I can’t quite get a grasp on what this story will turn out to be based on the synopsis - but appealing aspects include a) San Francisco b) 1940s setting and c) some sort of fantasy/magic element. Always something new and different to enjoy! This beautiful novella combines historical fiction with a dash of magic to produce a fascinating story about queer women in 1940s San Francisco. This is a novella published by Tor - and I tend to really like their selection of novellas. I’d almost forgotten about this one! Luckily, I happened to be skimming through the books in my Kindle library and saw it there. They discover love and danger on the borders where mystery, science, and art intersect.

Six women find their lives as tangled with each other’s as they are with the city they call home. 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. Tor.com, 2.99 e-book (155p) ISBN 978-0-7653-8951-0 Klages ( Portable Childhoods) draws a loving portrait of 1930s queer San Francisco in this deftly crafted.

San Francisco in 1940 is a haven for the unconventional. Klages folds history and the modern world into a thoroughly satisfying novella that's rich in detail, warm in regard, and clever in execution.What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads) : Emily, a newcomer to the group, crosses Haskel's path by coincidence the two fall into a whirlwind romance that ultimately requires the support and skills of all their friends to see through. The narrative then goes back in time to cover the events leading up to Haskel's final painting and abrupt career end, introducing a charming cast of queer women working as lawyers, singers, mathematicians, and witches. Haskel was famous for art showing evocatively gruesome villains threatening lovely young ladies, but his last painting instead depicts the heroine of a romantic story. from World Fantasy Award winning author Ellen Klages, and a finalist f. In the present day, Helen Young sells the last, lost work of famous pulp cover artist Haskel to an unethical art dealer who's due for a comeuppance. Inspired by the pulps, film noir, and screwball comedy, Passing Strange is a story. By: Ellen Klages In San Francisco, nothing is what it seems. Klages (Portable Childhoods) draws a loving portrait of 1930s queer San Francisco in this deftly crafted tale of love, solidarity, and magic brought full circle.

Passing strange by ellen klages