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toc's review against another edition
4.0
This was a short read but I really got into the characters. Which is unusual for me, to get absorbed that quickly. In fact, I think I would be thoroughly delighted if Ms. Klages were to write a, hmmm, not really a sequel, I suppose, but a follow-up piece. There's more to explore and I would enjoy reading it.
Don't read this book merely for the gender politics the reviewers all talk about. Don't read it merely because it's one of those "weird San Francisco"stories. Read it simply because it's a delightful little story about the hazards and joys of love.
Don't read this book merely for the gender politics the reviewers all talk about. Don't read it merely because it's one of those "weird San Francisco"stories. Read it simply because it's a delightful little story about the hazards and joys of love.
laroline's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I loved the idea and the setting and the overall vibe of the book very much, and also the prologue/epilogue worked very well, but I felt like the story and the characters could have deserved more depth and developement. While reading I often felt like the story was very much pieced together without really making one smooth whole of it. The relationship between Haskel and Emily came quite out of a sudden without much developement and also the magical elements could have done with more explanation or introduction. I liked the idea of the ending, but also this magical solution of vanishing into the picture felt like it needed more build-up. I am a little disappointed, because with a little more pages of explanation the book could have been truly perfect.
nebulea's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
shimiauu's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
rfaab's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
raven_morgan's review against another edition
5.0
A copy of this book was received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I'm pretty much just staring at the screen, trying to form actual useful words about this novella (and ending up just kind of flailing at the screen instead). This is just such a gorgeous book, with magic, and wonderful queer characters and a historical setting that's so vivid that you can practically smell the air. Go and read it. Now.
I'm pretty much just staring at the screen, trying to form actual useful words about this novella (and ending up just kind of flailing at the screen instead). This is just such a gorgeous book, with magic, and wonderful queer characters and a historical setting that's so vivid that you can practically smell the air. Go and read it. Now.
wicked_sassy's review against another edition
4.0
I was born less than 40 miles away from San Francisco, and the cool gray city of love, as Gary Kamiya calls it, used to be my favorite city. SF was a city where immigrants set up thriving enclaves, where poor people and baby queers and blissed-out hippies coexisted on the hilly streets. Not now, with the invasion of tech companies and the criminalization of poverty and addiction. Now, my love for SF is tinged with melancholy and loss. It is not the city where I spent my 17th birthday with my high school French club, eating pastries in Chinatown and spotting Coit Tower looming nearby.
"Passing Strange" evokes nostalgia for an era that I never knew, one when masculine women could get arrested for wearing fewer than three items of women's clothing, when vice raids terrorized bars, when world wars and xenophobia stratified the city's residents in desperation.
There are many love stories in this book; between the main characters, between women who love other women, between wartime SF residents and the city. It is a sweet and tender book, with just a bit of fantasy/supernatural tossed in for flavor, and I'm glad to have found it on the new books shelf at my library.
"Passing Strange" evokes nostalgia for an era that I never knew, one when masculine women could get arrested for wearing fewer than three items of women's clothing, when vice raids terrorized bars, when world wars and xenophobia stratified the city's residents in desperation.
There are many love stories in this book; between the main characters, between women who love other women, between wartime SF residents and the city. It is a sweet and tender book, with just a bit of fantasy/supernatural tossed in for flavor, and I'm glad to have found it on the new books shelf at my library.
audgee122's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Lightning fast read with a delightful cast of characters that are easy to root for. Feels like a “cozy queer romance” before the term calcified into something rote. I’ts nice to be somewhere before the tropers; this is a nice neighborhood. Klages’s use of violence against women is deployed reasonably, underlining the precariousness and out and out danger that being queer can invite, and I think that’s worth acknowledging (yes, this point is more about people’s response to the text than the text itself).
If you go into this booktok brain rotted it may not scratch the itch with how quick things happen and how casual the magic is, but it’s a novella—an inherent study in vibes. 4 stars.
If you go into this booktok brain rotted it may not scratch the itch with how quick things happen and how casual the magic is, but it’s a novella—an inherent study in vibes. 4 stars.