San Francisco in 1940 is a haven for the unconventional. Tourists flock to the cities within the city: the Magic City of the World’s Fair on an island created of artifice and illusion; the forbidden city of Chinatown, a separate, alien world of exotic food and nightclubs that offer “authentic” experiences, straight from the pages of the pulps; and the twilight world of forbidden love, where outcasts from conventional society can meet.
Six women find their lives as tangled with each other’s as they are with the city they call home. They discover love and danger on the borders where mystery, science, and art intersect.
There's love in this novella. Ellen Klages' Passing Strange is an interesting exploration of the world of pulp covers and queer nightclubs in the '40s, a discreet tale of magical realism through paper and paint, and a lovely forbidden love story. The build-up is excellent, slow and rich, and the payoff is quick but earned. A delightful and haunting story that can be read over the course of an evening, Passing Strange also won the World Fantasy Award.
✨ 5 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment