bashsbooks 's review for:

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

5.0

emotional hopeful reflective tense 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: No

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Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a love-letter to butch/femme relationships and to Chinese-American culture. Its setting of 1950s San Franciso comes to life under Lo's descriptions. And there is a subtlity to Lily's changing feelings - about both Kath and Shirley - that shows Lo's fine handle on detail. The flashbacks supply important cultural context, and the timelines keep everything straight (pun intended). The author's note at the end is also very informative.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Classism, Deportation

Moderate: Racial slurs, War

Minor: Cursing, Drug use

Note on the racial slurs: since the text takes place in the 50s, the author decided to use some terms that are now outdated or even offensive. She explains her decision to so in her author's note.