Last Night at The Telegraph Club

Last Night at the Telegraph Club gives a powerful perspective on the experience of growing up an outsider. Lily Hu is a seventeen year old girl, finding her place in her world. She lives in Chinatown, San Francisco with her parents and two younger brothers in 1954. She attends a school outside of Chinatown, which creates a significant shift between cultures in everyday life. She and her friends must deal with blatant racism on the street and at school, a constant reminder that they didn’t fit in. On top of this, Lily begins to question her sexuality. She meets Kathleen Miller, and the idea of herself that she crafted crumbles. She falls in love, and lets it take her places, namely the lesbian Telegraph Club. She discovers a community of people who understand her, and make her feel less alone. However, when her sexuality begins to endanger her family’s citizenship, everything falls apart.

I learned about the struggles of LGBTQ+ individuals in the 50’s, as well as struggles of Asian Americans in that time. I felt connected to Lily, in her quest to find herself. I understand what it’s like to know, but deny something about yourself. I felt like the book was speaking to a larger audience than just me, or other people my age. It was a hand to hold for every person struggling with racism, homophobia, dysmorphia, and hate.