Lovely evocation of sapphic life in 1940s San Francisco with a little twist at the end that is a delight of queer affirmation. ( )

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I bought a copy of this book from my Kindle.

Thoughts: I ended up enjoying this although I would put this more in the category of magical realism than outright historical fantasy. There's very little magic in here and it's very subtle. This is more of a story of a group of women trying to survive San Francisco in the 1940's. It reminded me a lot of Malinda Lo's "Last Night at the Telegraph Club"; which was written after this book.

This book follows a group of women who are all part of the GLBTQ community in one way or another and are trying to make independent livings for themselves in San Fran in the 40's. All these women are somehow involved in arts and entertainment (singers, dancers, artists, writers). The story ends up focusing on a female painter and the female male impersonater singer she falls in love with.

It's an intriguing look into that era and I enjoyed watching how these women supported themselves. There is very much an attitude of doing what you have to do to make a living. The artist is amazing but she makes a living doing the covers of pulp fiction, and while she doesn't love it, it's steady work. Same with Helen, who is a lawyer but can't get very many clients because she's a woman, so she works as a dancer in clubs. These women are tough, work hard, and admirable.

There is some subtle magic here. One of the women can fold paper in Oragami fashion to make short cuts and another knows how to paint people into other places. Things come to a climax when one of the woman's husbands (who's been absent for many years) returns and is incredibly violent with his wife when she demands a divorce. This circle of women quickly join to help her take care of the situation.

This was well written and easy to read. The characters are easy to relate to and I enjoyed learning about the era. The magic included here is elegant and subtle and works well with the rest of the story. I would definitely consider picking up some more books by Klages in the future.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this, it's a quick and well done story about women trying to survive on their own in 1940's San Fran. This is well written and I enjoyed the characters and the settings and how the story was pieced together. The focus is less on magic and more on women supporting each other through their differences to survive all the change that is happening in San Fran at this time. I would recommend it if this sounds interesting to you. ( )

Passing Strange is the first book by Ellen Klages that I have read. By the looks of her extensive list of published works, and her Nebula award winning status, it should not have been the first time I was introduced to her stories. Passing Strange wrangled me in from the very first sentence and the time shifting story line is expertly done.

Starting in the present day, the majority of the story then shifts back to 1940, exploring the relationships between 6 intriguing women, who, despite having a shortened amount of time to leap off the page, still manage to make strong impressions on the reader. Klages flawlessly weaves the women’s stories into one, sweeping story of discovering for who you are, and who your real family is.

The two primary figures, Haskel, the artist, and Emily, the performer, are the heart and soul of the group, despite not being familiar with each other at the start of their story, and the rest of the women quickly come together to support them when the going gets tough. While a shorter novel, a novella, theoretically seems like it would be easier to write, I find it is often harder – there is less time and space to convince the reader that the story you, as an author are telling, should stick with them – and so any time it is done particularly well, I appreciate it even more. ( )

The back of the book says this is the story of six women, but in reality only three of them are very prominent. The story begins at the end: Helen Young has received bad news from her doctor and knows she doesn't have long. It's time for her to keep a promise she made decades ago, so she retrieves a very special pastel painting from its hiding spot and prepares to sell it.

The story jumps back in time to San Francisco in 1940. Loretta Haskel is an artist who paints pulp magazine covers in order to pay her bills. She's married, but her husband left ages ago and she's perfectly happy without him. She found her place in the city's LGBT community and a circle of supportive friends (which includes Helen, who's also her lawyer).

One evening Helen and Haskel go to Mona's, a lesbian bar, and Haskel finds herself entranced by a singer called "Spike"...who happens to be a young woman she recently met, named Emily. Emily is in need of a place to stay, and Haskel has room.

The beginning of their relationship is the focus of much of this novella, and readers gradually learn how Haskel's final painting came to be, and why Helen kept it safe for decades only to sell it to a man she found distasteful.

This is one of those cases where I fell in love with the cover before anything else. The first part of this novella, set in the present, intrigued me, as did Franny's little display of magic at the start of the flashback. I admit, I expected (and would have preferred) there to be more fantasy in this. Instead, it turned out to primarily be historical fiction.

Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm not very familiar with lesbian history in general, much less what it was like in San Francisco in 1940, so I learned a few things. I had no idea about the three-garment rule, for example. And Helen's experiences as an Asian American added another layer - although she was a lawyer, being Asian American limited her job opportunities, so she helped pay her bills with dancing. Although, based on some of the wording in the first part of the story, it sounded like Helen eventually got to focus on law more - I recall a bit mentioning she'd been a judge.

While watching things develop between Haskel and Emily was nice, and the author's depiction of lesbian artist/entertainer life in 1940 San Francisco was fascinating (art lovers may enjoy Diego Rivera's cameo and Frida Kahlo's brief mentions), I did start to wonder where things were going. Then things fell dramatically apart. I had a guess as to how Klages was going to bring Haskel's final painting in, and, surprisingly, I turned out to be correct.

Overall, I found the ending to be both neat and satisfying, as long as I didn't think too much about how Haskel and Emily had really only just met.

Kudos to Tor (and the cover artist, Gregory Machess) for pairing this novella up with absolutely perfect cover art.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )

A dreamy, stand alone, slightly magic novella set deeply in queer San Francisco in the 40's and it turns out to be a TOR novella -- go figure. No wonder I loved it to its very bones. Ellen Klages takes us on a trip in time, and brings us to an irreverent, funny, vital lesbian circle of women who are finding ways to remain fiercely themselves despite the horrifying local laws governing their dress, their property, their rights as women and minorities. In addition, there's a little bit of magic, a little bit of satisfying revenge, some wish fulfillment and characters worth their salt. Delightful. ( )

While my main reading interests lie in the field of SFFF and not so much, if at all, general literature, reading a story like Passing Strange was obviously out of my comfort zone. However, I was recommended this book by ActuSF's director, and since staying in one's comfort zone for too long can have some side-effects, I decided to accept the challenge.

Obviously, it's the French translation that I read. In this edition, as well as the larger paperback that came out in 2020, you'll find not only the main novella - 'Passing Strange' -, but also the short story 'Caligo Lane' and an interview (from 2019) with Ms Klages, in which she tells more about the novella, how she came to write it, and more.

'Passing Strange' is divided into several parts:

* La ville aujourd'hui
* Tour de passe-passe
* Amours interdites
* La ville secrète
* La cité magique
* La cité interdite
* Tundérpör
* Un numéro plutôt corsé

We travel back to 1940, to the city of San Francisco, USA. World War II is going on in Europe, but the USA isn't bothered by it... yet. They've got other problems: LGBT (the QI+ was added much later), in short: See Wkipedia.

It all begins in the "future" or "present", depending on how you approach the story, before tracing back the steps at how it all began originally. Culture, art, and the likes are important, set the scene via jazz music, pulp magazine covers, etc. Lawyer Helen Young, then already long past the age of retirement, carries with her the very last cover illustration by the famed Haskel, who was the main illustrator for the magazine Weird Menace. Entering Marty Blake Rare Books, she manages to convince owner and shopkeeper Marty Blake to purchase the illustration. However, the illustration was put in a sealed box with glass covering to preserve the delicacy of the painting. After concluding the deal, Helen leaves the shop with a silent warning: Caveat emptor, a Latin expression meaning "Let the buyer beware". A warning whose origin will be explained as the story progresses.

Our main character, Loretta Haskel (illustrator for Weird Menace magazine) lives off her work as an illustrator. The work pays the bills, but nothing more. Breakfast isn't like your typical continental breakfast, no, she lives on raspberry cakes and cigarettes. A lot of cigarettes. So many cigarettes that she basically spends almost her entire income on them. That and Bourbon. But she's not the only one who smokes as if lives depend on it.

Like her friends, Loretta is a lesbian. Life as a lesbian wasn't easy back then, for various reasons. Chinatown was, on the other hand, quite receptive and welcomed these women in bars and similar places. Even the army would take measures against them. Loretta's friends include Helen Young, Franny Travers (cartographer, who makes origami objects that have magical characteristics: to travel from one place to another, as origami links them together), Barbara Weiss (Babs; a scientist working on pigments), and Emily Netterfield, who's known as Spike, a jazz singer at Mona's Club 440 at Montgomery.

The fragile painting, sold in a sealed box at the beginning of the story, tells a story of love, of an almost forbidden love with tragic consequences. Loretta was, after all, still married. She had the papers for divorce ready, but her (alcoholic) husband refused. At one point, Emily defends Loretta, but her intervention has serious consequences: Loretta's husband makes a bad fall and dies. Helen Young advises to flee, because there's little to no chance that either Emily or Loretta will be judged innocent, especially when a perfect robot picture of Emily was made and spread. The only way out: fleeing into a last painting by Haskel, by pulverising the blue stone of her necklace and using it for the painting. Opening the sealed box, which contained various booby-traps, put a final end to it all. Marty Blake, in all his curiosity or stubbornness, failed to heed Helen Young's warnings.

While I was quite sceptic about 'Passing Strange' being to my liking (i.e. not being a fan of love stories), I have to admit that my scepticism was a little misplaced and unnecessary. Even if not everything was uncovered on a historical or other level, I did enjoy the historical trip around town, if only to "see" how it was back and how life is now, in the 21st century, at least in the west. Yes, in various countries, LGBT+ still have a hard time living a comfortable life. The magical aspect of the story was original, though could have been more prominent, in my humble opinion. But that wasn't the main objective here at all, I reckon.

The added short story 'Caligo Lane' goes deeper into the origami element: Here we follow Franny Travers, the cartographer, who creates a new map following the postcard she received from her native country (Poland); in addition, she has Jewish origins. With her maps she can create direct passages, convenient when politics or similar make it hard to travel from one place or country to another. We're still in (misty) San Francisco, mainly near Russian Hill. The Golden Gate bridge, also depicted on the cover, has been in use for a few years now. Caligo Lane, where Franny lives, can not be found, not even by the postman. You can only arrive there by happenstance. As the Nazis were persecuting Jewish people in Europe (see here, for example), Franny tries to save as much of her people as possible via her magical cartographer skills.

Long story short: A story very much recommended, including the short story 'Caligo Lane', which complements the main novella.

You can read this short story on Tor.com or download the French version from the website of Éditions ActuSF, if you like to read it in French.

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I was sent this book by Éditions ActuSF for review. Many thanks to them for the trust. ( )

A lovely story set in San Francisco in the 1940's. There is a bit of magic, is it real?, you decide.

If there is such a thing as a Reverse Bechdel Test, this fails it. Two men talk to each other, but it is about a woman, specifically Big Jack (Jacqueline) discussed by a cop and a tourist. Other than sailors singing and an abusive husband, that is about as much male dialogue as we get. ( )

part of the book’s beauty is its cover. It is a gorgeous picture of a couple dancing in the moonlight. I think it is part of the reason I bought the book. But a cover is only a cover, it is what is inside the covers that is important. And in this case the insides more than lived up to the cover.

Passing Strange was a strange read for me. I wasn’t really sure it was for me at first. It had lovely writing and interesting characters but at first I kept wondering what it was all about. And then something happened and it suddenly seemed to shift up a gear and took off.

It is certainly a book that would inspire me to read more by the author. ( )

A haunting story that squeezes a lot of tenderness and a little humour out of a context of bitter repression. ( )

I have mixed feelings about this novella. On the one hand, the story is wonderful - unique, moving, and thought-provoking. I was up well past my bedtime thinking about the ending after I finished the book.

On the other hand, I found the writing style off-putting. It's not straightforward enough to be transparent to the reader, which is my preference. But it's not graceful enough to be lyrical. It's full of embellishments which didn't entirely fly for me - it sort of clunked around rather than singing.

But I'm willing to put up with prose choices that don't work for me for a special story, and this story is special. The 1930s queer San Francisco setting is wonderful to read about, and I loved the glimpses we got of the magical system. ( )

there is a lot to like here, especially the group of women friends who are smart, pithy, loyal, queer, and independent. i love what i can imagine as their all night debates about religion and science and magic. i don't usually like a lot of magic in books when realism could do, and the magic here seemed a bit...haphazard and meaningless until the end. i liked the way she tied that in and used it, even as it's not normally my thing. i probably would have liked it less if it had been used more, but it also probably would have been a little stronger if it was sprinkled a bit more throughout. i also don't usually like the framework she used for the book, but it worked for me here. (i guess it's not completely traditional in that the first part is told from helen's point of view and the last part is told from the dealer's point of view.) it was also a surprise then when we went back in time, that even though we opened with helen, she wasn't the main story we followed. klages did some unusual things with what, at first, seemed like a familiar
structure, and i appreciate that.

i would like this to be longer. there is some nice, elegant detail here, but i want more from all of the characters in the friend circle, as each of them are fascinating and deserve more time on the page. and i don't really feel like we got to know any of them, or fully understand the love between haskel and emily. that said, she managed to talk about quite a lot in a small book. (it's shorter than the 220 pages sound; the pages are small and the margins are big.) the feeling she gave of san francisco in 1940; the art work that haskel did for the pulp publications; the relative safety (and also the danger) of the community that made itself in san francisco when they weren't able to stay with their families of origin in other places in the country; the racism helen faced but also her strength; this circle of women friends that i wanted to be a part of. it's well done but i wanted it to be longer because of how much more i'd like to know about all of them and how much more time i'd like to spend in their world. ( )

Interesting story that focuses on the LGBT community during the 20's. It also has some magic elements to it which were pretty interesting. I think the ending could have been explained a little better but was good for the most part. I also loved the friendships in this story. A small group of women who support and help each other whenever they can was nice to read about. ( )

This is a paranormal romance/historical fiction/novella. It takes place in San Francisco in the 1940's. It was a fun, easy read. ( )

4.5 stars. One of the longer Tor.com novellas I've read. So good. Some parts are a tough emotional read but woof. ( )

https://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2019/12/2019137-passing-strange-ellen-klages.html ( )

This story was enchanting. Great cast of characters, a very detailed, lively world in the background (never thought much about 1940s San Francisco as a setting, but this story made it come alive) and a beautiful love story with a subtle thread of magic to help out in times of trouble. I especially liked the frame story in the way it deceives the (unassuming) reader as much as completes and concludes the main arc. ( )

This was the charming romantic story I'd been hoping to read in between some heavier novels. San Francisco of the late 40s with queer artists enjoying their city, falling in love, and helping each other out with a little magic. ( )

The bulk of this novella takes place in San Francisco, in the 1940s, predominantly in Chinatown and the lesbian/trans/crossdressing subculture that was illegal at the time. Much of the text plays out like a romance, with a little magic sprinkled on top, and finished with a frame story set in the present day.

This was simple and straightforwardly told -- a slice of historical life, from a subculture that (to me at least) was new. The level of fantasy added pushed this a little beyond magical realism and into fantasy proper, but it forms a fitting complement to the darker currents in the story. Admirably balanced. ( )

This novella was nominated for Nebula in 2018. In begins in modern day San Francisco, were a very old lady puts thinks straight before her death (not a spoiler, it starts with “On the last Monday of her life, Helen Young returned from the doctor’s and made herself a cup of tea. As she had expected, the news was not good; there was nothing more that could be done.” . Then the story shifts to her past in 1940’s San Francisco.

This is more or less a historical novel about daily life and problems of six homosexual women, in the time period, when their way of life was a criminal offence. They are from different backgrounds and have a variety of jobs (singer, artist, lawyer etc). Up to the very end there is almost no magic, so I’d rather label is romance/historical fiction and not a fantasy. The writing is good, the author definitely investigated before writing. However, not exactly my cup of tea.
( )

Lovely love story with a backdrop of San Francisco in the 1940s. Excellent cast of women characters. ( )

I love Passing Strange - the characters, the setting, the strange intertwining of history and beauty and the winding streets of San Francisco. So much matters here. ( )

lovely, melancholy, and deeply imaginative ( )

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.
I am mixed on this book, I liked it well enough and thought it was very well written but I just didn’t like it as much as I wanted to. The opening of the book was so atmospheric and mysterious and evocative and sucked me in right away, the rest of the story was…not that. Until the end, that feeling came back in the very end. There was nothing wrong with the rest of the story, with most of the story. It was well written and strong, I felt attached and invested in the characters almost right away, I guess it just felt too grounded, too real, compared to the opening chapter and what I was expecting.
So overall, well written just not what I was wanting from this book. ( )

Some really gorgeous elements, especially scenes bringing venues of 40s SF, and occasionally characters, vividly to life. But I feel slightly shortchanged. There were so many stories to tell about these women and I can't help thinking that several of them would have been ultimately more interesting to read about than the one presented. There is no ensemble cast here, instead we see a fairly standard romance with two leads and a rather (purposefully?) pulpy storyline. There are only glimpses of the secondary characters and almost nothing fantastic for most of the story. The plotting near the end is quite cliched. And the final scene broke with the overall tone of the rest of the novella and detracted from an otherwise lovely and vaguely mysterious ending. ( )

A novella about supportive lesbians in 1940s San Francisco, focusing on the personal life of an pulp fiction cover artist who mysteriously disappears after a relatively short career, and his (her?) last work.

From its first words, I was hooked, and I finished it in a day I hadn't planned to do much reading -- excellently drawn setting and tight plotting. I'd count slight detractions from a few too many characters to flesh out in 200 pages, and a lot of seemingly modern sentiments on race and gender feel (but what do I know, they may not be ahistorical at all). Definitely worth a read for the 1940s, San Francisco, "nice artists", or lesbian fiction crowds -- I barely put it down. ( )