LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB

LAST NIGHT AT LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH THE TELEGRAPH CLUB CLUB BY MALINDA LO

Words by Louise Jackson “Are you like the girls in the book too? Because I think I am.”

Lily Hu has her sights set on space travel, but her feet are planted firmly in San Francisco Chinatown, 1954. The Telegraph Club is an answer to a question. When Lily walks into the lesbian bar with Kathleen Miller, she’s exposed to a whole new world, a world that seems very far from home. Last Night at the Telegraph Club depicts Lily’s complicated experience with coming of age. Her two identities clash together during a period that was hostile to both individually. She is the only Chinese person in the Telegraph Club, yet also struggles to reconcile her life in Chinatown with her sexuality. She is obsessed with space travel and dreams of following in her aunt’s footsteps as a ‘computer’ at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This is not a normal path for a girl. There is no space, that is holistically welcoming to Lily. She must fight for her right to exist in each of them.

The story is set during a tumultuous period in American history. The Red Scare campaign placed all Americans under the threat of accusations of communism. As China came under Communist control, ChineseAmericans in particular faced increased suspicion, and risk of deportation. The practice of McCarthyism was still prevalent in fostering a societal fear of the ‘other’ - from communists to homosexuals. Though

Senator McCarthy was losing public and political favour by the time of Lily’s story, the fear remained ingrained in 50s culture. By 1954, homosexuals had been granted the legal right to public assembly in California, proliferating the bar scene. But homosexuality remained classified as a psychological disorder and ‘homosexual activity’ was still illegal. Lily’s trips to the Telegraph Club take place under the constant threat of the police crackdown on such activity.

Lo is an incredibly gifted worldbuilder. The research that has gone into this book is intense and thorough. It feels as if you’re reading a story written in the 50s.

This does of course come with a warning – the book is rough. No nasty aspect of the time-period is sugar-coated. For a person like Lily, the 1950s spelled danger at every turn. While it’s a devastating time, I enjoyed the insight the story provided. So often we, and our media, look back on the past with rose-tinted glasses and a bestcase-scenario approach. Lo confronts the harsh reality that so many of the ‘others’ of society have faced. Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a necessary glimpse into the threat that came with being different.

Importantly, while Lily is not spared from the cruelty of her time, neither is her story one of abject, hopeless tragedy – Lo does not play on the reader’s emotions simply for the sake of creating the ‘big gay tragedy’ narrative we’re so used to.

There is no question that this is a slow book. Lo takes her reader on a trip back in time and the pace reflects that. But Lo provides insight into so many historical experiences, those of 50s drag kings and white sapphics, and Lily’s coming-of-age as a Chinese-American lesbian. Some chapters take the reader even further back, to explore the history of Lily’s family and the experience of the Chinese population in America through the eyes of Lily’s parents and aunt. Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a truly exquisite novel – Lo blends fiction and historiography with an expert touch. I learnt so much more than I expected to. For my fellow history nerds, Lo even includes nine pages of research summaries into various historical contexts at the end of the book. After so much effort was put into burying them, stories like Lily’s are not ones that often see the light of day – but they are so very important. Last Night at the Telegraph Club is an immensely detailed look into the clashing identities of Lily Hu. It is an important reminder that Lilys have always existed and that their stories will not be erased from our history.