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You are here: Home / Archives for Chinese

Last Night At The Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

April 6, 2021 By achuka Leave a Comment

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“This standout work of historical fiction combines meticulous research with tender romance to create a riveting bildungsroman. San Francisco, “with its steep stairways and sudden glimpses of the bay between tall, narrow buildings,” is almost a character itself. Interspersed flashbacks that detail the personal histories of Lily’s parents and Aunt Judy and timelines of world events further put the 1950s Chinese American experience into context for readers.” HORN BOOK
“Lo’s lovely, realistic, and queer-positive tale is a slow burn, following Lily’s own gradual realization of her sexuality while she learns how to code-switch between being ostensibly heterosexual Chinatown Lily and lesbian Telegraph Bar Lily. In this meticulously researched title, Lo skillfully layers rich details, such as how Lily has to deal with microaggressions from gay and straight women alike and how all of Chinatown has to be careful of the insidious threat of McCarthyism. Actual events, such as Madame Chiang Kai-shek’s 1943 visit to San Francisco, form a backdrop to this story of a journey toward finding one’s authentic self. Beautifully written historical fiction about giddy, queer first love.” KIRKUS
“Smoothly referencing cultural touchstones and places with historic Chinese American significance, Lo conjures 1950s San Francisco adeptly while transcending historicity through a sincere exploration of identity and love. Back matter includes an author’s note explaining Lo’s personal connection to the story.” PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

The award winning author of Ash gives us a very different story of love and duty set in San Francisco’s Chinatown during the 1950s. Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father – despite his hard-won citizenship – Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.

Follow the author on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/malindalo/

Filed Under: Blog, BookOfTheDay, Books, YA Tagged With: Chinese, historical, lesbian, queer, teen, YA

The Weaver by Qian She

February 3, 2018 By achuka Leave a Comment

Chinese illustrator Qian Shi makes her picturebook debut with The Weaver (Andersen Press, £10.99, 2+), a story about a spider called Stanley and his quest to weave a web he can call home. Shi integrates facts about the natural world with this unusual arachnid adventure to great effect, underscoring the fragility of life and habitats in the natural world. She also has great fun animating the simple spider shapes with hilarious expressions and unusual poses. Sara Keating IRISH TIMES

Waterstones

Filed Under: Illustrated Tagged With: Chinese, debut

Andersen Award Winner criticizes low quality of children’s books in China

April 12, 2016 By achuka Leave a Comment

Screen Shot 2016-04-12 at 08.52.54Novelist Cao Wenxuan, who won the Hans Christian Anderson [sic] Award several days ago — making him the first Chinese writer to do so, revealed his concerns regarding the quality of contemporary children’s books during a press conference at Peking University, Beijing, on Monday.
“There are so many children in China who make great demands for these books. Therefore, the industry attracts a lot of unqualified writers and earns them tremendous amounts of money,” Cao said.

In his remarks, Cao said that he is expecting writers of children’s books to concentrate on their creations rather than on commercial gimmicks.

via Novelist criticizes low quality of children’s books – China.org.cn.

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: China, Chinese, quality

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