Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

8 reviews

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Outing, Hate crime, Grief, Abandonment, Classism, Death, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Alcohol, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Deportation, Sexism, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Mental illness, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Gaslighting, War, Medical content, Violence, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Miscarriage, and Infertility

some_random_person_hi's review against another edition

challenging sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

It's an important book due to how it tells the stories of people who previously only existed in the margins of history and gives them a voice but I personally did not enjoy it. It's probably due to how I usually don't read historical/romance, didn't ship the main couple and personally would not make some of the major decisions the main character did. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Deportation, and Racism

Minor: Police brutality, War, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Confinement

Underage drinking & underage smoking. (Not explicitly condemned in text.)

rinku's review against another edition

emotional informative 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

4.0

It was nice that with Last Night at the Telegraph Club, we got a book that combines historical and queer elements. There was just something missing for me to give it five stars, but it’s nevertheless a great read.  

I don’t have too much to say about the story itself since it’s more centred around its main character. We follow Lily, a Chinese American girl in the 1950s, discovering that she’s a lesbian and having to deal with all the prejudices that people have towards her identity. In the course of this discovery process, she meets Kath and visits with her the Telegraph Club. These coming-of-age elements of this novel were written so well and realistic. Furthermore, the time period that the story is set in is interesting as well and I had the feeling that I’ve learnt something about it. I knew the term red scare and that the government acted racist against Asian people in these times, but I didn’t know how extreme it was which is so terrible. The only critique I have towards the way the story was told is that I didn’t like the other POV’s chapter which were not really necessary in my opinion. 

From the beginning, you just have the feeling that something bad will happen at one point – and what happens is so sad and spoilered in the German synopsis, thanks for nothing lmao. After this event,

everything happening is just terrible and my heart ached so much for Lily; it’s so sad how homophobic everyone is and that not even her aunt accepts her

. The ending itself is

quite open and still sad in my opinion because Lily and Kath still have to hide their relationship. Considering the time period, I expected no happy ending from the beginning but still, it’s so sad

. 

I often have my problems with romances but this one was really good. It’s relative slow burn which I always like but some moments between Kath and Lily were a bit too coincidental and hence felt constructed. Together, they were so cute from the beginning, especially their bounding through their love for STEM. Lily was a great main character in general and it’s so intense how she slowly discovers her sexuality and gender identity, just like how she’s caught between her different identities. She has such a tough life and at many moments in the story, I just wanted to hug her. Besides her, I loved the other female characters from the Club as well and the strong solidarity between them. 

All in all, Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a great book for both learning about the red scare period and for experiencing an emotional coming-of-age story together with Lily. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Outing, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Deportation, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Miscarriage, and Police brutality

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Transphobia

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, War, Xenophobia, Racism, Homophobia, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Child abuse, Misogyny, Outing, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Deportation, Mental illness, Alcohol, and Confinement

Minor: Drug use, Forced institutionalization, and Pregnancy

Pedophilia warning is just in case, for an adult woman behaving flirtatiously towards the teenage protagonist.

lisa_m's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

This was an interesting book. It deals with important topics and I especially enjoyed the authors notes at the end of the book.
There she writes about lesbian culture and especially the role Asian-American and other marginalised groups played. 

Sadly the story just didn't grip me. I really wanted to love this book but I didn't. I liked the story and I think it's a really important one to tell. It was just not a very enjoyable read for me.

I guess I just don't want to read about queer people being seen as abnormal and gross. I get that at the time that was normal but it still just made me uncomfortable and mad.
Also the author uses some words that made me uncomfortable because of their negative connotations. She also addresses this at the end of the book and that she used those words because it's what would have been used at the time.

I also didn't really connect to any of the characters. They all felt a bit shallow and like just a way to portrait the story. If I liked the characters more I might have been able to overlook the rest..

Edit:
For me it was probably a 2 star read. I did not enjoy it and the weird terms like calling the Asian protagonist 'china doll' multiple times just made me uncomfortable. I do think that this book is important though. It is not catered towards me and I cannot identify with the mc very much but maybe I'm just not meant to and that's okay. There are so many books written about girls I can identify with extremely well so I don't think that this is a bad book just because it's not for me. Actually I would maybe even recommend this to a very niche group of people. Queer people (of colour) with historical interests or interest in the LGBTQ movement.
For those reasons I have decided to give this book 3 stars instead of the 2 it was for me. it would just feel unfair and not do this book justice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Cultural appropriation, Deportation, Hate crime, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Outing, Police brutality, Bullying, Confinement, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, and War

andromeda_1998's review

challenging emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

Last night at the telegraph club took me by surprise. For school I had to read an historical fiction and as the raging queer that I am I chose this book to read. I wanted to read something that would mean more to me than just that one book I read for school and well…. The telegraph succeeded in that. Normally I’m not a big fan of this kind of book is just amazing. 

Characters 
The list of characters is really diverse and I loved it. I cannot speak for the Asian rep but I loved the sapphic love. I could really find myself in the panic that surrounds a baby gay and I wish with whole my heart that Lily’s story would have been easier. I felt a lot for her and she deserved better. 

Worldbuilding 
The worldbuilding is done in a very fun way. The story is played oud in the real world and it shows. If you google the locations you are able to find them and I love this! 

Story 
This is one of those books that is very important but before you read this please check the triggerwarnings! 

Writing 
The writing was beautifully done and gripped me. I had to finish this book! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Dysphoria, Transphobia, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Outing, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia

Minor: Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Adult/minor relationship, and Forced institutionalization

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional slow-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

Malinda Lo tells the story of queer Asian American experiences during the Red and Lavender Scare. Teenager Lily navigates the complex interactions of her identities, made more complex by dangerous politics targeting vulnerable populations. I don't always enjoy historical fiction, but this was a good read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Confinement, Hate crime, and Police brutality

McCarthyism, The Red Scare, The Lavender Scare, threats of deportation, forced outing

caoimhe9876's review against another edition

emotional inspiring fast-paced

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

5.0

Love this book!!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Alcoholism, Hate crime, and Sexual content

Minor: Confinement, Drug use, and Miscarriage