Passing Strange
Inspired by the pulps, film noir, and screwball comedy, Passing Strange is a story as unusual and complex as San Francisco itself from World Fantasy Award winning author Ellen Klages, and a finalist for the 2017 Nebula Award for Best Novella
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.
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"A once-invisible slice of history, filled with vibrant, non-idealized characters, and fabulous writing to boot. A must-read!" --Ann Leckie, New York Times bestselling author of the Imperial Radch trilogy
"A moving and genuine love story." --The Washington Post "With Passing Strange, Ellen Klages has spun a marvelously gritty tale of the bad old days, deftly weaving a tapestry from bittersweet nostalgia, magic, weirdness, romance, and the ugly truth of being queer in San Francisco at the dawn of WWII. It earns my highest compliment: I wanted more." --World Fantasy Award winner Caitlin R. Kiernan "Ellen Klages's love for queer San Francisco is evident in every line: its history, its mystery, and its people in all their variety and glory. I smiled as I read. You will, too." --Nicola Griffith, author of Hild "Klages folds history and the modern world into a thoroughly satisfying novella that's rich in detail, warm in regard, and clever in execution." --Publishers Weekly, starred review "A tightly written plot and an unyielding sense of wonder... Passing Strange is a quick, enchanting read." --Romantic Times 'Klages deftly weaves each thread to a climax both bittersweet and empowering while demonstrating historical knowledge and immense fondness for her subjects and setting. For fans of speculative fiction with a strong sense of place." --Booklist "Passing Strange is [Klages'] best adult work to date." --The Chicago Tribune "Passing Strange is a passing subtle, detailed intergenerational fantasy with a pulp influenced story and a literary sensibility full of the past and the artefacts it leaves behind. Queer history, San Francisco history and a pinch of Weird Tales." --Geoff Ryman, winner of the Clarke, Nebula and World Fantasy Awards. "Elegantly constructed, elegiac, and hopeful in the face of difficult things." --Liz Bourke
