Last Night at the Telegraph Club

Lo, M. (2021). Last Night at the Telegraph Club. Penguin Young Readers Group.

ISBN 9780525555254

Plot Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the feeling took root—that desire to look, to move closer, to touch. Whenever it started growing, it definitely bloomed the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. Suddenly everything seemed possible.

But 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, n.d.)

Analysis:

Malinda Lo’s novel is a work of historical fiction that attempts to encompass elements of race, gender roles, homosexuality, family dynamics, socio-economic status, and 1950’s politics. Her main characters, Kath and Lily, are coming of age as an interracial lesbian couple. They are both depicted as intelligent and ambitious. Lo builds Lily’s character with great detail, sometimes to the point that it interferes with the story flow. Kath is not awarded a rich character description, but instead appears in the story with an intriguing back story that is never revealed in the book.

Lo captures the danger and fear present in 1950’s Chinese-American culture. A timeline precedes some sections of the book explaining the events in the character’s lives as well as items of historical significance. The author seems well-researched and weaves these historical elements into the story in a seamless manner. Some of the characters, particularly Lily’s family, appear somewhat stereotypical. Shirley, Lily’s best friend from childhood, adds an interesting sense of conflict as each girl hides her own secrets.

The end of the story, specifically the epilogue, finds our young lovers reunited a year after their dramatic separation. These last pages add needed balance to the plot line. Despite their traumatic back story, both characters had pursued their passions and their inherent ambition and intelligence were not sacrificed to the tragedy in their love story.

I wanted to love this book, but the slow build of the story made me lose interest somewhere in the middle. The book is rated appropriate for ages 14+. While some young teens may be ready for this type of book, due to it’s sexual content I would be cautious recommending it for younger readers.

Lo overwhelmed the story by including so many complicated elements. If we distill it down to its essence, this is a compelling story of young love that had me cheering for Lily and Kath and (most of) the regulars at the Telegraph Club.

Book Reviews:

“While there are many compelling tenets woven throughout Lily's journey (racism, anti-Communism, her Chinese family's relationship to their American identity), an abundance of detail weighs down the plot. The focus on world-building is at times heavy-handed, causing repetitiveness and rendering Lily and Kath's relationship the slowest of burns. Lo's prose comes alive when describing Lily's blossoming awareness of desire; readers will be enthralled with her breathless, confusing experience of seeing the long-awaited Tommy Andrews and finally expressing her feelings for Kath. The ending is devastatingly realistic for its time, but an epilogue shimmers with a gloss of hope. VERDICT A pensive, rich work of queer historical fiction that will reward patient readers.”

Williams, A. (2021). Last Night at the Telegraph Club. School Library Journal, 67(1), 76–78.

“Lo incorporates Chinese food and language, appending explanatory footnotes for romanized Cantonese and Mandarin terms and characters. Smoothly referencing cultural touchstones and places with historic Chinese American significance, Lo conjures 1950s San Francisco adeptly while transcending historicity through a sincere exploration of identity and love. Back matter includes an author's note explaining Lo's personal connection to the story. Ages 14–up.”

Bruns, A., Kantor, E., & Roback, D. (2021). Last Night at the Telegraph Club. Publishers Weekly, 268(48), 106–107.

Connections:

In the author’s note, Lo explains that Lily Hu’s story was inspired by two books:

Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, From Missiles to the Moon to Mars 

by Nathalia Holt

&

Wide-Open Town: A History of Queer San Francisco to 1965 

by Nan Alamilla Boyd

-Malinda Lo includes a select bibliography at the end of the book that would be a wonderful place to search for enrichment related to the novel.

Awards:

NPR Best Book

Boston Globe Best Book

Publishers Weekly Best Book

BookPage Best Book

SLJ Best Book

Kirkus Best Book

Booklist Editors' Choice

Horn Book Fanfare Selection

BCCB Blue Ribbon Selection

Chicago Public Library Best Book

Boston Public Library Best Read

New York Public Library Best Book

Goodreads Choice Finalist

Book Riot Best Book

YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Top Eleven Title

Winner of the Chinese American Library Association Award for Best Young Adult Book

Kids's Book Choice Teen Book of the Year

(Lo, n.d.)

References:

Lo, M. (n.d.). Plot Summary. Amazon.com. Retrieved September 9, 2023, from https://www.amazon.com/Last-Night-at-Telegraph-Club/dp/0525555250/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1694295244&sr=8-1

Lo, M. (2021). Last Night at the Telegraph Club. Penguin Young Readers Group.

*This review was created as an assignment for SHSU LSSL 5385.