueless, The Feminist Press, 2024. 280 pgs. Wai, the tragic figure at the heart of this…
![[REVIEW] “A Rather Allegorical Novel: Lau Yee-Wa’s 𝑇𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/tongueless_cha.jpg?w=938)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on A Cha Chaan Teng That Does Not Exist. Derek Chung (author), May Huang (translator), A Cha Chaan Teng That Does Not Exist, Zephyr…
![[REVIEW] “Being a Hongkonger: Derek Chung’s 𝐴 𝐶ℎ𝑎 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑎𝑛 𝑇𝑒𝑛𝑔 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐷𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝐸𝑥𝑖𝑠𝑡” by Mary King Bradley](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/a-cha-chaan-teng-that-does-not-exist.jpg?w=1024)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Living Life to the Fullest: Xi Xi’s Mourning a Breast” by Lydia Kwa Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Mourning a Breast. Xi Xi (author), Jennifer Feeley (translator), Mourning a Breast, New York…
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Touring the Land of the Dead. Maki Kashimada (author), Haydn Trowell (translator), Touring the Land of the Dead (and Ninety-Nine Kisses), Europa Editions, 2021.…
![[REVIEW] “A Profound Exploration of Reality—Maki Kashimada’s 𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑑: 𝑇𝑤𝑜 𝑁𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑠” by James Kin Pong Au](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/touring-the-land-of-the-dead-and-ninety-nine-kiss.jpg?w=890)
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[REVIEW] “Navigating the Fault Lines of Travel: Yun Ko-eun’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡” by Jack Greenberg
茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Navigating the Fault Lines of Travel: Yun Ko-eun’s The Disaster Tourist” by Jack Greenberg Yun Ko-eun (author), Lizzie Buehler (translator), The Disaster Tourist, Serpent’s Tail, 2020. 186 pgs. After reviewing…
![[REVIEW] “Navigating the Fault Lines of Travel: Yun Ko-eun’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡” by Jack Greenberg](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/the-disaster-tourist.jpg?w=1000)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “A Series of Cyanotypes: Xi Xi’s Mourning a Breast” by Marsha McDonald Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Mourning a Breast. Xi Xi (author), Jennifer Feeley (translator), Mourning a Breast, New York Review…
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on People from My Neighbourhood. Hiromi Kawakami (author), Ted Goossen (translator), People from My Neighbourhood, Granta Books, 2021. 96 pgs. The world depicted in Kawakami…
![[REVIEW] “Coexistence of the Familiar and the Unfamiliar: Hiromi Kawakami’s 𝑃𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑀𝑦 𝑁𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑟ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑑” by James Kin-Pong Au](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/people-from-my-neighbourhood.jpg?w=1005)
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Chris Song’s Note: “The Charred City” conveys the manic restlessness Hongkongers felt after 1997. The story is set in the stifling social atmosphere of post-Handover Hong Kong, which was “charred”, ironically by pervasive celebratory fireworks. The protagonist, at the behest…
![[TRANSLATION] “The Charred City” by Lok Fung, Translated by Chris Song](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/lok-fung-cha-an-asian-literary-journal.jpg?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Makoto Shinkai and Naruki Nagakawa (authors), Ginny Tapley Takemori (translator), She and Her Cat, Washington Square Press, 2024. 144 pgs. As a reader, I’d never thought that I’d be…
![[REVIEW] “Universally Relevant Today: Makoto Shinkai & Naruki Nagakawa’s 𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐻𝑒𝑟 𝐶𝑎𝑡” by Saliha Haddad](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/she-and-her-cat.jpg?w=966)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on A Cha Chaan Teng That Does Not Exist. Derek Chung (author), May Huang (translator), A Cha Chaan Teng That Does Not Exist, Zephyr…
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Dennis Würthner (translator), Tales of the Strange by a Korean Confucian Monk: Kŭmo sinhwa by Kim Sisŭp, University of Hawai‘i Press, 2020. 402 pgs. Also known as…
![[REVIEW] “Found in Translation: 𝑇𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑎 𝐾𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑘” by Lydia Kwa](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/dennis-wurthner.jpg?w=940)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Bingbing Shi (editor), Fu Xiuying (author, tr. Christopher MacDonald), Xu Zechen (author, tr. Eric Abrahamsen), Xu Kun (author, tr. Katherine Tse), Qiu Huadong (author, tr. Paul Harris),…
![[REVIEW] “A Quirky Composite Portrait: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑜𝑓 𝐵𝑒𝑖𝑗𝑖𝑛𝑔” by Sabina Knight](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/bingbing-shi-editor-the-book-of-beijing.jpg?w=732)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Sosuke Natsukawa (author), Louise Heal Kawai (translator), The Cat Who Saved Books, HarperCollins, 2021. 208 pgs. The Cat Who Saved Books starts sadly when the main character, Rintaro…
![[REVIEW] “A Criticism of the Ways in Which Modern Society Treats, Sees, and Produces Books: Sosuke Natsukawa’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐶𝑎𝑡 𝑊ℎ𝑜 𝑆𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑠” by Hui-Hua Lu](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/the-cat-who-saved-cats_sosuke-natsukawa.jpg?w=992)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS 📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kim Hyesoon (author), Don Mee Choi (translator), Phantom Pain Wings, New Directions, 2023. 208 pgs. Reading Kim Hyesoon’s Phantom Pain Wings is an uncanny experience of growing wings and…
![[REVIEW] “The Birth of Deathly Birds: Kim Hyesoon’s 𝑃ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑜𝑚 𝑃𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠” by Kammy Lee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/phantom-pain-wings.jpg?w=1000)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 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, 2023. 272 pgs. Sayaka Murata’s Life Ceremony is a disturbing…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “When The Translations Hit, They Really Hit: Sayaka Murata’s 𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝐶𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑦” by Grace Najmulski](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/life-ceremony_cha.jpg?w=933)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Untold. Bae Suah (author), Deborah Smith (translator), Untold Night and Day, Jonathan Cape, 2020. 155 pgs. Where do…
![[REVIEW] “At the Edge of Impermanence: Bae Suah’s 𝑈𝑛𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑁𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐷𝑎𝑦” by Jonah Wu](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/untold-night-and-day.jpg?w=985)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Yan Lianke (author), Carlos Rojas (translator), Heart Sutra, Glove Atlantic, 2023. 426 pgs. Just as the late Milan Kundera was in the 2000s and 2010s, Yan Lianke…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “An Outrageously Ambitious Not-Quite Masterpiece: Yan Lianke’s 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑆𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑎” by Kevin McGeary](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/heart-sutra.jpg?w=995)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Original and Surreal: Yun Ko-eun’s Table for One” by Jack Greenberg Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Table for One. Yun Ko-eun (author), Lizzie Buehler (translator), Table for One: Stories, Columbia University…
![[REVIEW] “Original and Surreal: Yun Ko-eun’s 𝑇𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑂𝑛𝑒” by Jack Greenberg](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/yun-ko-eun_table-for-one.png?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Hiroko Oyamada. Hiroko Oyamada (author), David Boyd (translator), The Factory, New Directions, 2019. 128 pgs. The cover is what first…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Some Sort of Enclosed System: Hiroko Oyamada’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦” by Jane McBride](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/hiroko-oyamada_the-factory.jpg?w=931)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS 📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on People from My Neighbourhood. Hiromi Kawakami (author), Ted Goossen (translator), People from My Neighbourhood, Granta Books, 2021. 96 pgs. The interconnected stories in Hiromi…
Cha 