Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - Last night at the Telegraph Club

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Last night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

85 reviews

quechaya's review against another edition

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Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Loved it a lot more than I expected, considering YA isn't really my thing. Would have been 4.5 stars but

not a fan of the ambiguous ending. Better than a sad ending though.

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twiginthemud's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

LITERAL BANGER????? I EXPECTED A SOAPY ROMANCE AND GOT A GENUINELY GOOD HISTORICAL PIECE ALONG WITH A REALLY GOOD ROMANTIC PLOT???? (NOT CLICKBAIT)

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bisexualbookshelf's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense medium-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

4.0

Malinda Lo’s Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a poignant, beautifully written novel that captures the complexities of coming of age as a queer Chinese American girl in 1950s San Francisco. The story follows Lily Hu, a shy and academically gifted teenager, as she navigates her burgeoning feelings for Kath, a fellow student, against the backdrop of a society steeped in racism, xenophobia, and homophobia.

Lo’s depiction of 1950s San Francisco is richly detailed, and the historical context is woven seamlessly into the narrative. I was particularly struck by how the book explores the intersection of race and sexuality. Lily’s identity as a Chinese American is constantly under scrutiny, both by the dominant white society and within her own community, which is further complicated by her emerging queer identity. The pressure Lily feels to conform to the expectations of both white supremacy and heteronormativity is palpable and heartbreaking, adding layers of depth to her character and her story.

The Telegraph Club, a lesbian bar that becomes a sanctuary for Lily and Kath, serves as a vibrant, almost magical setting where Lily begins to explore her identity. Lo captures the thrill and terror of this exploration with exquisite sensitivity. The club scenes are filled with queer joy, but they are also tinged with the ever-present danger of being discovered. I was also moved by how Lo portrays Lily’s queer awakening as a process of gradual self-discovery. The scene where Kath subtly comes out to Lily, described as an “opening,” was particularly touching. It’s a moment of possibility, and while Lily doesn’t fully accept it at first, she doesn’t reject it either, reflecting the slow, often painful journey of coming out.

However, the novel also doesn’t shy away from the darker realities of the time. The fear of the Red Scare looms large, with Lily’s family facing the threat of deportation due to their Chinese heritage. This fear adds another layer of tension to Lily’s life, as she must navigate the dangerous waters of being both queer and Chinese in a society that mistrusts both. The scenes depicting the harsh realities of the Red Scare and its impact on immigrant families were chilling, highlighting how xenophobia and anti-communist rhetoric were weaponized to marginalize entire communities.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a story of first love, self-discovery, and the courage it takes to live authentically in a world that demands conformity. Lo’s writing is lyrical and evocative, capturing the angst, joy, and uncertainty of Lily’s journey with remarkable tenderness. While the novel is set in a specific historical context, the themes of identity, belonging, and resistance resonate deeply with contemporary readers. It’s a powerful reminder of how far we’ve come, and how far we still have to go, in the fight for queer liberation and racial justice.

📖 Recommended For: Fans of historical fiction, those interested in exploring the intersection of race and LGBTQ+ identity, readers who appreciate richly detailed settings and character-driven stories.

🔑 Key Themes: Identity and Self-Discovery, Forbidden Love, Racial and LGBTQ+ Marginalization, 1950s America, Cultural and Historical Heritage.

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thatchickengirl23's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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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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jcstokes95's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

YA historical fiction seems like a real challenge to pull off. You have to educate, build a distinct mood, make time-accurate characters that still relate to a modern teen and craft a coming of age narrative that is both engaging but realistic to the setting. In this particular bildungsroman, Lo is also weaving in the sweetness of young love without letting it overpower the self-discovery at the core of her story. In all, Lo is pulling off an impressive balancing act here. In the end, I felt I had learned so much about a period and perspective that I hadn’t previously imagined.

We follow a teenage Lily, as she begins to put a name to her own sexuality and faces what that will mean for her. The regular homophobia threatening her existence is only compounded by virulent anti-Asian, anti-immigrant sentiment, which means her reputation extends to her family as well. Despite this, she continues to explore a delicately portrayed relationship with her classmate Kath and dips her toes into the grimy, yet exhilarating would of the Telegraph Club.

Personally, I was much more invested in the parts where we were examining the relationship between Lily and her day-to-day counterparts, Kath, Shriley and her own family. I found a lot of the characters at the Telegraph Club grating, though I do think this is purposeful. And feel immensely accurate to that time in your life where you begin to realize the glamourous “adults” of the world are no wiser than you are. In this way, even the things that frustrated me, built a sense of realism. This was the biggest strength of Lo’s book. Every person seemed to act rationally within their own specific contexts. YA can sometimes be cursed with dei ex machina that create conflicts or resolve them. Lo instead keeps you grounded in Lily’s world.

For this reason, I also vastly appreciated the choice to not give Lily’s family the normal warm, fuzzy traditional YA reaction to coming out. It’s a painful read, the small attempts at empathy are still cutting. Even the most sympathetic character, Lily’s aunt, is moralizing and prevents Lily from living authentically. But, this makes the novel that much more compelling in the end, though when we get the epilogue, I found myself wishing we had seen some of the growth that happened off page. It felt a bit like a missing piece.

Similarly, while I appreciated the context around her parent’s journey, some of the flashbacks seemed awkwardly placed and didn’t always feel central or connected to the story. I’m not sure how I would have recut these to make a stronger impact, but it did sometimes create a bit of whiplash that took you out of Lily’s mind.

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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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dandilion_'s review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.5

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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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