Review: Passing Strange, Ellen Klages
In a very short amount of time, Ellen Klages sets up Passing Strange’s entire world and manages to tell a lovely and romantic story.
I’ll freely admit that I tend to avoid novellas. Although they have their merits, it’s just not a particular length I find myself comfortable reading in. I believe the phrase goes “I like big books and I cannot lie,” though I freely admit that putting a comma where it belongs would ruin the reference to Sir Mix-a-Lot. Far be it from me to do such a thing. However, despite my usual avoidance, I found myself still intrigued by Ellen Klages’ Passing Strange and picked it up. I can now say that this was a wise decision.
Passing Strange whisks readers off to San Francisco in 1940, focusing primarily on areas like Chinatown as well as the very much real Mona’s Club 440. For those not bothering to click on the link, Mona’s was a club meant for ladies — and, in fact, was San Francisco’s first lesbian bar. One character, Emily, even works there wearing some of her brother’s old clothes. So yeah, this is LGBT fiction, with a particular emphasis on the L.
However, Klages also manages to weave in a dash of paranormal activity and a whole lot of love for the city into a very small amount of pages, with Amazon’s listing clocking it at just 220 pages. Overall, yours truly gives Passing Strange 4/5 stars — yup, it’s almost perfect. Let’s break it down.
The Good
Klages has plenty of room for queer ladies of all stripes in Passing Strange despite the short page count. The two main characters, Emily and Haskel (who prefers using her last name, and so we’ll oblige her even though she’s a fictional character), are actually the two women on the cover. There’re even discussions of expression — that is, being butch or femme or neither are all valid. All of it’s acceptable, and Klages also emphasizes the sense of community. In fact, she even manages to sneak in a few points about American attitudes towards Asians as well, with Helen Young even pointing out that she’s not even Chinese, but still works as a dancer at Forbidden City (yet another real place). It also never feels like Klages is trying to score points with the reader by doing any of these things.
Although there isn’t much of the paranormal, there’s just enough to intrigue readers of that genre as well. You won’t find much in the way of a Brandon Sanderson-esque long explanation of exactly how Passing Strange‘s magic works, but a reader who pays attention can put two and two together about one aspect, and one character does explain what she uses pretty thoroughly as well. It never really dominates the story, but it doesn’t need to.
Instead, Klages’ love for the city, something she notes in her afterword, shines through in every single loving description, from that of Treasure Island to the modern city. That’s what’s truly impressive about this work.
The Not-So-Good
Honestly, I would have loved to see Franny, Babs, and Polly fleshed out just a touch more. That’s where Passing Strange‘s leanness becomes a slight weakness. However, all three women are distinct, have different personalities and strengths, and all feel like true characters, although Emily and Haskel understandably take the spotlight. Honestly, it’s a relatively minor point, but let’s just say I wouldn’t complain if Klages returned to this world again.
The Recommendation
Read Passing Strange. It’s that simple. It even manages to pull off a frame story in its compact form, one that has an excellent payoff at the end. There’s a lot of good here, and with such a short novel, it would make for a perfect weekend read.
Next: Review: Heartstone, Elle Katharine White
Passing Strange, as a Tor.com release, is best found digitally, but physical copies are available.