Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo follows 17-year-old Lily Hu, a Chinese American teenager who discovers her queer identity and navigates first love with classmate Kathleen (Kath), all while confronting cultural expectations and political paranoia in 1954 America. Lily can’t remember when she started feeling different from other girls; however, she does know that her feelings shifted when she and Kath went to the lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club.
Being in love with another woman wasn’t common or safe in 1954, especially in Chinatown. The Red Scare impacted Chinese Americans like Lily, and with deportation looming over her father, is Lily willing to risk everything for her love for Kath?
The novel is a heartwarming coming-out story that has tender moments when Lily decides to stand up for herself and prioritize her needs. I enjoyed reading about her finding her voice. The book switches between different points of view and time, which I found confusing and didn’t feel this contributed meaningfully to the story.
Although Kath and Lily are main characters, I felt we rarely got to know them deeply. I was surprised to learn that Kath was 17 years old, as she sometimes acts much younger. The novel is a standalone, but the author has another book that includes a conclusion for Lily’s and Kath’s relationship, which remains unresolved at the end of this one. While I liked the book, I don’t think I would go out of my way to read another work by the author.
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