Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

350 reviews

warlocksarecool21's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a bittersweet story about a lesbian Chinese-American girl coming of age in 1950s San Francisco. Elements of the book fell flat for me, but I did like it. I thought it was very well-researched, the author does an excellent job of giving the sociopolitical context of the time period to show what it was like to be Chinese in the US during the Red Scare and the Cold War. I also really enjoyed the depictions of Chinese immigrant culture and Chinatown, for example the cultural traditions and food were interesting to read about. I also enjoyed the book’s discussion on queer culture at the time and how LGBT people created underground spaces for each other despite being marginalized by society. I thought the author did a good job at showing Lily realizing she was a lesbian and discovering these queer spaces, while also acknowledging that her intersectional identity of being queer and Chinese meant that she was marginalized in both of her communities. I’m glad the author took so much care in researching this time period and I think the book is worth a read for that aspect. 

Some of the other elements of the book fell flat for me though. While I did like Lily as a character, she felt one-dimensional at times and so did the side characters and the relationships she had with them. Her blossoming relationship with Kath was cute but it felt superficial to me, I didn’t know much about Kath other than she was a lesbian and she wanted to be a pilot. I was more interested in Lily’s dynamic with Shirley, just because of how complex it was. They had this shared history of growing up together but they wanted different things and that made for a very interesting yet toxic relationship to read about. I also felt that the chapters about Lily’s family members making their way in the US were some of the more compelling plotlines in the book and I wanted more of her family dynamic. 

Additionally, I found myself becoming bored about halfway through. Once Lily started going out with Kath to the club the plot felt kind of directionless, I didn’t see what it was working towards so it just seemed like so much was happening but a lot of the little plot points didn’t go anywhere. The research and care that went into this story was definitely evident but I wish the characters and plot had been developed a little more. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, and Homophobia

Minor: Misogyny and Sexual harassment

kajoreads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The beginning was a bit too slow for me, otherwise I really loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Outing, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Alcohol, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual content, Deportation, Child abuse, War, and Misogyny

Minor: Drug use, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship

cogowno's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia

tigerkind's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Homophobia, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: War and Toxic friendship

meagan123's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia and Homophobia

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, and Toxic friendship

vael's review against another edition

informative fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia

Minor: Toxic friendship, Deportation, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Sexual content, Outing, Classism, Police brutality, Misogyny, War, Racism, and Racial slurs

andrearahman's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A newanced historical romance about queer girls and Chinese Americans in the 1950s, lovely and tragic and bittersweet and interesting. Loved learning more about queer existence and institutions in history that people have tried to ignore or erase

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia and Lesbophobia

Minor: Racism and Xenophobia

ajay913's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, Lesbophobia, and Racism

Moderate: Gaslighting, Bullying, Alcohol, and Racial slurs

Minor: Police brutality, Xenophobia, War, Misogyny, Transphobia, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicidal thoughts

gabsoulutely's review against another edition

challenging hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

If I could give this book a 6 out of 5, I would. This was such a special read, like the world in the 50's was plucked from the timeline and given to me firsthand. I really liked seeing how Lily became her own person and fell in love with Kath. I loved Kath throughout this book

and I really hope this story had a happy ending.

I'd like to think that these characters stayed together and remained in love despite all the cultural challenges of their time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia, and Emotional abuse

eam006's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Xenophobia

Moderate: Sexual harassment