Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

377 reviews

abitbetterbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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? No

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

saucy_bookdragon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective 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

"They aren't looking for the truth. They're looking for scapegoats."

Last Night at the Telegraph Club is personal, being about a Chinese immigrant family living in San Francisco in the 1950s following their daughter, Lily, who's a lesbian. She's dealing a lot with homophobia both internalized and externalized, racism, and both the red and lavender scares.

I found the way this book dealt with coming out to yourself to be really relatable. The gray area where you're beginning to realize you're queer but scared of acknowledging it openly and the awkward joy of being in your first queer space. I also really loved the family dynamic because even though Lily's relationship to her parents is complicated, through flashbacks you see what they've been through and why they are the way they are. That said, I felt some of the non-POV characters were kind of flat, particularly Kath and Lily's asshole friend.

I was gripped throughout the story, reading it all over the course of two days. It was pretty emotional with me screaming and almost crying at certain points during the second half (view spoiler)

Overall, Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a needed bittersweet novel about learning to accept oneself and being Chinese and queer in the 1950s. The notes about the research at the end was also really great to read as it seems this was a personal novel for Malinda Lo who is Chinese-American and queer and included inspiration from her family along with her research.

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Drug use, Police brutality, Alcohol, and Deportation

julieclair's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad 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

Lily, a Chinese American high school girl living in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the 1950s, falls in love with her Caucasian classmate, Kath. The novel sensitively and realistically explores Lily’s struggles as a lesbian woman of color coming of age during a time of strict social mores and rampant prejudice, even within her own family.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Alcohol

amydrisc's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Toxic friendship

yeimyaileen's review against another edition

4.0

books like these are hard to read.  i loved the contextualization of these events within US news and politics, and i liked how the book's climax is mutli-faceted.  not only does lily have to confront being a lesbian in the 50s, but also she has to confront how her identity is tied to the treatment of Chinese americans + red scare politics.  

-lily is not simply sent away because she is queer and her family does not accept it, but rather, she is sent away because her identity itself could further endanger her father's immigration status.  the links between queerness and american sentiments regarding chinese communism are present in this book.  -lily is also sent away because her family wants her to "be happy" and "live a full life," which are things they cannot imagine for lesbians.  this is intricately tied to the experience of immigrants, in wanting children to live better lives than they were able to (free of trauma + war).  

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: War

adverb17's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

Moderate: Drug use, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual content, War, and Deportation

bg_oseman_fan's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative slow-paced

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

4.5

i liked that this book she’s light on a part of the 1950s that isn’t often covered. the historical basis of the book really shines. i enjoyed the context that the supporting characters provided so much that i wish there was more of it. i lao felt that the narrative swung too hard towards leaving things open ended. i also had the impression going in that there would be more of a mystery element to the story and that McCarthyism as it relates to the Chinese-American would be more of a focus. still it was a great book for shedding light on such under-covered topics

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, and Outing

Minor: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Alcohol, and War

madelynraabe's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia, and Lesbophobia

swaggyfrog's review against another edition

hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

my time not spent reading this was spent thinking about getting back to it. i am glad to live in the time i live in now, i am grateful for the people before me whose lives were like lily hu's, and i am both excited and resentful of those who will come after me. i love you lesbians ❤️🧡🤍🩷❤️

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Lesbophobia, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Alcohol, War, and Deportation

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Outing, and Classism

lizziaha's review against another edition

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

Kath my love 🥹 I found all of the stories in this book to be interesting, I was just a little perplexed by the organization of some of the inclusions. I also wanted more from each of them. I think a little expansion would’ve helped me understand the characters and their choices a little more. I did really appreciate the careful description of food in this book. It was mouthwateringly realistic. And the depiction of queer community was incredibly heartwarming. 

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Alcohol and Deportation

Minor: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Sexual harassment