Customer Reviews

Tales of the City (Tales of the City Series, V. 1)

5 star:		(85)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First things first when it comes to reading Maupin's Tales of the City series -- learn to read in segments. This first book flashes from place to place and character to character swiftly so that the reader can get an overall picture of the situation. Quite honestly, it reads much like if it were a television series (which it was on PBS and Showtime...two miniseries, so far). Thus, if you expect it to be full of long chapters and focusing on a conversation or situation for a long while, you're going to be disappointed (much as one of the more recent reviewers of this book was, I note). Maupin's tale of a newcomer to San Francisco, the naive and reserved Mary Ann Singleton, and her misadventures with the residents of Barbary Lane (Mrs. Madrigal, the gay and proud Michael, the liberated Mona, etc.) is the stuff of Dickens' serials, brought to the 1970s in a flash of humor, adventure and out-and-out 1970s wackiness. I have read and re-read and re-re-read the entire series over and over again and have never failed to be entertained by the characters or the situations they find themselves in. Truly one of the most brilliant series out there. Give it a chance -- you won't regret it!

I first read "Tales of the City" in its first printing in the late 1970's and waited with baited breath for the next edition to be printed. Each time I picked up a new book, it was like visiting with old friends. All of Armistead Maupin's characters are so real that I shall never again visit San Francisco without thinking about Mrs. Madrigal, Michael "Mouse" Tolliver, Mary Ann Singleton or Mona. I especially liked the way in which Armistead Maupin delved into the psyches of each character. As the character of Michael was exactly my age when he was first created, and continued to age along with myself throughout the series, I very easily identified with his changing views of life in the city. It's a wonderful read which is a must for every serious library.

I read the 'Tales' series in 1994. I remember cracking open the first book and falling in love within the first few pages. These were characters that I really wanted to get to know, here was a picture of gay love that wasn't veiled or shadowed.

A week went by spent entirely with my new friends (interrupted only by an inconvenient search through the bookstores of Perth for an elusive copy of 'Further Tales').

I remember almost going into shock when I closed 'Sure of You', so strongly had Mouse and co. entered into my life. How could I return to my dull life after such pleasure and joy! Well I did, and a year later (the day I saw the 'Tales' mini-series at a film festival) I came out to my best friend. I realised that it was time to take some of that joy and freedom off the pages and the screen and into my own life. Six years later, I'm happy to report that there's many an interesting 'tale' to tell...

This book is just fun, fun, fun--a well-written, absorbing novel that you won't want to put down. It takes place in the 1970s and intriguingly depicts the interwoven lives of a group of young people living in the same apartment building. It's the best kind of summer read--100% enjoyable, 100% intelligent, 100% good-hearted without being overly sappy.

One other thing: this book does contain some depictions of sexuality--gay and straight--that could be seen as promiscuous, if you are inclined to think in those terms. However, the reviewer on this page who griped that Maupin was "irresponsible" to write this way (given the AIDS epidemic that surfaced in the 1980s) must not realize that this book was WRITTEN in the 1970s. It's an accurate depiction of how life was back then. If you read the other books in this six-part series, you'll see that as they move into the '80s Maupin DOES deal with AIDS by having his characters deal with it. These novels are actual snapshots of the time they were written, not some sort of retroactive nostalgia trip. They are fully realized, fabulous achievements, and open-minded readers will love them. All six books in the series are highly recommended.

This book was the beginning of some wonderful friendships for me. The characters are good folks. I first read this book several years ago, watched it made into a series (which I really enjoyed), read the follow-up books, and this year saw Armistead Maupin speak in Austin, Texas on his speaking tour.

The characters are warm, funny, real (and unreal, in the best sense) and genuinely fun to "be around". I was immediately reminded of the cast of the Mary Tyler Moore Show, with a squeaky-clean transplant coming into a new city, a new apartment, and making new friends. No, the characters are NOT interchangable, although in many ways, Mary Ann is much like Mary Richards, and Mona reminds me a lot of Rhoda, with her ascerbic humor, and even her weird relationship with her parent.

But, as I said, this is not simply a re-hash of a popular 70s sitcom. In so many ways, it is a fun way to crawl into the skins of people in the San Francisco 70's-- a time and place completely unknown to me. And doesn't a good book transport you to another time and/or place? It demonstrates the attitudes of a completely different era--pre-AIDS and the somewhat amazing idea that there are (gasp) gay people who are actually happy and well-adjusted with straight friends and "family".

I echo what another reviewer said: be careful when you pick this book up at bedtime. "One more chapter" turns into ten more.

For the last three books, I bought the "omnibus" edition "Back to Barbary Lane" which was, frankly, what I should have done for the FIRST three. It's more economical, and I prefer to carry around one hardback than 3 paperbacks.

Buy this book. Or better yet, buy the "omnibus" edition. Oh, hell, buy BOTH omnibus editions....you'll read 'em all anyway!

Tales of The City captures the very spirit of San Francisco in the 1970's, as the spirit of the city, which surely is represented by the nickname 'Frisco, died. The City was not moral, nor neat. The victorians were seedy, the City in decay. But, nonetheless, Maupin describes the city as it was; determined to have a good time as it always had. Maupin depicts the economic classes as if he knew them intimately, and portrays the provincialism as it exists, without making the City look the worse for it. I moved here in part because of these books, having awakened in me as they did, the memory of the San Francisco I knew, just after I cut the apron strings and was sent here by Uncle Sam. It is a different place today. Tales of The City captures it as it was. Yea, the people were lonely, they did a lot of drugs, had a lot of meaningless sex, and ended up in the 'eighties none the less. But didn't we all? The story is entertaining, especially when viewed for itself: it was a newspaper article. Unless your morality is a vague as your sexuality, Tales of The City will transport you to the recent past, in an age where we can't believe that history was actually being made, but it was, and we might have been there, but for some twist of fate, or geography. If it corrupts you...you were probably corrupted to begin with, and just waiting to be swept away.

When you're sitting in a gloomy room in England with the sun having vanished months ago, there is nothing like re-reading the brilliant Armistead Maupin's 'Tales of the City' books. If you are new to these, they tell you all about the bohemian existence of some colourful and wonderful characters in historic San Francisco. The stories are wonderful and the books flow well into each other so that reading five in a row is actually quite easy and very rewarding. One of my favourite series I think.

It was 1982 when I first read this book. Then, this book had been out of print and I'd picked it up in a used bookstore. What a great time I had reading this book!

Mary Ann Singleton is the modern day Alice who happens to go through the modern day looking glass: San Francisco circa 1976.

I often thought of this series of books as having been written similar to the manner in which Dickens wrote his books: there are not any characters introduced to the reader who do not serve some purpose in driving the plot or story. This is a tight little book. Originally written as a daily feature in the San Fran Chronicle, the "chapters" were compiled into a single novel for later publication. Maupin has said that even readers helped him turn the plots into specific directions.

I love the characters in this book and its sequels. Maupin writes just enough that the reader can jump into the story using their own imagination.

This is not a gay novel as I've heard it called. True there are gay characters. However, to be honest the true lead character has to be Mary Ann, who is completely straight and leads us or introduces us to many interesting and wonderful characters.

This is a great quick read! Even if you're not a big "reader", this book will be a great "on the john" book, because the chapters are short and sweet (but I think your legs will go to sleep, because you won't want to put it down).

A classic. Why should you read it? Because Armistad Maupin actually loves his gay characters; they aren't ashamed of their sexuality, nor do they apologize for it. He has a light and breezy style, with a lot of dialog. You could easily read this on a long, rainy afternoon. Published well over 20 years ago, I'm sure most gays will still see those all to familiar scenes (the bar posing, sex, drugs, that little silver dish with multicolored soap balls over the toilet...) that proves the old adage, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

These are, quite simply, the most entertaining books ever written. Like so many other reviewers here, I read the whole series in a week then promptly read the only other book I could find written by Mr Maupin, "Maybe The Moon" (just as wonderful and wacky). How anyone could not take these books and their wonderful characters to their hearts is beyond comprehension. The two downsides have been - 1) reading anything else has been extremely difficult as any other piece of fiction has an aweful lot to live up to and 2) that Mr Maupin does not write more as he is surely one of the best writers of the modern era.

If you have yet to read these books, do yourself a favour - turn off your computer and race to your nearest bookstore. Don't plan anything for the next week as you'll want to forget your own life as you immerse yourself in the lives of your new best friends.