Last Night at the Telegraph Club
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD AND STONEWALL BOOK AWARD • From acclaimed author Malinda Lo comes a gripping, tender coming-of-age novel exploring identity, queerness, and historical upheaval set in San Francisco’s Chinatown during the 1950s.
“Lush, ambitious and layered, Malinda Lo’s sweeping historical novel is 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.
Meticulously researched, emotionally stirring, and startlingly brave, Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a standout work of historical fiction that has taken the world by storm.
Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature • A Michael L. Printz Honor Book • A We Need Diverse Books Walter Dean Myers Honor Book • A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist • A Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of the Century
“Lush, ambitious and layered, Malinda Lo’s sweeping historical novel is 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.
Meticulously researched, emotionally stirring, and startlingly brave, Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a standout work of historical fiction that has taken the world by storm.
Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature • A Michael L. Printz Honor Book • A We Need Diverse Books Walter Dean Myers Honor Book • A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist • A Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of the Century
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Community Reviews
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.
the themes and the writing is amazing i accidentally think that this is just not the right genre for me
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.
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.
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