This is a totally unique book that is full to the brim with research, representation and respect. I mean, A historical fiction set in the 1950s with a focus on Chinese American culture? I'd be lying if I said that this was something I would typically seek out but I would have really missed out on something special if I did. There was a wonderful afterword from the author that went into detail about both her inspiration for the novel alongside much of the side-by-side comparisons she made to real life figures in San Franscisco's queer scene in the 50s alongside the culture surrounding immigrants from China. The Telegraph Club is loosely based on Maud's, which I admittedly fell into a bit of a rabbithole reading about.
It was so fascinating getting to read about history that has largely been left unexplored or supressed and the intersection of being Chinese-American in the USA at the time of the Red Scare. It feels like a lot but the characterization really sells how well all of this information is given to the reader. There’s such a gentle quality running throughout this that you see through the characters, it’s deeply affecting and relentlessly heart-warming despite the awful things that happen leaving a surprisingly potent coming-of-age story. I really enjoyed Lily as a character. She was really easy to empathise with, understand and feel for in every sense of the word. Her relationships with her friends, family and Kath were very realistic and interesting, including her semi-toxic relationship with her best friend. I loved the journey she went on as she realised this new part of her identity and what that would mean for her; her curiosity, self-reliance and passion made her such a welcome main character to follow.
The setting is absolutely stunning - the amount of care taken to craft this is worth so much praise. The combination of the setting itself and how Malinda Lo writes? It's so easy to picture and so flavourful - the beautiful cover of this book is given complete justice in how things are portrayed in the novel itself.
I think if I had to critique some aspects - while the writing itself was very good, the setting and historical details, etc. I didn't really feel too shocked at how the plot played out? A lot of it was fairly paint-by-numbers at the heart of it. I knew that Tommy was going to make a strange move on Lily. I knew that eventually Shirley would find out about it all and be both jealous and prejudice. I knew that eventually Lily's family would find out and the aunt would move her away. BUT there was enough detailing to keep me more than interested. Weirdly while I loved Kath and Lily's relationship, how it blossomed and the nuance to them finding each other in a time that disdains the idea of it - Kath herself is a little bit flat to me? It's not a massive critique but I felt like outside of her wanting to be a pilot and her connections to the underground queer clubs, I didn't really know a lot about her.
This was a well-earned 4 ⭐