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Last Night at the Telegraph Club
Winner of the National Book Award
A New York Times Bestseller "The queer romance we've been waiting for."--Ms. Magazine Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the feeling took root--that desire to look, to move closer, to touch. Whenever it started growing, it definitely bloomed the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. Suddenly everything seemed possible. But America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father--despite his hard-won citizenship--Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day. (Cover image may vary.)
A New York Times Bestseller "The queer romance we've been waiting for."--Ms. Magazine Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the feeling took root--that desire to look, to move closer, to touch. Whenever it started growing, it definitely bloomed the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. Suddenly everything seemed possible. But America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father--despite his hard-won citizenship--Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day. (Cover image may vary.)
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Community Reviews
This book was a slow read for me, probably because it required a bigger brain shift to enter the narrative world. Was very good, very compelling. It helped that I already knew a decent amount about JPL and early rocket study, and also about Chinatown in SanFran.
I picked this up for bookclub. I wasn't sure I would enjoy it at first, but as I read more and more, I realized how much I did enjoy it.
There isn't much fiction published about the Chinese population of San Francisco during the 1950's, and this helped fill that hole. It also included information on the LGBT community during this time period. Also, it was an interesting story and the characters were well-written. I wanted to learn more about them. I heard rumor of the two main characters having a spinoff book, but it turned out that they only had cameo appearance in that book.
I would recommend this book to others. It was a fantastic read.
There isn't much fiction published about the Chinese population of San Francisco during the 1950's, and this helped fill that hole. It also included information on the LGBT community during this time period. Also, it was an interesting story and the characters were well-written. I wanted to learn more about them. I heard rumor of the two main characters having a spinoff book, but it turned out that they only had cameo appearance in that book.
I would recommend this book to others. It was a fantastic read.
4.5 - I loved the descriptions of the cultural and social settings of this book and the portrayals of Chinese American and lesbian experiences in the 1950s so much, what an eye opening and heartwarming read :( I do wish there had been a bit more character focus - as another reviewer pointed out, the focus on setting the scene in describing the cityscapes and period specific aspects kind of drowned out the character-centric aspect and I didn't feel like I knew anyone but Lily too well and couldn't get attached to them. But for the story that this book wanted to tell, it certainly delivered very well.
This was such a great read. Vivid characters, great tension, wonderful historical details. Must read.
Highly readable, managing fluffy teen love, the tensions of racial and sexual bigotry, raw emotion, and family dynamics.
Lily Hu is the main character and point of view, but peppered in are earlier memories from different family members. Family, community, and conformity are major themes in this historical work.
In the paperback edition (I’m assuming also the hardback, but I’m not certain), the fictional narrative is followed by the author discussing historical sources and specific reasons for characterizations and dynamics.
I highly enjoyed this work. I laughed, I learned, I had several cries. The HEA is diverted due to the reality of the time period of the 1950s. But it doesn’t feel like the heroine or love interest was shafted unnecessarily. There’s hope and love here. I’m glad to glimpse the world of this book, and I hope the author returns frequently to other time periods that overlap with these characters.
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