Last Night at the Telegraph Club
Author: Malinda Lo
Published by: Dutton Books
Pages: 400
Format: e-book (ARC)
My Rating ★★★
Published by: Dutton Books
Pages: 400
Format: e-book (ARC)
My Rating ★★★
Acclaimed author of Ash Malinda Lo returns with her most personal and ambitious novel yet, a gripping story of love and duty set in San Francisco's Chinatown during the 1950s.
Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a gay bar called the Telegraph Club.
America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father--despite his hard-won citizenship--Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.
Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a gay bar called the Telegraph Club.
America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father--despite his hard-won citizenship--Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.
My thoughts:
A free e-book advanced copy of Last Night at the Telegraph Club was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
It is a story about immigration, culture, identity and one of blemished part of American history. but most of all, this is a novel about the need for representation.
Malinda Lo’s writing manages to capture an accurate sense of place and time. The impact of Communism and events in China is present throughout the book, but the threat seemed distant and the mini plot line frustratingly didn't end up actually going anywhere. It took me a while to fully engage, but after the halfway mark, I found myself pretty gripped.
I did, however, find Lo’s long author's note at the end of the book very informative. She cleverly used these additional pages to add in some extra historical context for the impeccably well-researched story. The author’s note firmly cements Last Night at the Telegraph Club as a representation novel.
Lily is a likeable and interesting main character. She's thoughtful and introspective, maintaining a sweet balance of naive and courageous behaviour throughout the book. Her emerging romance with Kath is shy and tender and feels realistic for tentative teenagers trying to figure things out together.
This was so hard to rate. One the one hand, the writing was strong, I could tell that the author researched the time period very well, and it was immersive. One the other hand, it dragged. The beginning was incredibly slow and even though I enjoyed the historical aspect of the book, I struggled to see how it played into Lily’s story, but the second half was when things picked up. My biggest issue was the pacing. I personally found the pacing a bit uneven throughout the book, and the ending felt a little rushed. A pretty good read overall, with informative historical aspects and an interesting emotional journey. This coming-of-age story was enjoyable, but just a bit too much of a slow burn for me.
Overall reaction:
A free e-book advanced copy of Last Night at the Telegraph Club was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
It is a story about immigration, culture, identity and one of blemished part of American history. but most of all, this is a novel about the need for representation.
Malinda Lo’s writing manages to capture an accurate sense of place and time. The impact of Communism and events in China is present throughout the book, but the threat seemed distant and the mini plot line frustratingly didn't end up actually going anywhere. It took me a while to fully engage, but after the halfway mark, I found myself pretty gripped.
I did, however, find Lo’s long author's note at the end of the book very informative. She cleverly used these additional pages to add in some extra historical context for the impeccably well-researched story. The author’s note firmly cements Last Night at the Telegraph Club as a representation novel.
Lily is a likeable and interesting main character. She's thoughtful and introspective, maintaining a sweet balance of naive and courageous behaviour throughout the book. Her emerging romance with Kath is shy and tender and feels realistic for tentative teenagers trying to figure things out together.
This was so hard to rate. One the one hand, the writing was strong, I could tell that the author researched the time period very well, and it was immersive. One the other hand, it dragged. The beginning was incredibly slow and even though I enjoyed the historical aspect of the book, I struggled to see how it played into Lily’s story, but the second half was when things picked up. My biggest issue was the pacing. I personally found the pacing a bit uneven throughout the book, and the ending felt a little rushed. A pretty good read overall, with informative historical aspects and an interesting emotional journey. This coming-of-age story was enjoyable, but just a bit too much of a slow burn for me.
Overall reaction: