Category: reviews of translations
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ozawa Minoru (author), Janine Beichman (translator), Well-Versed: Exploring Modern Japanese Haiku, with photography by Maeda ShinzΕ and Akira, Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture, 2021. 375 pgs. Haiku has…
![[REVIEW] βBeautifully ProducedβOzawa Minoruβs ππππ-ππππ ππ: πΈπ₯πππππππ ππππππ π½ππππππ π π»ππππ’β by Michael Tsang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/well-versed.png)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Liu Liangcheng (author), Jeremy Tiang (translator), Bearing Word, Balestier Press, 2023. 340 pgs. Liu Liangchengβs Bearing Word is a story about a polyglot translator, a donkey who can see…
![[REVIEW] “Everything Comes Alive, Every Creature Has Agency: Liu Liangcheng’s π΅ππππππ ππππ” by Serena De Marchi](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/bearing-word-1.jpg)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “We Fight for Causes When the Odds Are Stacked Against Us: Togani (The Crucible)” by Jack Greenberg Gong Ji-young (author), Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton (translators), Togani, University of Hawai’i Press, 2023.…
![[REVIEW] “We Fight for Causes When the Odds Are Stacked Against Us: ππππππ (The Crucible)” by Jack Greenberg](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/togani-gong-ji-young-1.jpg)
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π Return to First Impressionsπ Return to Cha Review of Books and Films Soon Ai Ling (author) and Yeo Wei Wei (translator), Diasporic, Balestier Press, 2023. Soon Ai Lingβs short stories weave cultural trajectories from Guangdong, Hong Kong, the UK,…
![[REVIEW] “New Languages and New Lives: Soon Ai Ling’s π·πππ πππππ” by Astrid MΓΈller-Olsen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/diasporic-1.jpg)
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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 Owlish. Dorothy Tse (author), Natascha Bruce (translator), Owlish, Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2023. 224 pgs. Iβve always sensed that Hong Kong has a unique way of combining the…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Making Sense of Time: Dorothy Tse and ππ€πππ β” by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/dorothy-tse-cha-an-asian-literary-journal.jpg)
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π Return to First Impressionsπ Return to Cha Review of Books and Films BαΊ£o Ninh (author), Quan Manh Ha and Cab Tran (translators and editors), HΓ Nα»i at Midnight: Stories, with a foreword by Nguyα» n VΔn ThuαΊ₯n, Texas Tech University…
![[REVIEW] βA Paradigm Shift: BαΊ£o Ninhβs HΓ Nα»i at Midnight” by Mia Tompkins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/hanoi-at-midnight-1.png)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Outstanding Translations of a Singular Poet: Yam Gong’s Moving a Stone” by Mary King Bradley and Matthew Cheng Click HERE to read all entries in Chaon Moving a Stone. Yam Gong (author), James Shea…
![[REVIEW] “Outstanding Translations of a Singular Poet: Yam Gong’s πππ£πππ π ππ‘πππ” by Mary King Bradley and Matthew Cheng](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/moving-a-stone-copy.jpg)
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π Return to First Impressionsπ Return to Cha Review of Books and Films Rin Ishigaki (author), Janine Beichman (translator), and Paul Rossiter (editor), This Overflowing Light: Selected Poems, with an introduction by Janine Beichman, Isobar Press, 2022. 118 pgs. When…
![[REVIEW] βRin Ishigakiβs Poetry as Resilienceβ by Nadine Willems](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/the-overflowing-light-1.jpg)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βStrange Beasts of China: Harnessing Zhiguai and Magic Realism to Satirise Otheringβ by Cyril Camus Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Strange Beasts. Yan Ge (author) and Jeremy Tiang (translator), Strange Beasts of…
![[REVIEW] βππ‘πππππ π΅πππ π‘π ππ πΆβπππ: Harnessing πβπππ’ππ and Magic Realism to Satirise Otheringβ by Cyril Camus](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/strangebeastsofchinav3ccorrected_v3c-copy.jpg)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Choi Jin-young (author), Soje (translator). To the Warm Horizon, Honford Star, 2021. 172 pgs. Originally published in 2017, To the Warm Horizon is perhaps best seen as a curious example of a…
![[REVIEW] βWeirdness Unfulfilled: Choi Jin-youngβs ππ π‘βπ ππππ π»ππππ§ππβ by Michael Tsang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/warm-horizon.png)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Nabina Das (translator), Alam Khorshed (curator), Arise out of the Lock: 50 Bangladeshi Women Poets in English, Balestier Press, 2022. 176 pgs. Arise Out of the Lock is a poetry collection by…
![[REVIEW] βπ΄πππ π ππ’π‘ ππ π‘βπ πΏπππ: On Resistance, Connection, and Enchantmentβ by Sharyn Phu](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/arise-out-of-the-lock.png)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Chinese Poetry and Translation: A Multi-Angled Overview of What Happens When Worlds Collideβ by Cyril Camus Maghiel van Crevel and Lucas Klein (editors). Chinese Poetry and Translation: Rights and Wrongs,…
![[REVIEW] “πΆβππππ π ππππ‘ππ¦ πππ πππππ πππ‘πππ: A Multi-Angled Overview of What Happens When Worlds Collideβ by Cyril Camus](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/chinese-poetry-and-translation-lucas-klein-.png)
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Duo Duo (author), Lucas Klein (translator and editor), Words as Grain (Yale University Press, 2021. 280 pgs.Β A farmer went out to sow his seed.Β As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and…
![[REVIEW] βA Parable of the Eccentric Sower: Duo Duoβs πππππ ππ πΊππππβ by Joanna Krenz](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/duo-duo_words-as-grain_lucas-klein.png)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} {This review is cross-posted on Agora.} Donald Keene and Shiba RyΕtarΕ (authors), Tony Gonzalez (translator), Edo Japan Encounters the World: Conversations Between Donald Keene and Shiba Ryotaro, Japan Library, 2018. 137 pgs.…
![[REVIEW] βAn Intellectual Exchange: A Review of πΈππ π½ππππ πΈππππ’ππ‘πππ π‘βπ πππππβ by James Kin Pong Au](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/edo-japan-encounters-the-world-conversations-between-donald-keene-and-shiba-ryotaro.png)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} β Fiona Sze-Lorrain, Rain in Plural, Princeton University Press, 2020. 120 pgs.β Yin Lichuan (author), Fiona Sze-Lorrain (translator), Karma, Tolsun Books, 2020. 222 pgs.β Ye Lijun (author), Fiona Sze-Lorrain (translator), My Mountain…
![[REVIEW] “Fiona Sze-Lorrain: Poetry and Translations” by Elizabeth Chung](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/fiona-sze-lorrain-7.png)
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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 Not Written Words. Xi Xi (author), Jennifer Feeley (translator), Not Written Words, Zephyr Press and MCCM Creations, 2016. 152 pgs. . βWhen I grow up,β writes…
![[REVIEW] “Quietly Radical: Xi Xi’s πππ‘ ππππ‘π‘ππ πππππ ” by Kyle Muntz](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/not-a-written-words_xi-xi.png)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Yeng Pway Ngon (author), Natascha Bruce (translator), Lonely Face, Balestier Press, 2019. 152 pgs. Yeng Pway Ngonβs novella Lonely Face, translated into English by Natascha Bruce, relates an unnamed middle-aged manβs reflections on his…
![[REVIEW] βExistential Capsules and Cusps in Yeng Pway Ngonβs πΏπππππ¦ πΉπππβ by Frances An](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/lonely_face-1-1.jpeg)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βDivination, Philosophy, and Change: The Original Meaning of the Yijing: Commentary on the Scripture of Changeβ by Tim Murphy Zhu Xi (author), Joseph A. Adler (translator and editor), The Original…
![[REVIEW] βDivination, Philosophy, and Change: πβπ ππππππππ πππππππ ππ π‘βπ Yijing: πΆππππππ‘πππ¦ ππ π‘βπ ππππππ‘π’ππ ππ πΆβππππβ by Tim Murphy](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/original-meaning-of-the-yijing-zhu-xi-joseph-a-adler.png)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Liu Xinwu (author), Jeremy Tiang (translator), The Wedding Party, Amazon Crossing, 2021. 400 pgs. Time is a recurring theme in Liu Xinwuβs novel, The Wedding Party, recently translated from the Chinese into English…
![[REVIEW] “A Rich Tapestry for Tomorrowβs Beijingers: A Review of πβπ πππππππ ππππ‘𦔠by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/theweddingparty-1.jpeg)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Takashina ShΕ«ji (author), Matt Treyvaud (translator), Japanese Art in Perspective: East-West Encounters, Japan Library, 2021. 191 pgs. An amateur of Japanese art might have heard about ukiyo-e (or floating painting), as well…
![[REVIEW] “(Re)formation of Ideas: π½ππππππ π π΄ππ‘ ππ ππππ ππππ‘ππ£π” by James Au Kin-Pong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/japanese-art-in-perspective-east-west-encounters.jpeg)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Tahi Saihate (author) and Kalau Almony (translator), Astral Season, Beastly Season, Honford Star, 2021. 144 pgs. Tahi Saihate’s Astral Season, Beastly Season, translated from the Japanese by Kalau Almony, is an odd, beautiful,…
![[REVIEW] βRoughness of Thought: A Review of Tahi Saihate’s π΄π π‘πππ ππππ ππ, π΅πππ π‘ππ¦ ππππ ππβ by Maks Sipowicz](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/astral-season-beastly-season-tahi-saihate-translated-by-kalau-almony.png)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ on Liu Yichang.ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ on John Minford. John Minford (general editor), Hong Kong Literature Series, The Chinese University Press, 2020. If the library was on fire…
![[REVIEW] “We Shall Have to Learn How to Live with Ghosts: A Review of John Minford’s π»πππ πΎπππ πΏππ‘ππππ‘π’ππ ππππππ ” by Douglas Kerr](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hong-kong-literature-series-1.png)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Duo Duo (author), Lucas Klein (translator), Words as Grain: New and Selected Poems. Yale University Press, 2021. 246 pgs. What follows can only be read as an impressionistic fleeting encounter between a…
![[REVIEW] “Myriad Powers of Words: Duo Duo’s πππππ ππ πΊππππ” by LiangΒ Luo](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/words-as-grain_lucas-klein_duo-duo.png)
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Simon Wickhamsmith (translator),Β Suncranes and Other Stories: Modern Mongolian Short Fiction, Columbia University Press, 2021. 296 pgs. As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to disrupt international travel, entry into Mongolia remains…
![[REVIEW] “A Glimpse into Mongolia: ππ’πππππππ πππ ππ‘βππ ππ‘πππππ ” by Sarah KΓΆksal](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/suncranes-and-other-stories_cha-review.png)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Tsering DΓΆndrup (author), Christopher Peacock (translator), The Handsome Monk and Other Stories, Columbia University Press, 2019. 216 pgs. Tsering DΓΆndrupβs The Handsome Monk and Other Stories shows that literatures from less visible…
![[REVIEW] “Noir Fables of Tibet: Tsering DΓΆndrupβs πβπ π»ππππ πππ ππππ πππ ππ‘βππ ππ‘πππππ ” by Michael Tsang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/the-handsome-monk-and-other-stories_asian-cha.png)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books andΒ Films.} Kang Kyeong-ae (author), Anton Hur (translator), The Underground Village, Honford Star, 2018. 288 pgs. The Underground Village is a collection of short stories by one of colonial Koreaβs pioneer female authors, Kang Kyeong-ae, translated…
![[REVIEW] βLamentable Conditions and the Decrepit Body: A Review of Kang Kyeong-aeβs πβπ πππππππππ’ππ πππππππβ by Suhasini Patni](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/the-underground-village-kang-kyeong-ae-1.png)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} The Bauhinia Project, Hong Kong Without Us: A Peopleβs Poetry, University of Georgia Press, 2021. 120 pgs. Unusual times call for unusual ways of self-expression. At a time when civil freedoms in Hong…
![[REVIEW] “Poetry Blossoms Everywhere: A Review of π»πππ πΎπππ πππ‘βππ’π‘ ππ ” by Michael Tsang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/hong-kong-without-us.png)
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{Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Sakinu Ahronglong (author), Darryl Sterk (translator), Hunter School, Honford Star, 2020. 184 pgs. Sakinu Ahronglongβs Hunter School, in a brilliant English translation by Darryl Sterk, is an engaging exploration of indigenous selfhood.…
![[REVIEW] “An Unapologetic, Proud Celebration of Paiwan Identity: Sakinu Ahronglong’s π»π’ππ‘ππ ππβπππ” by Serena De Marchi](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/hunter-school_sakinu-ahronglong-1.png)
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{Written by Frances An, this review is part of Issue 46 of Cha.} {Return to Cha Review of Books and Films.} Yeng Pway Ngon (author), Jeremy Tiang (translator), Costume, Balestier Press, 2020. 269 pgs. βLike so many of his characters, he [Yeng Pway Ngon] was…
![[REVIEW] βCantonese Opera as Collective Imagination: A Review of Yeng Pway Ngonβs πΆππ π‘π’ππβ by Frances An](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/yeng-pway-ngon_costume_jeremy-tiang.png)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Layered Spaces: A Review of Chi Ta-wei’sΒ The Membranes” by Serena De Marchi Chi Ta-wei (author), Ari Larissa Heinrich (translator),Β The Membranes, Columbia University Press, 2021. 168 pgs. Chi Ta-weiβs classic of…
![[REVIEW] “Layered Spaces: A Review of Chi Ta-wei’sΒ πβπ πππππππππ ” by Serena De Marchi](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/layered-spaces-a-review-of-chi-ta-weis-the-membranes-1.png)