Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Last Night at the Telegraph Club

i expected more tbh. the first half was way too slow and the ending felt very rushed. i liked it nevertheless but it’s not as good (in my opinion) as many praise it to be

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rynaissanceenby's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

A thoroughly enjoyable book that imagines a cross-section of identities I had never even really considered. The juxtaposition of the two worlds Lily lives in draws attention to the similarities and differences of different types of bigotry. She can be Chinese American in some places and she can be a lesbian in others, but many places she can't be either and nowhere can she be both. I also love the feminist subplot thrown in and feel for the misogyny that tried so hard to crush the dreams of people like Lily, Kath, and so many other little girls who looked to the stars.

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teawitchontravel's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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luceronegrete2010's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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mostlyvoidpartiallystars's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book was perhaps the best book I've read all year. From it's nuanced portrayal of teenaged lives, to the fear that coming of age as a queer teen during the Lavender Scare, to the dangers of being a Chinese American during the Red Scare. This doesn't gloss over the awfulness that 1950s America was, but it doesn't sensationalize it, either. Genuinely one of the most beautiful representations of human beings grappling with a difficult world, despite being flawed themselves, and how love changes us.

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tabea1409's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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warlocksarecool21's review against another edition

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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.

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charliebites's review against another edition

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emotional funny informative lighthearted reflective sad 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

4.5

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