Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
70th out of 693 books
—
848 voters
The Night Listener
In the 19th century, almost every novelist -- from Dickens to Dostoevsky -- published his fiction serially in newspapers. By the end of the 20th century, Armistead Maupin, whose wildly popular Tales of the City first appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle, was one of the few remaining practitioners of the form. In his latest novel, The Night Listener, Maupin draws on his...more
Hardcover, 344 pages
Published
September 14th 2000
by BANTAM PRESS
(first published 2000)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
After reading the book, I'm not sure why the trailers for the movie tried to pass it off as a thriller - it's not creepy or scary or anything. It's a mind puzzle and a mystery, but I guess Hollywood thinks its audience won't enjoy something cerebral (they did the same thing with Stephen King's Secret Window; its advertising campaign puzzles me to this day).
The neatest thing about the book is that it's based on something that actually happened to the author. The copy of the book I have contains...more
The neatest thing about the book is that it's based on something that actually happened to the author. The copy of the book I have contains...more
I wasn't particularly thrilled with the book. It wasn't creepy to me, or exciting much. There were some moments that got intense, and I did find out more about sexual subcultures which is great, outside of these facts I didn't enjoy the book. I found myself sighing and rolling my eyes alot. This could be due to the sad break-up situation the character is facing and my inability at this point in my life, to empathize. Cry cry cry okay I get it you're sad and you're reaching out to anyone who will...more
"The Night Listener" is a good example of how a mystery novel can shine without creepy settings and dark characters in action packed storylines. This is a deeply moving, quiet and very emotional mystery that builds its enchanting plotlines with subtlety. It prevails by keeping the main focus on wonderfully depicted character interaction. There isn't all that much story to the novel in fact, but still it feels like a very quick, compact read. This is mostly due to Maupin's talent as a storyteller...more
I admit it: I've come late to Armistead Maupin. I've never read Tales of the City, nor his short stories. It's always an uncertain endeavor, beginning to read an author by picking up one of his most postmodern, meta-fictional novels. But give me 1,738.4 miles of highway and the wide-open Mojave Desert to cross, and y'know, I'll read just about anything.
Imagine how lucky I felt, then, when The Night Listener engaged me so much that I soldiered through it despite my signature bouts of motion sickn...more
Imagine how lucky I felt, then, when The Night Listener engaged me so much that I soldiered through it despite my signature bouts of motion sickn...more
This might have got 5 stars if it hadn't been for the ending. Once I picked it up, I couldn't bear tom put it down, I became so engrossed in the plotline and the mystery as to whether or not this boy really existed. For me, fiction is at its best when the characters speak to something inside you and you can empathise with them and they become real. You don't have to LIKE them, but you have to care about what happens. I don't have to have everything tied up and bundled into a neat little parcel,...more
I thought I knew what to expect from this book, and how it would resolve itself, because I knew that it was based loosely on Maupin's relationship with Anthony Godby Johnson, the teenage boy who wrote the memoir "A Rock and a Hard Place," a book I read and which affected me quite a bit both when I read it and when I found out years later that it might all have been a hoax. Lots of famous people were taken in by the possibly non-existent Johnson, including Maupin and author Paul Monette.
I was not...more
I was not...more
I had heard good reports about this book and I read about 100 pages and it seemed ok but then it started to get weird and it lost me.
Back Cover Blurb:
Gabriel Noone is a writer whose late-night radio stories have brought him into the homes of millions. Noone is in the midst of a painful separation from his lover of ten years, when a publisher sends him the memoir of a thirteen-year-old boy who suffered horrific abuse at the hands of his parents.
Pete Lomax is not only a brave and gifted diarist bu...more
Back Cover Blurb:
Gabriel Noone is a writer whose late-night radio stories have brought him into the homes of millions. Noone is in the midst of a painful separation from his lover of ten years, when a publisher sends him the memoir of a thirteen-year-old boy who suffered horrific abuse at the hands of his parents.
Pete Lomax is not only a brave and gifted diarist bu...more
I found this book to be slow burning, and not in a bad way at all. It was a book where nothing specific happens, but a story is told, a growth, like a coming-of-age story despite the main protagonist being 55 years old.
Yes this book was about a gay guy, but although technically it could be called gay fiction and there is a lot of I guess sexist issues in the book it is one where the gay guy isn't overtly gay. he seems normal and as such this book is able to be read without that pre assumed thin...more
Yes this book was about a gay guy, but although technically it could be called gay fiction and there is a lot of I guess sexist issues in the book it is one where the gay guy isn't overtly gay. he seems normal and as such this book is able to be read without that pre assumed thin...more
Okay. Within the first five pages, it became apparent that this book was about storytelling and truth and falsehood and embellishment. Not only does the narrator, Gabriel Noone, tell the reader this point blank, but Armistead Maupin tells us that himself, by making the parallels between himself and his main character extremely easy to draw. Okay, we think, here we have an equivalent Armistead Maupin, who has written an equivalent Tales of the City series, in which equivalent characters act out a...more
Wow - what a book. I loved this.
It wasn't the story I thought it woudl be initaially - it was a better one.
And at the very end when i realised again that I hasd been worng - it was even better
The book tracks the relationship between Gabriel Noone, radio celeb and sort of writer, and Pete an abused and HIV positive 13 year old.
Or does it?
Other threads woven in are the relationship between Gabriel and Jess, his marriage partner but now living apart from him ex lover. Their relationship is complex...more
It wasn't the story I thought it woudl be initaially - it was a better one.
And at the very end when i realised again that I hasd been worng - it was even better
The book tracks the relationship between Gabriel Noone, radio celeb and sort of writer, and Pete an abused and HIV positive 13 year old.
Or does it?
Other threads woven in are the relationship between Gabriel and Jess, his marriage partner but now living apart from him ex lover. Their relationship is complex...more
I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed Maupin’s Tales of the City series. I loved them – but that WAS quite a few years ago, maybe I’m just older and more cynical but this felt more manipulative than his earlier work. I always loved his easy style and intimate confessional tone, and that was all still there and still very enjoyable. But it all seemed a little weary and the confessions trotted out as if to order rather than offered with an open heart. The ending was also kind of unresolved...more
Jan 29, 2011
Tancredi
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
statunitensi,
thriller
Ebbene sì, questo libro mi sta facendo usare per la prima volta una stellina soltanto. Nella maggior parte dei casi tutti i libri che compro e decido di leggere mi piacciono. Ci azzecco sempre. Ebbene, questo libro mi ha deluso parecchio. Non mi è piaciuto per niente.
E' un mattone noioso, per quanto la lettura sia scorrevole, la scrittura semplice e povera.
Tocca temi difficili, quali gli abusi su minori, e non ci fa una grande figura.
Il protagonista è detestabile. Cinquecento pagine di autocomm...more
E' un mattone noioso, per quanto la lettura sia scorrevole, la scrittura semplice e povera.
Tocca temi difficili, quali gli abusi su minori, e non ci fa una grande figura.
Il protagonista è detestabile. Cinquecento pagine di autocomm...more
This is a beautiful and moving book about loneliness that touched me very, very deeply. The psychological depth is profound. I still ache when I think of it.
Hollywood should be ashamed of how badly the butchered this amazing book--Robin William was perfect casting, but the screenplay was atrocious.
Hollywood should be ashamed of how badly the butchered this amazing book--Robin William was perfect casting, but the screenplay was atrocious.
Mar 01, 2013
H.
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
christmas-books-2,
year-2
This is the tale of two stories: the story of Gabriel is quite beautiful toward the end though Maupin's opening with all of the main character's "I"ness is difficult; the Pete sections, while well written are a bit of a broken red-herring.
Not a first author's novel. The first two acts are well written but bland, the ending is a velveted hammer, the coda, while fun, cheapens it, as though Maupin is afraid of his characters.
This results in a difficult book to rate. If it was a mystery it would rec...more
Not a first author's novel. The first two acts are well written but bland, the ending is a velveted hammer, the coda, while fun, cheapens it, as though Maupin is afraid of his characters.
This results in a difficult book to rate. If it was a mystery it would rec...more
Sinceramente, pensé que llegaría a las 4 estrellas o, en todo caso, a las 3 y media... pero al final resulta que no. Cuando lo estaba leyendo me estaba gustando más de lo que me ha gustado en su conjunto. ¿Por qué? Fácil: para mí, está bien que un escritor juegue contigo al despiste y la duda... pero, cuestión puramente personal, no le veo la gracia a que al final te dejen así, dudando. ¿Qué ha pasado realmente? ¿Qué versión de la historia es la verdadera?
Así pues, dejémoslo en tres. Porque hay...more
Así pues, dejémoslo en tres. Porque hay...more
The Night Listener is a worthwhile piece of work not just because the story if full of suspense and sharp turns but because of the way it refers. What I mean is that The Night Listener is an audiobook about a gay writer of a thinly-disguised biographical radio series who was involved in a hoax and wrote about it, read by Maupin, a gay writer of a well-known and realistic series (Tales of the City) who was involved in a hoax (refer to Anthony Godby Johnson), wrote this story and read it as a seri...more
Fantastic book. It's restored my faith in Maupin after Michael Tolliver Lives fell rather flat. This is a much more mature read with so much emotion. I was literally holding my breath at the end to find out what the outcome was. I'm glad to find out a bit of info via Anthony R. Cardno's review. I'm going to Google the boy and memoir he mentions.
The N.L reminded me of an article I read recently which talks about The Boy Called It books maybe being hoaxs as no one can verify any of the events or u...more
The N.L reminded me of an article I read recently which talks about The Boy Called It books maybe being hoaxs as no one can verify any of the events or u...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This is the first of Maupin's work that I've read, but I don't think it will be the last. I enjoyed his style and found it easy to read, allowing me to focus on the characters and relationships instead of on big words and clever phrasing. I think that sort of writing has its place and I do love it but I think when you're trying to pack an emotional punch, simpler language is so much more effective. And the thing that I love about this story is that it's an absolute emotional roller coaster.
Writi...more
Writi...more
Fiction and Reality get confused, and reality itself is questioned in this psychological mystery by the author of Tales of the City. Gabriel Noone, dealing with a frustrating breakup, finds solace in an unexpected friendship with a young fan of his radio show. As they get to know one another better, however, Gabriel is made aware how little he actually knows about Pete, and is forced to confront his own conflict avoidance issues as he seeks the truth.
This story is just as much about relationshi...more
This story is just as much about relationshi...more
Devoured this book in 24 hours -- and now could get lost in exploring the back story.
I knew nothing going in (and can't even remember how I came across it), and I'm glad. Though it's interesting and twisty to realize it's based on a (hmm, how to put this) relationship? situation? Maupin experienced, the book is beautiful and painful on its own. I don't quite know why, but it's almost cheapened by knowing it's a fictionalized account of a real-life mess. Though I'd be happy to read a non-fiction...more
I knew nothing going in (and can't even remember how I came across it), and I'm glad. Though it's interesting and twisty to realize it's based on a (hmm, how to put this) relationship? situation? Maupin experienced, the book is beautiful and painful on its own. I don't quite know why, but it's almost cheapened by knowing it's a fictionalized account of a real-life mess. Though I'd be happy to read a non-fiction...more
I actually liked the movie much better than the book. It was creepier and weirder, whereas the book was rather annoying. This is a fictionalized account of something real that happened to the author, but Maupin emphasized more his relationship with his ex-boyfriend and his father. I found him to be very whiny and annoying. The book also had what I consider a "trick" ending in which I felt duped and deceived, and irritated. The writing is okay, but I wouldn't recommend the book. See the movie ins...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Having read all of the Tales of the City series, with all its gorgeous surreality and knotted coincidence, this book seemed like a natural extension - indeed one of the minor characters here, Anna - Gabriel's secretary - is also a minor character there. It has a wistful, dream-like quality that reminded me very much of Truman Capote. But again here Maupin makes even a far-fetched story (even if it is based on truth) totally believable. He's created a parallel universe peopled with such rounded a...more
I am btwn 2 and 3 stars on this one; I gave it 3 because it's well written and I LOVE Maupin so he gets the benefit of the doubt. I just wasn't thrilled with the ending, as it were. I was expecting a little more. But still worth reading for his structure and emotion. He's a brilliant writer!
UPDATE: OK, now that I've read more about the true story that inspired this book, I have to amend my original review. I still can't upgrade to 4 stars b/c I didn't "REALLY like" it, but I'm less put off by th...more
UPDATE: OK, now that I've read more about the true story that inspired this book, I have to amend my original review. I still can't upgrade to 4 stars b/c I didn't "REALLY like" it, but I'm less put off by th...more
A real surprise! I thought that because he's so acclaimed, this could be tortuous, but it's very good. The plot is somewhat contrived, but the sketch is that this very badly abused & dying teen has written a book about his life that gets to an idol of his who happens to be (like Maupin) a writer & star of an NPR series. They talk by phone, bond, and then the Maupin character's friends begin to question whether this kid actually exists. The ending leaves it ambiguous and back at the begin...more
I had grown tired of the Tales of the City series a while ago so I was apprehensive about picking up Maupin. I'm glad I did. This book was intriguing and pretty easy to read straight through. If I didn't have other things going on, I would have tired to finish this all in one sitting. Unlike the others by him that I've read, this book is written in first person. I think this works well for the plot. The narrator is flawed and at times you roll your eyes at him but there is always that 'what if.'...more
This is the only book by this author that I've read and the reason I read it is because I bought it so I could get it autographed by the author for my friend Jerry in Tulsa. Shout out to Tulsa!!! The author was nice when I told him I hadn't read any of his books but would kindly appreciate if he signed "to Jerry"
Anywhoozle, the book is good. It's well-paced and not-too-deep entertainment. It's kind of dark, but not too much. I also like that there's never really any firm conclusion stated about...more
Anywhoozle, the book is good. It's well-paced and not-too-deep entertainment. It's kind of dark, but not too much. I also like that there's never really any firm conclusion stated about...more
Although this is a stand-alone novel from the author of "Tales of the City," there is a character from TotC, so that was great.
Regardless, even though this books has all the things I like about TotC, it is very different in some respects: it reads as more auto-biographical than TotC given that the single narrative voice is a famous author who lives in San Francisco. Additionally, tNL is more ambiguous, disturbing, and open-ended than the TotC series - this is a book that raises more questions th...more
Regardless, even though this books has all the things I like about TotC, it is very different in some respects: it reads as more auto-biographical than TotC given that the single narrative voice is a famous author who lives in San Francisco. Additionally, tNL is more ambiguous, disturbing, and open-ended than the TotC series - this is a book that raises more questions th...more
I really liked this book. It is very different from Maupin's other work, which disappointed me at first. But once I recognized that he was writing a very different book here and let myself go with it, I really, really attached to it.
This is a cleverly told story, full of ambiguity and uncertainty about who and what is happening. It's very artfully done, especially so for a first time suspense writer.
The movie is pretty good too, though nowhere near as good as the book which is much better at cr...more
This is a cleverly told story, full of ambiguity and uncertainty about who and what is happening. It's very artfully done, especially so for a first time suspense writer.
The movie is pretty good too, though nowhere near as good as the book which is much better at cr...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Armistead Maupin was born in Washington, D.C., in 1944 but grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, he served as a naval officer in the Mediterranean and with the River Patrol Force in Vietnam.
Maupin worked as a reporter for a newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina, before being assigned to the San Francisco bureau of the Associated Press in 1971. In 19...more
More about Armistead Maupin...
Maupin worked as a reporter for a newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina, before being assigned to the San Francisco bureau of the Associated Press in 1971. In 19...more
Share This Book
1 trivia question
More quizzes & trivia...
“Pete thinks we all have a blacking factory: some awful moment, early on, when we surrender our childish hearts as surely as we lose our baby teeth.”
—
1 person liked it
More quotes…
Sep 18, 2012 09:11am