Tales of the City: A Novel

Name: Tales of the City: A Novel
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.3 (5 reviews)
ISBN: 9780061358302

Armistead Maupin

4.3 / 5.0

Published: 2007 ISBN: 9780061358302

Genres

TV, Movie & Game Tie-In Fiction Short Stories Literary Fiction

Description

San Francisco, 1976. The air is thick with disco beats, the promise of self-discovery, and the scent of marijuana wafting from the mysterious sanctuary at 28 Barbary Lane. Mary Ann Singleton, a naive and wide-eyed transplant from Cleveland, arrives in the city for a vacation only to find herself enchanted by the eccentricities of her new home. She soon lands an apartment under the watchful, bohemian eye of Mrs. Madrigal, the landlady whose warmth and unconventional wisdom anchor a household of misfits and dreamers. As Mary Ann trades her conservative past for a life of intoxicating freedom, she becomes intertwined with a vibrant cast of characters: the soul-searching Michael "Mouse" Tolliver, the cynical but sensitive Brian Hawkins, and the glamorous, enigmatic Mona Ramsey. Together, they navigate a shifting social landscape defined by the sexual revolution, the search for authentic connection, and the thrill of living entirely on one's own terms. Armistead Maupin’s masterpiece remains a definitive portrait of urban life, capturing a moment in time where chosen families formed in the shadows of Victorian rooftops. It is a witty, tender, and quintessentially human saga that reminds us that home is rarely just a place, but the people we find along the way.

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Customer Reviews

Top 5 from Amazon

doc peterson

August 10, 2007

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A glimpse at a time and a place ...

Every now and then an author is able to capture the "magic" - flavor may be a more accurate description - of a time and place. Armistead Maupin has done that in _Tales of the City_. Set in San Francisco in the mid-1970's, the lives of his characters cross each other and intertwine. Originally written as a serial in the San Francisco _Chronicle_, it is reminiscent of Dickens: short vignettes with sharply drawn characters, plenty of drama and tension (sexual and otherwise) that frequently leave the reader with a cliff-hanger at the end of the chapter leaving you hungering for more. The writing is witty (every few pages I was laughing out loud - much to the chagrin of those sitting around me at the coffee shop where I was reading most of the book), a bit irreverant (sexuality, gender, race and class are all targets of Maupin's pen), and utterly entertaining. I thorougly enjoyed the stories, and I highly recommend it.

Anne Marie Nishi

March 13, 2012

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San Francisco in the '70's

I was going to see Armistead Maupin speak, and wanted to read Tales of the City before I went to the lecture. Both the novel and the lecture were extremely entertaining and a fascinating window back to life in the 70's. The novel began as a newspaper series and had such a following that a series of novels resulted. The characters are engaging and represent many facets of society. I love the way their lives intertwine. I'm looking forward to later novels to see how the characters lives evolved.

Amazon Customer

January 24, 2016

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Iconic view of the social and sexual mores of San Francisco in the 1970s

This is a classic examination of the fluid scene of San Francisco in the late 1970s -- with gay, straight and transsexual men and women organizing their lives around each other, many secrets being progressively revealed (and some kept for the sequels), improbable ways in which some characters meet other characters we had already been introduced to in a different context, and a sarcastic take on the life of the socialites who cling to their privileges and a disappearing society. The book is mostly told through fast-paced dialog between the characters, sometimes a little hard to follow (on the 10th repartee, you may not quite follow who is saying what) and is sometimes too clever -- no one is quite _that_ smart all the time. It sounds like this was written with a stage version in mind, and it did become a TV miniseries. The style is somewhat reminiscent of Noel Coward. It makes for a lot of fun.

Andrea Hard

April 2, 2014

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Wonderful story about life in San Francisco in the 1970's.

I lived in the Bay Area and worked in San Francisco for 5 years in the mid 60's. I don't know how I missed this book when it was first written. Too busy having a family I guess. I finally read it recently and the next two books in the series. I just ordered books 4 and 5, so am really into this series now. I loved this book and could not put it down. The characters are vibrant and described in such great detail that I feel like I know them! Which is why I keep ordering the next book. Highly recommend this book and (so far) the rest of the books in the series by Armistead Maupin.

KSSeaBird

March 9, 2024

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Lots of characters

I wanted to read this because I very much love the Netflix series of the same name. I'm watching it for the fourth time. This book takes place long before the TV series. Its very interesting to get to know about the people BUT there are so many characters, you need a scorecard.

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