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A review by warlocksarecool21
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, and Homophobia
Minor: Misogyny and Sexual harassment