Tales of the City audiobook

Tales of the City is not great literature. That's not what Maupin's aiming for. In what is the first and best book in a six-part series constructed from a serial column in the San Francisco Chronicle, Tales of the City is smart, guilty entertainment at its best. It's a soap opera. But like, say, Six Feet Under, Tales of the City purports to be little more than a creative and intelligent soap opera. Taken as such, it is a delight. Vivid characters. A setting -- San Francisco -- that Maupin gives an almost pop-up book feel. And addictive storytelling. Tales of the City is an escapist read. And itself an exercise in escapism -- using what San Francisco represents in the popular imagination to open wide a world of freedom and possibility within its pages, and without.

What did I do between finishing this novel and writing its review? I ordered "More Tales of the City" & "Further Tales of the City" on ebay-- I'm THAT invested/confident that they'll match this one!It is uproarious and uber-funny! It stars the cute Mary Ann Singleton (think a more modern Holly Golightly--but less of a prostitute) & a vibrant array of costars. It is concise, like "Vile Bodies" and perhaps in that same realm of Evelyn Waugh-type social satire. And what else? Authentic pluses include the kitschyness inherent in a Pedro Almodovar comedy, and even some of the picaresque qualities of my all-time fave, "Confederacy of Dunces." It is about this enthusiastic selection of promiscuous pre-80's San Franners. It's about the bummer of losing hippie-hood & the "anguish in Bohemia." In one word: Awesome!There are enough characters to satisfy most of the reader's wants, and to alternate his/her attentions AND affections. I insist that for me, not ultra-Gay icon Michael Tolliver but Anna Madrigal takes the "Miss Congeniality" crown. Ultimately, "Tales" offers entertainment in dollops, and informs the reader about age-old queries, like are Michael and Mona prototypes for 90's favorite fag-faghag TV couple Jack & Karen? Are there actual hetero bathhouses? What is a c***ring (heteros, take note [it is quite tiresome to explain this time and again])? Tales include hetero/homo sexual prowlers, nifty ways to pay the rent, and ever-clever and -ironic plot twists in this sweet escape.And the immoral sinners are, ooh very, very CHARMING. Go ahead. "Bite the lotus."PS: I recommend the new limited series on Netflix. Closure--the most important attribute for a finale for an American--is reached!

my favorite of Maupin's books - a time capsule to San Fran 1976...

“Mother must be dying.”“Stop trying to cheer me up.” Now that, my friends, is what we in the business call a wild ride. This is a ridiculous 1970s soap opera that I could not help but enjoy, but I think above all else, it made me hunger on a deep level for a San Francisco I’ve never experienced. Well. We’ll talk about that in a little while. For now, let’s just say this: Tales of the City is a wild ride from start to finish. On both the level of “this is fucking hilarious” and “holy shit, that was a plot twist”. It’s like someone combined Revenge, the 2012 television show, with The Office. It made me feel like I was on crack. I loved it. “Finally, she looks at him intently and says, in a voice fraught with meaning, ‘which do you think you’d prefer, Rich? S or M?’”“And?”“He thought it was something to put on the hamburger.” The tone of these is so delightfully absurdist — you have to lean into the humor a bit and suspend your disbelief to get to the good bits. Actually, it took me a while to get that the chapters were being absurd on purpose (okay, so I received these without context).Some highlights of the admittedly ridiculous character cast include: →Mary Ann, a San Francisco newbie trying to make it but making bad romantic decisions along the way. Often dumb but occasionally iconic. →Mona, Mary Ann’s first friend when she comes to town. Best friend to Michael. Excellent person with some drug issues.→Michael, a gay icon, Mona’s best friend and second roommate. Constantly looking for long-term love but hasn’t found it yet. →Anna Madrigal, landlord to Mona and later Mary Ann and Michael. Mentor type. Some secrets of her own.→Beachamp, rich and seemingly happy husband to DeDe. Secretly dissatisfied. Sort of a dirtbag.→DeDe, rich daughter of a richer man. Not always the smartest.→Edgar, dissatisfied dying man trying to come to terms with a wasted life via his new friendship with a certain landlord. Father to Dede and husband to Frannie. →Brian, disaster and a half. Token heterosexual. One-time lover to Mary Ann. →Jon, possible lover to Michael. Gynecologist. →Dorothea, black lesbian back in town to get back her old lover. →Vincent, depressed crisis hotline operator whose wife has left him to join the Israeli army. →Norman, older man living on the top floor. Maybe a few secrets.I think in basically any other book, this character cast would’ve been absurd, but in this book, they feel perfectly believable. I love how all of the characters are written as both flawed and at times selfish but still generally endearing. And the comics are not without their moments of genuine heart: the relationship between Anna and Edgar is honestly really wonderful and tender, and the friendship between Mona and Michael is — honest to god — peak mlm/wlw solidarity. (You will not be surprised to know they were my favorites.)Due to the serial format, these issues often feel very distinct, at times dealing with very different characters and themes. But I definitely had some favorite scenes and plotlines. ➽Here are some of my book highlights (light spoilers only):→Anna giving Mary Ann a joint as a welcome to San Francisco gift→Michael’s meet-cute with Jon, which takes place at a skating rink after he breaks his nose trying to subtly skate up next to him→when a feminist talking about rape shows up at Dede’s country club and a minor character says delightedly “this is better than when they brought the bulldyke in!” →the scene in which Brian is trying to sleep with a woman who thinks he’s gay and trying to sleep with women to repress it, and who then, when he says he’s not gay, says clinically “You must not be in touch with your body” and walks out. an ally→when Michael answers a call from Mary Ann’s mom and her mom is scandalized about the strange man at her apartment and she then has to tell her mother about the existence of gay people→Mary Ann getting hired at a crisis hotline, accidentally making a pun about playing it by ear, and then contemplating biting her own tongue off→the scene in which Frannie is unloading all her problems but cutting it with “no, but I wouldn’t want to burden you, darling” and you think it’s like, to a friend, and it’s to her fucking dog→WHEN MICHAEL’S PARENTS FIND LUBE IN HIS FUCKING REFRIGERATOR→when Brian asks Michael to go cruising with him and Michael is like… why are straight people like this but then does it anyway. relatable content from 1978→the guy who photocopied his dick and used the enlargerAnd before I get serious, a brief spoiler section: about a bicon: (view spoiler)[Listen, from the very first page, Mona had bi energy. More importantly her and Michael were at PEAK mlm/wlw solidarity and I literally typed in my review notes “I know she’s straight but this is mlm/wlw solidarity at its finest” and then it WAS. actually I think the book isn’t really taking a position on her sexuality (she actually says she’d prefer a long term friendship to having a lover at one point and i was like okay!! !! ! ! ! ! legend ! ! ! !!). it’s just as long as we acknowledge that Mona is in no way a heterosexual we’re good (hide spoiler)] it’s Michael Sad hours, really no spoilers just a rant: (view spoiler)[I actually absolutely love the way Michael is written. because this portrayal of the gay scene is clearly a reflection of promiscuity being really mainstream at that time, a hard-earned freedom. but the narrative still makes it so clear that he just… genuinely wants love? (Michael’s energy in this is the same as my energy when I tweet about wanting a gf every day.) but in all reality, it’s a wonderfully subtle arc and the scene with his parents made me die inside just a little bit. (hide spoiler)] some incredible plot twists: (view spoiler)[okay holy SHIT the minor reveals of characters being involved with each other? INCREDIBLE. I LOVED the way the book did the Mona/Dor reveal, that’s a built reveal babes. the revelation about BEAUCHAMP? when he’s in the bathhouse and Jon sees him? absurd. the fucking Norman investigating Anna reveal left me shook as hell because it immediately made so much sense especially given Edgar’s earlier talk about the Madrigal’s being ridiculous!! Jon being Dede’s FUCKING gynecologist?? ? ?? ?? The thing with Lexy and Norman was awful :(( I loved connecting the dots. the point is I was left shook by so much of this (hide spoiler)] some less incredible plot twists: (view spoiler)[The only thing is that I did not like the twist about Dor, at all. I think it has some really awful connotations to have the only black character in your novel actually be white. I know it’s a soap opera from 1970 but this made me super mad and is honestly the only reason I'm even tempted to not give this a five. (hide spoiler)]The thing is, I said I was going to get serious, and there’s something I need to say. Conservatives have long loathed it as the axis of liberal politics and political correctness, but now progressives are carping, too. They mourn it for what has been lost, a city that long welcomed everyone and has been altered by an earthquake of wealth. -from Washington Post's How San Francisco Broke America’s HeartI grew up 10 miles south of San Francisco — at the time of writing this, I'm leaving for college in almost exactly a week — with a mother who works as an opera singer up in the city. When I was eight, I knew without a doubt that as soon as I left for college, my mother would be selling our house in favor of a nice apartment near SF opera, as most of her friends had. Ten years later, the idea itself is ludicrous. The money we would receive for selling our (fairly nice) house wouldn't pay rent on anything but a studio. Many of my mother's friends have moved to Oakland, taking long commutes simply to arrive. One of my best friends lives with her family in Brentwood, an area past Oakland and two hours from San Francisco — her mom works a job in Woodside so she can attend a private school in the Bay Area. I grew up knowing San Francisco as a place of gay culture and a thriving arts scene — a place with a large homeless population and some crime, but also a place where people came to be themselves. Now, I know it as a city where the culture of old residents is rapidly disappearing, replaced with the more homogenous Silicon Valley scene.In reading this book where San Francisco is known as a weird and quirky city with a thriving gay scene, I found myself mourning for a San Francisco (and a Bay Area) I am barely old enough to have experienced, let alone to remember. I've known for years that I wanted to leave for college, but I wonder sometimes whether, thirty years earlier, I would've wanted to come back.Blog | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify | Youtube

There was this whole stereotype about gay dudes, back in the day, they were every girl's best friend. Oh man, girls loved to get themselves a gay best friend. He would swan about calling her outfits fierce and making bitchy jokes. He would listen to her complain about her love life. He would say things like "Girrrrrrrl, he did NOT deserve you!" He himself would be neutered. The whole thing is frankly offensive; it reduces gay men to campy tics. They exist only during brunch.idk who this is I literally googled "stereotypical gay guy"You can't exactly tell someone their actual life is offensive, and this is, more or less, Armistead Maupin's life, pulled apart and turned extremely soapy for this iconic gay book, the first in an endless series. But he was under command, by the San Francisco newspaper that serialized it in the 1970s, not to overgay it - which could help explain its tiptoeing quality. According to my friend Gray, some editor was keeping a chart of the characters to make sure, as Maupin puts it, "the homo characters didn't suddenly outnumber the hetero ones and thereby undermine the natural order of civilisation." Which is funny to think about because with the amount of fucking all these people are doing of each other and each other's others, you have to imagine that the character chart would look pretty much like thisCrazy wall!So good luck, editor. And besides, Maupin snuck in so much queer stuff, it's like a Where's Waldo where everyone's Waldo. It's a little bit sad and scary to read this book with hindsight. It's like one of those early scenes in movies where kids are skipping in slow-motion and you're like oh, man, this can't end well. In 70's San Francisco everyone was tumbling into bed with everyone, but the AIDS crisis was looming. But first: brunch!I've been here on Goodreads for about ten years now, and I have a few friends that have been here with me the whole time. One in particular, El, wrote savagely funny and insightful reviews that deeply influenced me. Over our long friendship, we talked each other through good times and bad ones, and we talked endlessly, endlessly about books. She died two weeks ago - suddenly, accidentally, shockingly. I miss her. But as I finished this book, I looked it up and there she was again - as always, way ahead of me. Here's her review. This is what she sounded like.

I guess I was destined to “discover” Armistead Maupin in 2017. Although, to be fair, he’s hardly a secret – he’s been writing for four decades and has generations of loyal readers.Back in the spring, I gave a favourable review to the documentary The Untold Tales Of Armistead Maupin. A few months after that, the galleys to Maupin’s memoir, Logical Family, arrived on my desk. I’d already read his stand-alone (and excellent) novel Maybe The Moon, but it seemed to me that in order to appreciate the memoir (and avoid any spoilers revealed in it) I’d have to read at least the first of his famous Tales Of The City books.So I began the nine novel cycle. And, as friends both IRL and on here had told me, the writing was so much breezy fun - the literary equivalent of eating candy – that I tore through the first book quickly. After reading the memoir, I finished book two.It took no time at all to get caught up in the adventures of the denizens of San Francisco’s 28 Barbary Lane: bright-eyed 20-something Mary Ann Singleton, newly arrived from Cleveland; jaded bohemian Mona Ramsey; Michael “Mouse” Tolliver, Mona’s gay best friend who soon becomes Mary Ann’s good friend after Mona disappears; Brian Hawkins, an apparently “woke” ex-lawyer who now works as a waiter and is a notorious womanizer; and of course their eccentric landlady, Anna Madrigal, who has, it turns out, chosen each one of her tenants very carefully. Maupin has admitted that it took him time to discover the right pace and tone for the book, and to become a decent writer; he also had constraints from the publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle, where the book originally appeared in serialized form. (As we're told in the documentary and the memoir, Maupin was told to keep a chart of the book's gay and straight characters, to make sure the former didn't outnumber the latter.)True, some chapters feel loose and vignette-like. But once the plot gets going – involving sex, lies and a secret dossier on one of characters – it’s impossible to put down. Maupin has lots of fun with his characters, whether they’re looking for love and relationships (Mary Ann, Mouse), tired of their marriage and looking elsewhere for connection (Mary Ann’s lecherous, bisexual boss, Beauchamp Day; Beauchamp’s boss and father-in-law, Edgar Halcyon, who has a big secret and is also having an affair with one of the main characters).There’s some savage satire in here, especially involving well-to-do characters: a coterie of “A-list gays”; the “ladies who lunch” society women who compete with each other to bring famous artists to the city and who hold patronizing consciousness-raising rap sessions about “serious” subjects like rape.One of the characters, a former girlfriend of Mona’s, has a storyline that was far ahead of its time, as Maupin points out in his memoir. I have to admit that when I read the big revelation, I laughed out loud, it was so brutally funny. And other social observations still ring true decades after Maupin wrote them. This series really was way ahead of its time.But it’s not just satire or the book's prescience that keeps us reading; it’s the hopes and dreams of its characters and the friendships they form under the gabled roof of their unique abode; it’s the sense of fun and excitement that you get in moving to a new city and meeting cool new people – even if you’ve only moved there as a reader.So go ahead and add me to the huge list of Armistead Maupin fans. Can’t wait to read the other books in the series.

Tales of the City is a snappy, humorous and heart-felt look at the intersecting lives of several people living in San Francisco in the 1970's. As they struggle for love, money and happiness, they establish friendships and create a new kind of family- one of their choosing rather than one they were born into."Mary Ann Singleton was twenty-five years old when she saw San Francisco for the first time." pg 9, ebookOne of the main characters is Mary Ann from Ohio. She came on a vacation to San Francisco and decided to stay because she loved the people and the general vibe.But her mid-western upbringing didn't prepare her for the work and dating scene of San Francisco.His smile was approaching a leer. Mary Ann chose not to deal with it. "She's a little strange, but I think she means well." pg 47On a hunt for the perfect apartment, Mary Ann meets Mrs. Madrigal, the unconventional and slightly mysterious owner of a large place on Barbary Lane.Once the other residents of the apartment are introduced, the story really takes off. The breakneck pace is probably due to the fact that Tales of the City was originally written as a serial with cliffhanger endings each week to bring readers back to the publication.It works incredibly well in a novel format. The chapters are short and punchy. Although most of the tension of the story is created through the dialogue rather than action, it is gripping stuff.In some ways, this book is rather like life. Everybody is mixing together, trying to find their own way and lifestyle that feels right to them.From day to day, it doesn't seem like much happens. But taken altogether, it encompasses the growing pains accumulated through weeks, months and years of a lifetime."No wonder you're miserable. You sit around on your butt all day expecting life to be one great Hallmark card. ... You've got to make things work for you, Mary Ann." pg 111Recommended for readers who enjoy their fiction with a big helping of soul-searching and humor, delivered at the speed of life.

3,5 stars rounded up to 4 stars. I think about...some things...1) Could I have liked it more if I had read it shortly after the release date. The answer is SURE. OF COURSE. NO DOUBTS. 2) Could I have liked it more if I hadn't' read Boystown series ? Probably yes. BEFORE reading Tales of the City I was sure that Jake Biondi has discovered a totally new genre. Only Armistead Maupin published his Tales around 35 years earlier than Jake Biondi his Boystown series.(San Francisco vs. Chicago, calm narration vs. wild action non stop). The structure is very similar, the writing is different, but I don't want to be the main judge in the competition "what is better" between them. I like both, Okay?3) Could I have liked it more WITHOUT Mary Ann. The answer is - ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! Means---> No doubt. Of course. Sure.I hate dislike this character. Yes, I'm not indifferent in this case- I dislike her with all my guts. She is not unpleasant or stupid or very mean. She is just out-most BORING and she occupies much too much plot for my liking. 4)Honestly, I expected more from this book(there are too many exciting reviews, also from the readers I trust), but I think(still or in spite of everything) that it is a very good written and pretty entertaining book. Many nice lines(I highlighted a lot!) and a lot of plot here. 5)About how to rate it...Hmmm...it is by far not the best book I've ever read, because I wasn't eager to read it in one sitting. And I'm not very eager to read the next book ASAP. +/& I could put it down for a while and didn't have any urgent desire to spend a sleepless night reading it. +/& It was my third or forth attempt in giving it a go(every time I stopped after around the first 10 pages). It could be a bad timing, but also a bad sign.+/& I found the beginning too dull for my immediate liking it. (The reason is Mary Ann. BORING is a keyword). There was too much of her at the start. Summery: An interesting, nice and very entertaining soap opera, with too less sex scenes for my spoiled soul-but a lot of sex behind closed doors-a lot of all different characters to satisfy every taste and all kind of possible and impossible relationships, some great lines, intriguing plot with a promising further development in the next installments. I'm in.

Is it perfect? No. Are the character likeable? No.Why five stars? Well, this book will now and forever be one of my all time favourite reads. I first read it aged16, over the Summer holidays whilst my parents were away and I suddenly realised that it was okay to be different from the other boys at my school.Everytime I read about Micheal or Mary Ann (or any of the others) it's like catching up with old friends and even though this must be my 20th time of reading their tales are always a delicious gossipy mixture that has you laughing, crying or just wanting to know more.

I didn't actually read this book, but it was rather read to me, and the person who did the reading truly brought it to life - I don't think I would have loved this book so much if I had read it on my own.I've always loved books with complicated, multi-layered, engaging characters and this one definitely offers that. Their philosophy on life radically different from the next person - they laugh and love and hurt, and their stories intertwine unexpectedly and excitedly beneath the San Francisco sky.Of course the Tales of the City series will never become a classic, but it's already cult. Maupin's language is simple and flows effortlessly and always keeps you on edge; especially by the end, this book was quite suspenseful! I'm happy in calling this book one of my favorites because, overall, it has all I want a book to have: great characters, exquisite story, musicality and fluidity and the engrossment factor.

So glad I picked this book up! Such an easy but enjoyable read and the characters are brilliant! Can't wait to start the second in the series.

I enjoyed this book which was listed in the top 100 PBS Great American Read list. I had never heard of the book or author before and am glad to get to read it!It is set in the mid-'70's (written in 1978) in San Francisco. When Mary Ann moves from Cleveland to San Fran and moves into a boarding house, the reader gets to know Anna Madrigal, the landlady, and all the other quirky tenants. Mary Ann is the personal assistant of the owner of a corporation who manufactures pantyhose. By the end, the stories of several of the characters that she lives with and works with are intertwined. Looking at this era from the future, it is really fun to see what the city was like in the 1970's, written in the 1970's, and how things looked to the characters then. I loved this book! The chapters are only 2-3 pages each and that keeps the story flying by!I don't know if I could recommend it to everyone, but if you're interested in this era, you should definitely read this book!

Still 5 stars again for the reread. This was a real trip down memory lane. I can’t remember when this was published but I adored the whole series. I’ve never been to San Francisco but this series makes me want to go. I absolutely adored the TV series made of this starring Olympia Dukakis and Laura Linney. The wonderful Anna Madrigal and Barbary Lane! I got this as a special kindle deal but I’m going to have to reread the series now! Recommended.