Michael Tolliver Lives (P.S.) [Paperback]

Armistead Maupin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 20, 2008 | Series: P.S.

Nearly two decades after ending his groundbreaking Tales of the City saga of San Francisco life, Armistead Maupin revisits his all-too-human hero Michael Tolliver—the fifty-five-year-old sweet-spirited gardener and survivor of the plague that took so many of his friends and lovers—for a single day at once mundane and extraordinary . . . and filled with the everyday miracles of living.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Maupin’s writing is as cheerfully raunchy as ever . . . ” (Miami Herald )

Review

"Maupin's writing is as cheerfully raunchy as ever . . . " (Miami Herald ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (May 20, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060761369
• ISBN-13: 978-0060761363
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,531 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Aging, but still vital!, July 28, 2008

By 

Barbara Dinerman (Coconut Creek, FL, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Michael Tolliver Lives (P.S.) (Paperback)

"Michael Tolliver Lives" is essentially about a miracle. That HIV-inflicted Michael is still alive after twenty years, not to mention being happy and productive, is reason enough to celebrate. I've always admired Maupin's literate humor and crisp characterizations, and even with his newly elegiac tone, the novel is upbeat and daring. Anna Madrigal is still lovingly depicted as the engaging, eccentric "logical" mother, and we're sad when she begins her inevitable decline. Though very much of another era, the old "Tales of the City" gang unites with its eye on the future. This is done with deceptive ease. A new era is previewed while not quite slamming the door on the old one. Michael Tolliver lives, and so do his cohorts. That bodes well for Maupin devotees as well!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it..., July 17, 2008

By 

Chris Macdonald Dennis (St. Paul, MN U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Michael Tolliver Lives (P.S.) (Paperback)

Yes, Michael is different than he was back in the day but aren't we all? This book was sweet and funny and reminded me why I love Armistead Maupin so much. I hope that some of the people writing the critical reviews do not expect to be the same as they grow older. We all evolve--it is what is wonderful about life.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alive and Kicking!, June 3, 2008

By 

Ford Ka (Edinburgh, Scotland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Michael Tolliver Lives (P.S.) (Paperback)

Michael Tolliver is (as the title rather clearly suggests) alive and kicking. Those who thought they would never see him again and imagined him succumbing to AIDS are in for a pleasant surprise. Michael copes perfectly well with the virus and he finds out that life still has a lot of surprises in stock for him.
Let's start with Ben a boyfriend for whom a partner some years senior is a major turn on. And to whom Michael is now officially married. He still has friends (though some live quite far away) and a thriving social life including... senior but by no means senile Anna Madrigal.
But the book is not only about care-free middle age and the joys of being gay in San Francisco. Maupin quite skilfully (we know he can do it, don't we?) introduces several more sombre and serious subjects, the most important of which is coping with the loss of the near and dear. He does it so cunningly that giving any details would be a terrible spoiler so just stop reading this and get the book!