Passing Strange

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Average customer rating 4 (1 comments)

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In a version of 1940's San Fran just a little different than our own, a group of unconventional women are living lives half-in-secret. They are all lesbians, joining each other for dinners and nights in carefully selected bars, but each moves through her own social circles, involved in everything from restaurants in Chinatown to pulp magazine art. But when their delicately balanced world is threatened, they have some unusual options at their disposal. The subtle magic in this story seems to be divisive among reviewers, but I was one of the folks who enjoyed it. Klages' writing is immersive and created a wonderful world for the reader to explore. She picks a lovely balance between descriptiveness and brevity, creating writing that somehow feels spacious despite conveying so much. I did find the ending a little too neat, although it had been hinted at earlier, and there were characters I would have liked to see fleshed out better, but given this slim book, I could understand the choice not to spend too much time outside the main friend group.