10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Turn at the Darker side of "Tales,", July 2, 2001
This review is from: Babycakes (Tales of the City Series, V. 4) (Paperback)
When I picked up "Babycakes," I was on a happy high. I'd learned there was more than just the three "Tales" books with the characters I'd met and loved from the "Tales of the City" trilogy. I was all ready to jump into that delightful care-free world (albeit a little reticent to bump into something like Jim Jones again, who showed up in "Further Tales of the City" and is the only disbelief I was unwilling to suspend).
However, staying true to the reality of the movement and the 80s, I found AIDS, death, decay and the long slide down from the fun and energy from the first three books. I didn't mind, though it was a bit of slap in the face, and the death of a major character to AIDS before the book even begins was a real punch in the stomach.
Put simply, Maupin drove home, hard, how vivid the change was for those who had existed in the care-free seventies, who found themselves suddenly trapped in the shallow, AIDS-ridden eighties.
The characters are back in full company, with the death of one major character, and the introduction of a few others. The story still focuses mostly around Michael and Mary Anne to my mind, but the rest of the "Tales" folk are definately along for the ride. The topics darken up a bit, and reality is definitely in play this time. I reccommend it, but with the warning that you're not getting the same care-free tone of the "Tales" trilogy - for the seventies are over.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Marvellous!, October 14, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Babycakes (Tales of the City Series, V. 4) (Paperback)
"Babycakes" is one of the most touching novels in the "Tales of the City" series as it marks the end of the seemingly fun-filled pre-AIDS era, and the beginning of death, despair and tragedy. It's deliciously comic whilst at the same time having essences of profound sadness on every page. Freud would have a field day analysing the symbolic significance of the endless rain that drones on throughout most of the book. More sombre and more political than his first three novels Babycakes is firmly planted in the period of the very early eighties. Maupin is a topical writer and seems to draw influence from his immediate surroundings and the time in which he lives. Although almost twenty years have passed since the early 80s the relevance and importance of his subject matter remains undiminished by time.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My second-favorite in the series, October 1, 2000
This review is from: Babycakes (Tales of the City Series, V. 4) (Paperback)
Further Tales went a little too far into the absurd. Babycakes is MUCH better in this regard. Strange things happen, but it's not entirely impossible to suspend disbelief.
And like More Tales (my favorite of the series), Babycakes deals sensitively with a number of controversial issues. I was particularly impressed that (unlike some gay authors) Maupin shows the same sensitivity to and in-depth look at the problems his heterosexual characters face (i.e. Brian's infertility) as the problems of his gay characters.
I was a bit upset by the off-stage death of a major character in the series from AIDS, but Maupin write well about the affect the death had on his partner and the others who were close to him.
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