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A review by lisa_m
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
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.
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.
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