Friday, March 29, 2024

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Book Review

Book reviews

2/2/2022

By Malinda Lo
432 pages
$11.99
Dutton Books
12/28/21

‘Last Night at the Telegraph Club’

I’m such a sucker for well-written, historical novels that don’t feel like historical fiction. Melinda Lo is known for her darkly beautiful stories, and this one hit that note just right. Unexpected romance, a turbulent time in our recent history, and a coming-of-age story all blend together into the perfect mix of bittersweet and hopeful for a tired soul like mine.

Lily is living in a weird time. The Red Scare, anti-Chinese sentiment, and a society in upheaval mixed with her own adolescence make everything seem uncertain and poised to crumble beneath her feet. Luckily for her, she finds sanctuary and mystery in the burgeoning lesbian bar scene with her friend Kath. Lily will have to navigate a complicated family, her own identity as a Chinese-American, and what love really means to discover who she truly wants to be.

This may be a historical setting, but so much of this book feels relevant to our current time. Finding yourself, discovering the meaning of family, and navigating a world intent on being hostile to anything different. This is a book for anyone out there feeling lost and alone. n 


By Aysegül Savas
192 pages
$26
Riverhead Books
12/7/21

CNA - Stop HIV Iowa
‘White on White’ 

Oh, this one is so beautiful, achingly so. A short, powerful hit of art and sadness and humanity that fits the new year blues like a glove. The inner lives of artists is always a rich playground for narrative, but the slightly sinister uncertainty that Savas weaves through this slick and shocking story makes for something unique and melodic.

An unnamed narrator in an unnamed city is renting an apartment from an artist named Agnes. In bits, splashes and torrents, Agnes’ life story is poured at the feet of the reader. The rhythmic nature of her stories starts to stutter, and an eerie, subconscious menace leaks through.

Much like the titular white-on-white painting, the true depth of this story is hard to see at first, but the slow realization by both the narrator and the reader is all the more satisfying for it. This is both a meditative and thrilling read for anyone feeling some midwinter melancholy. ♦

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