Citation: Lo, M. (2021) Last night at the Telegraph Club. Dutton Books.
Content Warning: homophobia and racism.
Set in 1954, San Francisco, Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a thoughtful coming-of-age journey about Lily Hu. Lily is a Chinese-American teenager just beginning to explore the ideas of romance, but 1950s America is a place that is filled with racism towards Chinese immigrants and homophobia. Lily begins to realize that she might like girls after seeing a book about two girls in a relationship and finding an advert for a lesbian bar called the Telegraph club. As Lily meets Kath and they spend time together at the Telegraph Club, their love for one another emerges. (For those interested in this book, there is also a standalone in this universe called A Scatter of Light (2022).)
This book is beautifully written and transports you to the world of 1950s San Fran.