28 Barbary Lane: A "Tales of the City" Omnibus [Hardcover]

Armistead Maupin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2, 1990

"These novels are as difficult to put down as a dish of pistachios. The reader starts playing the old childhood game of 'Just one more chapter and I'll turn out the lights,' only to look up and discover it's after midnight."
-- Charles Solomon, Los Angeles Times Book Review

Armistead Maupin's uproarious and moving Tales of the City novels--the first three of which are collected in the is omnibus edition--have earned a unique niche in American literature, not only as matchless entertainment, but as indelible documents of cultural change in the seventies and eighties.

When originally serialized in the San Francisco Chronicle, Tales of the City (1978), More Tales of the City (1980) and Futher Tales of the City (1982) afforded a mainstream audience of millions its first exposure to straight and gay characters experiencing on equal terms the follies of urban life.

Among the cast of this groundbreaking saga are the lovelorn residents of 28 Barbary Lane: the bewildered but aspiring Mary Ann Singleton, the libidinous Brain Hawkins; Mona Ramsey, still in a sixties trance, Michael "Mouse" Tolliver, forever in bright-eyed pursuit of Mr. Right; and their marijuana-growing landlady, the indefatigable Mrs. Madrigal.

Hurdling barriers both social and sexual, Maupin leads them through heartbreak and triumph, through mail-biting terrors and gleeful coincidences. The result is a glittering and addictive comedy of manners that continues to beguile new generations of readers.

With a foreword by the author.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Armistead Maupin's other novels are Maybe the Moon (1992) and The Night Listener (2000). His Tales novels first appeared as daily serials in San Francisco newspapers, starting in 1976. Tales of the City became a controversial but highly acclaimed miniseries on PBS in 1994, followed by More Tales of the City on Showtime in 1998. Maupin wrote the narration for the HBO documentary The Celluloid Closet. As a librettist he collaborated in 1999 with composer Jake Heggie on "Anna Madrigal Remembers" for mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade and the classical vocal ensemble, Chanticleer.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 768 pages
• Publisher: Harper (October 2, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060164662
• ISBN-13: 978-0060164669
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #80,860 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most entertaining books ever written, November 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: 28 Barbary Lane: A "Tales of the City" Omnibus (Hardcover)

This series was recommended to me by a friend during my freshman year of high school. I began reading the books when I was 14 and found that I loved the story lines and found myself getting wound up in the fantastic lives of the characters. The short chapters made it SO easy to lay in bed at night and promise myself "just one more chapter"...but then i'd flip ahead and find that the next chapter was only three pages and i simply COULDN'T end there! this pattern would usually go on until about three o'clock or until i finished the book, whichever came first! Because i was so young when i read the first two books in the series, I think a lot of the meaning was lost to me. During my second year of college i re-read the first two books and found myself falling madly in love with the adventures of the characters in the book. I found mysel weeping on the train...gasping on the plane...and laughing out loud like a lunatic at a cafe. I read the entire series in less than a month and to this day, elements of the stories stay with me.

This book is a MUST read for any lovers of fun, entertaining and poignant stories.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wanna live at 28 Barbary Lane., April 26, 2003

By 

J. Olsen "jto72" (Tucson, Arizona USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 28 Barbary Lane: A "Tales of the City" Omnibus (Hardcover)

Having the first three books in the "Tales of the City" series all in one place is a huge convenience as I am continually reading them. There is an absurd joy I get whenever I read these stories. Please understand, I realize these characters are fictional, but I so want to be friends with them and take part in their bizarre adventures. Maupin has a very minimalist writing style. The chapters are rarely more than three pages long, and in some cases almost entirely dialogue; yet somehow Maupin is able to create a world so real I feel I know these character intimately.

What makes this collection so wonderful is that it does not contain the final three books in the series. It helps to maintain my delusion that the last three book simply don't exist and the action stops at the end of book three. I highly recommend this collection.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Look Back, October 20, 2004

By 

C. M. Barnhart "media junkie" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 28 Barbary Lane: A "Tales of the City" Omnibus (Hardcover)

Armistead Maupin wasn't the only gay writer active in the 70's, but his "Tales of the City" books were among the most popular reads. Beginning as a newspaper column, Maupin had the idea to allow reads to direct the story to a certain extent. They would write in to tell him how the story should go, and he would decide which idea he liked best. So I've heard, at least.

These books are filled with rich characters. Mr. Maupin was excellent at drawing readers into his stories by making sure that the people one found in them were people one would want to know. They seemed not only real in that they were multi-faceted personalities of their own, but real in that they were surrounded by the events and culture of the 70's, which were beautifully captured.

Someone reading the books now, when stumbling across a reference to LeCar or Jim Jones, will be transported back in time. Readers not old enough to remember the 70s will get a good glimpse of what gay culture was like then... or a part of it, at least.

Maupin's characters experience situations that just about everyone can relate to. There are also situations that are extraordinary, but it's the day to day that make Mouse, Anna Madrigal and the rest seem like the folks who live next door. The "28 Barbary Lane" volume includes the first three books in the series. It's a wonderfully rich read. Not complicated or highbrow, perhaps, but not all stories should be. This is one of those "curl up next to the fire" books and I can't imagine my collection being without it.