Last Night at the Telegraph Club
- Downloads：4761
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-07 13:51:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Malinda Lo
- ISBN：0525555250
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
Acclaimed author of Ash Malinda Lo returns with her most personal and ambitious novel yet， a gripping story of love and duty set in San Francisco's Chinatown during the Red Scare。
“That book。 It was about two women， and they fell in love with each other。” And then Lily asked the question that had taken root in her， that was even now unfurling its leaves and demanding to be shown the sun: “Have you ever heard of such a thing？”
Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root， but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club。
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。
"Lo's writing， restrained yet luscious， shimmers with the thrills of youthful desire。 A lovely， memorable novel about listening to the whispers of a wayward heart and claiming a place in the world。"—Sarah Waters， bestselling and award winning author of Tipping the Velvet and The Night Watch
“That book。 It was about two women， and they fell in love with each other。” And then Lily asked the question that had taken root in her， that was even now unfurling its leaves and demanding to be shown the sun: “Have you ever heard of such a thing？”
Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root， but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club。
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。
"Lo's writing， restrained yet luscious， shimmers with the thrills of youthful desire。 A lovely， memorable novel about listening to the whispers of a wayward heart and claiming a place in the world。"—Sarah Waters， bestselling and award winning author of Tipping the Velvet and The Night Watch
Reviews
ashwini
，
I have。。。 conflicting feelings about this book。First off， I really liked the representation。 It's own voices Chinese lesbian rep and it's extremely heartwarming and so nice to see positive sapphic representation in media。 I also loved the way the book switched between the perspectives of Lily's family members and herself， highlighting not only Lily's struggle with race and sexuality but a larger struggle with being Chinese American during the 1950s， and the conflicting identities that come with I have。。。 conflicting feelings about this book。First off， I really liked the representation。 It's own voices Chinese lesbian rep and it's extremely heartwarming and so nice to see positive sapphic representation in media。 I also loved the way the book switched between the perspectives of Lily's family members and herself， highlighting not only Lily's struggle with race and sexuality but a larger struggle with being Chinese American during the 1950s， and the conflicting identities that come with it。 It made for a really insightful and intriguing read--I loved it。Something that rubbed me the wrong way throughout almost the entire book， and kind of ruined the main romance for me a little， is the way Kath reacted to Lily being faced with microaggressions constantly throughout the book。 And by reacted， I mean didn't react at all。 This is of course own voices representation and nothing can take away how important that is， but I just found it so frustrating to think that the main character's love interest， the one they are so deeply invested and in love with， never said a thing while Lily was made uncomfortable by other people's words against her as a Chinese girl in America。 I feel as though the standards are just so low， and the fact that it was never addressed or brought up was a little disheartening。It was frustrating enough for me to bump this down from a 4-star to a 3-star rating， but I still think this is very much so a worthwhile book to read。 The representation is great， and I especially loved the last 100 or so pages of the book。 It has a happy lesbian couple in it， it talks about what it means to be Asian American， and how hard it can be to come to grips with the multiple identities you're faced with as a queer person of color。 It's definitely worth a read。 。。。more
Mia
，
3。5 starsI enjoyed the historical detail， but the pacing was off for me， and I felt that the characterization of Kath was lacking。
Tabitha Page
，
This is such an incredible novel！ I love historical fiction and romance （especially WLW romances） and this book was the perfect bundle of it。 Highly recommend！
eva
，
lesbians🥰🥰🥰
Sarah Alvarez
，
3。5*
Amanda
，
Researched with care and quietly moving。 I was completely invested in Lily's relationships and exploration of San Francisco， and was impressed by how this could walk the line of historical accuracy while feeling emotionally safe。 Researched with care and quietly moving。 I was completely invested in Lily's relationships and exploration of San Francisco， and was impressed by how this could walk the line of historical accuracy while feeling emotionally safe。 。。。more
eliana
，
4。5
Savannah
，
The thing that was so jarring to me was the racism that Lily experienced from those around her。 I don't spend enough time thinking about the racism faced by Chinese Americans。 Particularly in the scenes where she is hanging around with the various lesbian characters。 I have a picture of anyone who is LGBTQ being accepting and striving for equality。 However， it was 1954。 So there was rampant racism among the lesbian community in San Francisco。 The part where （view spoiler）[ Lily comes out to her The thing that was so jarring to me was the racism that Lily experienced from those around her。 I don't spend enough time thinking about the racism faced by Chinese Americans。 Particularly in the scenes where she is hanging around with the various lesbian characters。 I have a picture of anyone who is LGBTQ being accepting and striving for equality。 However， it was 1954。 So there was rampant racism among the lesbian community in San Francisco。 The part where （view spoiler）[ Lily comes out to her parents was timeless though。 It really took me back and I was right back to when I went through that same situation。 I'm not sure if Malinda Lo is queer， but she was able to write that part so well。 （hide spoiler）] 5 stars， I would give it 10 stars if I could。 。。。more
Zoya Zwart
，
I liked this book alot， but there were sections where it was about her parents and I didn't relly like them。 It didnt add to the plot。 Also the book felt short， considering i finished it in a day。 I wish it was a bit longer， because the ending felt very boring because it just kind of ends。 I did make my friend read it and it was our topic of conversation for about a week。 I liked this book alot， but there were sections where it was about her parents and I didn't relly like them。 It didnt add to the plot。 Also the book felt short， considering i finished it in a day。 I wish it was a bit longer， because the ending felt very boring because it just kind of ends。 I did make my friend read it and it was our topic of conversation for about a week。 。。。more
najeeba
，
It’s an absolutely stunning book I can’t begin to describe。 The writing feels so natural
Alwynne
，
I was utterly absorbed in Malinda Lo’s YA novel， partly inspired by her family’s past it also draws on a wealth of research into 1950s’ lesbian life。 Set in San Francisco in 1954， it features an extremely vivid reimagining of the city’s thriving， lesbian subculture seen through the eyes of Chinese American teenager Lily Hu。 Lily lives with her family in Chinatown， a safe haven for Chinese Americans， already battling racism and unthinking stereotypes， now they’re the targets of America’s latest ‘ I was utterly absorbed in Malinda Lo’s YA novel， partly inspired by her family’s past it also draws on a wealth of research into 1950s’ lesbian life。 Set in San Francisco in 1954， it features an extremely vivid reimagining of the city’s thriving， lesbian subculture seen through the eyes of Chinese American teenager Lily Hu。 Lily lives with her family in Chinatown， a safe haven for Chinese Americans， already battling racism and unthinking stereotypes， now they’re the targets of America’s latest ‘red scare’ and the FBI’s ruthless quest for possible Communist sympathisers。 It seems everyone around Lily’s telling her not to stand out， even the clothes her mother buys her are designed to make her inconspicuous， but at night she risks everything to sneak out to the Telegraph Club where she’s welcomed into a vastly different but equally tight-knit community of women。 Lo’s book’s not likely to win any literary prizes， there are no instances of flashy prose or experiments with narrative form here， instead Lo gives her readers an exceptionally well-crafted， accessible， solidly-told piece; a rich and meticulous recreation of lost histories and a sensitive variation on the standard coming-out story。 As someone who spends far too much time puzzling over which aspects of historical novels are based on fact and which complete fabrication， I particularly appreciated Lo’s detailed afterword outlining the actual historical background to Lily’s story， and Lo’s approach to its construction。 。。。more
Tiffany Perez-Cantu
，
I wanted a cute story and it was cute but so much beautiful imagery and so many tears。。。。 I wasn’t ready but 10/10
Alexandra
，
Ok this was an incredible read， wow。 The coming-of-age/queer experience really hit home for me， and the historical setting was so descriptive。 Amazing honestly！
anna jo
，
THAT ENDING BROKE ME。
Amelia R
，
I think we've had enough historical lesbian novels， but the spotlight on Chinese Americans during the 50's feels very fresh and unique。 Although the romance， specifically， is nothing I haven't read before， this is a stunning coming of age story that made me shed a few tears。 I think we've had enough historical lesbian novels， but the spotlight on Chinese Americans during the 50's feels very fresh and unique。 Although the romance， specifically， is nothing I haven't read before， this is a stunning coming of age story that made me shed a few tears。 。。。more
Rianca
，
This was an incredible novel。 I wish I had something like this to read when I first came out to my parents so that I could know that I wasn't as alone as I felt。 The representation of not only queer characters， but Asian characters too was great to read and it was nice to not see these characters being stereotyped。 We need more novels like this one。 This was an incredible novel。 I wish I had something like this to read when I first came out to my parents so that I could know that I wasn't as alone as I felt。 The representation of not only queer characters， but Asian characters too was great to read and it was nice to not see these characters being stereotyped。 We need more novels like this one。 。。。more
Caitlin
，
Last Night at the Telegraph Club is an incredibly poignant historical fiction from Malinda Lo about a Chinese American girl growing up in 1950s San Francisco， discovering things about herself and her identity that can crack her world wide open。 Lo is masterful in her pacing and timeline insertions， bolstering Lily's story with her family history at perfect moments throughout the book。 One of my favorite parts， obviously， was the care that Malinda Lo took in her Author's Note at the end。 I love h Last Night at the Telegraph Club is an incredibly poignant historical fiction from Malinda Lo about a Chinese American girl growing up in 1950s San Francisco， discovering things about herself and her identity that can crack her world wide open。 Lo is masterful in her pacing and timeline insertions， bolstering Lily's story with her family history at perfect moments throughout the book。 One of my favorite parts， obviously， was the care that Malinda Lo took in her Author's Note at the end。 I love hearing a writer's process and the research that went into crafting such a historical gem。 She's a true talent。 。。。more
Holly
，
‘In reality， Tommy was a woman made of flesh and blood， and that frightened Lily most of all’。This book is spectacular。 At the beginning， I had no strong opinions， and then it just hits you all at once。 I raced through the second half of the book， enduring tears as I went。 The plot is brilliant， you fall completely in love with the protagonists and I just cannot recommend it enough。
Cristina
，
Beautiful， show stopping， marvelous， the standard we should all hope to strive for。 This book tackled so many different concepts of identity， history， community， and personal struggles in only 400 pages， and yet it was done flawlessly。 As a history nerd， I really respected the amount of research that was put into preparation for this novel in order to make it as historically accurate as possible。 Not to mention the further notes and list of sources that was included at the end being the deliciou Beautiful， show stopping， marvelous， the standard we should all hope to strive for。 This book tackled so many different concepts of identity， history， community， and personal struggles in only 400 pages， and yet it was done flawlessly。 As a history nerd， I really respected the amount of research that was put into preparation for this novel in order to make it as historically accurate as possible。 Not to mention the further notes and list of sources that was included at the end being the delicious icing on the cake。 Lily and Kath， my little baby gays， were so adorable。 Following their storyline as they grew closer and discovered this important part of themselves together was amazing and made me cry with love。 Also how they discovered an entire community during their journey， giving them a safe space to grow and blossom and come to terms with who they were。 I really respected Lily as well， her bravery and the way she stayed firm in who she was was really inspirational and beautiful。I highly recommend this to everyone 。。。more
Alejandra
，
Truly the book I wish I had when I was 17。
Faye Faye
，
Great job author， I really like your writing style。 I suggest you join Novel Star’s writing competition on April。For more details click here :http://app。novelstar。top/index/index/。。。 Great job author， I really like your writing style。 I suggest you join Novel Star’s writing competition on April。For more details click here :http://app。novelstar。top/index/index/。。。 。。。more
Ash
，
The amount of positive， affirming， LGBT representation in young adult fiction has skyrocketed since I was a teenager。 For that reason， every time I read a book like Last Night at the Telegraph Club， I get a little overwhelmed by how glad I am that a book like this exists。 Not just so that I can read and enjoy it， but so current and future LGBT teenagers can see themselves reflected in the books they read in a way I never did。 Any book that communicates a message of “LGBT people exist， LGBT peopl The amount of positive， affirming， LGBT representation in young adult fiction has skyrocketed since I was a teenager。 For that reason， every time I read a book like Last Night at the Telegraph Club， I get a little overwhelmed by how glad I am that a book like this exists。 Not just so that I can read and enjoy it， but so current and future LGBT teenagers can see themselves reflected in the books they read in a way I never did。 Any book that communicates a message of “LGBT people exist， LGBT people have always existed， and they’re normal and they’re worthy of love and success” is a good book as far as I’m concerned。Last Night at the Telegraph Club isn’t good just because the lesbian rep is good， although I really cannot stress enough how seen and validated I felt reading Lily’s experiences。 Seeing yourself reflected in a work of fiction or music or art never gets old。 In fact， my only complaint about this book – and the reason I rated it four stars instead of five – was that I wanted more exploration of Lily’s journey。 I could have read another one or two hundred pages of that， and there were parts that felt a little rushed， particularly toward the end。Though I could never understand Lily’s experience as a Chinese American and the daughter of first- and second-generation immigrants， I thought they were well-written and enlightening。 Particularly eye-opening for me was the way Lily was pulled in two different directions by her identities as Chinese American and as a lesbian。 In Chinatown， she felt less able to express herself authentically – this I could relate to， having grown up in a religious community that was not accepting of LGBT people – but outside of Chinatown and among other （white） lesbians， she still felt like an outsider for being Chinese。This is a very character-driven book， a classic coming-of-age story and one that I think will resonate with both teen and adult readers。 I haven’t read any of Malinda Lo’s previous books because I’m not as much of a fan of YA fantasy or science fiction as I used to be， but if she comes out with any more historical fiction （or even contemporary fiction） I will definitely check it out。 Clearly she does her research， and the way she managed to bring the characters in this book – particularly Lily – to life speaks to her writing abilities。As a final note and a slight spoiler， for other LGBT readers who have been burned before by LGBT historical fiction， I assure you that （view spoiler）[neither Lily nor her girlfriend Kath die in the end， neither of them end up in an institution， neither of them “turn straight，” and in fact the ending， though somewhat open-ended， is mostly optimistic and happy （hide spoiler）]。 。。。more
Brianna
，
DNF at 50%。 not a bad book by any means I just don't think I'm in the space to be reading it rn。 but from what i have read， i had a fun time。 plan to revisit it once the sky is a little bluer mayhaps。 DNF at 50%。 not a bad book by any means I just don't think I'm in the space to be reading it rn。 but from what i have read， i had a fun time。 plan to revisit it once the sky is a little bluer mayhaps。 。。。more
Sofia Magni
，
“How was your trip？”“It was fine。 It’s not very interesting。”“I haven’t seen you in over a year，” Kath said。 “Everything you say is interesting。”En muchas cosas me recordó a mi propia adolescencia， descubriendo mi sexualidad y experimentando el miedo a ser descubierta por mi familia y el mundo， pero dispuesta a arruinarlo todo por estar un momento con la chica que tanto amaba。 Muy emocionante por otros lados e interesantisimo el contexto social y cultura de la época。 disfruté cada momento。
Jenni
，
Moving and heartwarming as a book of fiction， but also extremely educational about the Chinese and LGBT community during the 1950's communist paranoia in America。 Moving and heartwarming as a book of fiction， but also extremely educational about the Chinese and LGBT community during the 1950's communist paranoia in America。 。。。more
Nadia
，
[3。5] Se me hizo lento el libro al punto que quise dejarlo a mitad， pero continue pues me gustaban los personajes y queria saber que iba a pasar。 Me alegro de haberlo continuado porque se puso muy buena y mas "rapida" despues。 Fue una historia muy bien hecha， necesaria， importante y totalmente lovely。 El contexto historico fue muy rico y estuvo desarrollado de manera excelente。 El libro nos deja saber como es la experiencia de crecer siendo chinese-american， y lo dificil que era en la epoca de l [3。5] Se me hizo lento el libro al punto que quise dejarlo a mitad， pero continue pues me gustaban los personajes y queria saber que iba a pasar。 Me alegro de haberlo continuado porque se puso muy buena y mas "rapida" despues。 Fue una historia muy bien hecha， necesaria， importante y totalmente lovely。 El contexto historico fue muy rico y estuvo desarrollado de manera excelente。 El libro nos deja saber como es la experiencia de crecer siendo chinese-american， y lo dificil que era en la epoca de los 50 por el contexto historico y politico。 Ademas de esto， tenemos la historia de amor entre dos chicas， y el arco del personaje principal quien se estaba descubriendo a si misma y aprendiendo a ser fiel a quien era。 Me encanta como Malinda Lo escribe， y me gusto mucho leer un libro de historial fiction en esta epoca y que fuera queer， mas por favor！ 。。。more
Felix
，
The afternoon sunlight caused the shadows to slant eastward， downhill， as if pointing them forward， and as they walked， Lily told Kath more about what she had read。 "They kissed each other，" she reported， and saying it out loud was thrilling; it made her blush。 And yet she couldn't say the word the book has used to describe those kings of girls: lesbian。 The word felt dangerous， and also powerful， as if uttering it would summon someone or something---a policeman to arrest them for saying that wor The afternoon sunlight caused the shadows to slant eastward， downhill， as if pointing them forward， and as they walked， Lily told Kath more about what she had read。 "They kissed each other，" she reported， and saying it out loud was thrilling; it made her blush。 And yet she couldn't say the word the book has used to describe those kings of girls: lesbian。 The word felt dangerous， and also powerful， as if uttering it would summon someone or something---a policeman to arrest them for saying that word， or even worse， a real-life lesbian herself。 Last Night at the Telegraph club is told from the point of view of Lily; a girl on the edge of adulthood who， carefully at first and somewhat recklessly after， begins to figure herself out in a world that would rather have her do just about anything else。 With startling ease the reader gets pulled into a story that feels so cruel to anybody who is "different"， it's difficult to remember that it was a reality for thousands of people a mere 70 years ago。 Malinda Lo's writing style is not quite what I'm used to。 It's blunt and to the point when describing places and most of the people， but gets freer whenever Lily thinks about Kath， or building planes。 Lily's world seems somewhat one dimensional until something （or someone） she loves enters it， and this feels like a unique way of subtly showing what seems to motivate her most throughout the book。 I enjoyed this story -- the characters are real; Lily isn't always a good person， but she never stops trying to be one。 Her parents are real people。 I love how their story gets told rather than just writing them off as 'the parents'。Her friends are far from perfect as well， but they help tell Lily's story in the way that it should be told。 The cold war， WWII， the rocky lives that most Asian American had at this time， it's part of the book， but the biggest conflicts don't come from that。 They come from typical friend-and-family drama。 And I enjoy that。 It would have been too easy to make Lily only worry about the big things happening， when really it's the small things that mean the most to her。All in all - I loved this read。 The only thing that bugged me is that I think that Lily and Kath just didn't have that much chemistry。 They had a wonderful friendship， and I don't think their romantic involvement worked quite as well。 。。。more
Danko
，
Can't fucking stop crying send help Can't fucking stop crying send help 。。。more
Gwen Sargent
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 “she began to feel as if she had been split in two， and only one half of her was in this living room。 that was the good chinese daughter who was delicately chewing her way around the bones in each piece of hsün yü 。。。 the other half had been left out on the sidewalk before lily walked in the front door。 that was the girl who spent last night in the north beach apartment of a caucasian woman she barely knew 。。。 perhaps one day she’d get used to the way it made her feel: dislocated and dazed， neve “she began to feel as if she had been split in two， and only one half of her was in this living room。 that was the good chinese daughter who was delicately chewing her way around the bones in each piece of hsün yü 。。。 the other half had been left out on the sidewalk before lily walked in the front door。 that was the girl who spent last night in the north beach apartment of a caucasian woman she barely knew 。。。 perhaps one day she’d get used to the way it made her feel: dislocated and dazed， never quite certain if the other half of her would stay offstage as directed。”“she wondered where kath was。 she wondered if kath could sense her， sitting here on this train as it took her away。 perhaps it was possible， if she closed her eyes and sent out her thoughts along the steel track like a message along a telegraph wire。 i love you。 i love you。the train swayed gently beneath her， and she leaned against the window to feel the cool glass against her cheek， and she was sure that kath had heard her， she was sure。”UM WOW？？？ i feel so seen by this book 。。。more
jenny [semi-ia]
，