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whatsmacksaid's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Homophobia
kmhst25's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Passing Strange is what I like to call Wouldn’t It Be Nice literature. The author appears to have thought: wouldn’t it be nice to write a story about San Francisco in the 40s? A lesbian love story? Something with a little magic and chalk pastels?
The problem with Wouldn’t It Be Nice literature is that it doesn’t really go anywhere. The author’s not writing for the plot, but for the happy little ideas they had in their head. It falls flat, because the author is too busy telling you about their pet loves to tell you a full fledged story.
This is half a story that I think you’re only really going to enjoy if you also happen to fall in love with the author’s pet loves and aren’t particularly looking for a plot.
The problem with Wouldn’t It Be Nice literature is that it doesn’t really go anywhere. The author’s not writing for the plot, but for the happy little ideas they had in their head. It falls flat, because the author is too busy telling you about their pet loves to tell you a full fledged story.
This is half a story that I think you’re only really going to enjoy if you also happen to fall in love with the author’s pet loves and aren’t particularly looking for a plot.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Car accident
beccaand's review
emotional
hopeful
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Police brutality, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Death and Racism
Minor: War
thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Police brutality
Moderate: Death, Racism, and Murder
hailstorm3812's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
I didn't really care for this. It has so many elements I like individually but they just ultimately didn't come together for me. I just didn't care. I liked the vibes, the small discussions on Science and Magic, drag kings, and Helen, but I didn't care about the lightning romance that the book hinges on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and Police brutality
kathleenmcg's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This was a gorgeous novella. It went from mystery, to historical romance, to fantasy with magical realism, to what should become LGBTQIA classic. The mysterious beginning gives way to a love story between two women in 1940. The action between the two women running in to one another in an all women’s nightclub, falling in love, running into trouble, because conflict is necessary even in the shortest of stories, and escaping trouble, happen within a matter of days. Having friends to rely on, or, found family, are also important aspects to this story. The fantastical and the magical elements leave the book with a mysterious end, that with the beginning, bookend the love story at the heart of this novella.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Police brutality, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Suicide
libraryraven's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-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? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Police brutality, and Lesbophobia
tinyjude's review
challenging
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
A beautifully written novella that tackles themes such as police brutality, lesbophobia, xenophobia, racism, physical abuse, societal expectations... as well as queer love, female friendship, fantasy, magic and a beautiful and nuance portrayal of queer life at that time.
In some occassions it reminded me of Stone Butch Blues because of the portrayal of lesbian (especially femme and butch identities) women and the difficulties they faced at the time. In that sense, this novella was heartbreaking.
However, the flirting, the longing gazes, the sweet intimate moments, the close relationships between these queer women were delightful. I felt in love with Helen/Spike (my god, no wonder everyone went crazy for her. I was going insane reading it) and Haskel (oh, Haskel). The inclusion of art, the descriptions especially of the last painting which is the gorgeous cover of this novella, the artistry vibes of all, noir films with lesbians (looking at you 'bound')... they were just marvelous.
Love and art can definitely be magical.
In some occassions it reminded me of Stone Butch Blues because of the portrayal of lesbian (especially femme and butch identities) women and the difficulties they faced at the time. In that sense, this novella was heartbreaking.
However, the flirting, the longing gazes, the sweet intimate moments, the close relationships between these queer women were delightful. I felt in love with Helen/Spike (my god, no wonder everyone went crazy for her. I was going insane reading it) and Haskel (oh, Haskel). The inclusion of art, the descriptions especially of the last painting which is the gorgeous cover of this novella, the artistry vibes of all, noir films with lesbians (looking at you 'bound')... they were just marvelous.
Love and art can definitely be magical.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment
buildingtaste's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I wish this book was either shorter or longer, if that makes sense. The back jacket makes a point of there being six different women involved, and this is technically true, but the majority of the story is devoted to just two of them and their relationship. The magic is just enough, neither showily out of place nor so subtle it doesn't warrant its inclusion. Reading the penultimate chapter and looking back at the cover made me tear up. I hope Haskel and Emily had a beautiful life.
Despite the long list of content warnings this book is on the whole a reaffirming read, it just doesn't gloss over the historic conditions for lesbians and Asian americans in the 1940s.
Despite the long list of content warnings this book is on the whole a reaffirming read, it just doesn't gloss over the historic conditions for lesbians and Asian americans in the 1940s.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
sallysimply's review against another edition
2.0
Sadly, this book did not really work for me. The very beginning totally sucked me in, and I liked the magical bits. But for a book where magic ends up being so central to what happened, there was almost no magic and what magic there was felt super rushed. The way the characters communicate was perplexing to me and didn't feel at all natural (especially the scene where Haskel explains her background to Emily). I also found the story itself meandering, and not in the way I sometimes like. And I NEVER got over "uno momento," which is incorrect Spanish unless there is some strange 1940s exception that I am unaware of. Sidenote, why is Diego Rivera even in this book?
I contemplated DNFing it at multiple points (which is almost impressive, considering how short it is). With just the last long chapter left, I skipped to the final chapter to see how it ends and see if it was worth finishing. It was intriguing enough for me to then go back to the long chapter and finish it up. That was definitely the most interesting part of the entire book, besides the opening section.
So, the beginning and the end get this up to 2 stars for me.
I contemplated DNFing it at multiple points (which is almost impressive, considering how short it is). With just the last long chapter left, I skipped to the final chapter to see how it ends and see if it was worth finishing. It was intriguing enough for me to then go back to the long chapter and finish it up. That was definitely the most interesting part of the entire book, besides the opening section.
So, the beginning and the end get this up to 2 stars for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault, Xenophobia, and Police brutality
Minor: Misogyny