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Oct 21, 2011

Mark rated it:

Obviously a re-read! Having recently read the latest in the series, Mary Ann in Autumn, I wanted to re-read the entire series. Unfortunately, I am so familiar with the first three books, which were also made into TV adaptations, that I know the stories and most of the dialogue off by heart, so I can't get the same, mind-blowing enjoyment that I did on my first reading. (Although that is one of the pleasures of reading, for instance, Michael Tolliver Lives, where past events are mentioned and you More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Jason rated it:

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 More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jul 15, 2011

David rated it:

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 More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 22, 2011

Dottie rated it:

Watched the mini-series from this on PBS when it first aired -- fell in love with the whole thing and found three (at least) of my all-time favorite actors in roles within this series. THEN I went out and read the book the first time -- revisiting it was just as much fun as watching the Tales unfold week by week on TV all those years ago. NOW I'm going to do what I've alway intended to do since then -- I'm going to read the whole series of books -- one after the other like Sandy Duncan consume More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

jesa rated it:

this was a pretty easy read. it was a fine tale of intertwining lives of motley characters living in san francisco in the 70s...it's dated but it's meant to be. it feels like a game of 'spot the landmark', and makes me miss living in san francisco, though it's just been a few weeks since i left. the stories were not overlty compelling or even incredibly interesting since the edginess of the text has probably softened immeasurably over the years. also, the end feels a bit rushed and almost absurd More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Venessa rated it:

12 August 2007
A fun read, a recommendation from Cherie. Very amusing and mostly light hearted, with some serious themes thrown in, but Maupin doesn't do it in a way that is over bearing. {And I love Michael Mouse too, Cherie!!} I like how Maupin connects all of the characters lives in subtle and not so subtle ways, aside from the obvious connections that come out in the beginning of the book. And he reveals lots of fun and not so fun surprises throughout, that perhaps you will be able More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Mar 24, 2009

Michelle rated it:

Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin

This was suggested by Berni, who chose it for my now defunct book club, but I'm glad I got this out of it as the very least.

I'm amazed this book was written in 1978! It's a perfect depiction of life in the 70s. That kind of perfection written about a certain time in a certain decade usually doesn't come until the decade is well over and well reviewed, and well thought out, and well deciphered. I was continually impressed by Maupin's ability to put you right t More...

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Oct 19, 2011

Lee rated it:

I picked this up at a used book shop for $1.95 because I was curious. I was not aware that it was part of a serial, and I may not invest in the later novels because it isn't really my thing. I had the impression it was more serious, more literary, so I was a little disappointed by its lack of pretension. There were a few too many coincidences for my taste: housemates, coworkers, and lovers overlap in improbable ways. It seems the author would have us believe that San Francisco is a much smaller More...

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Feb 21, 2011

Laurie rated it:

I began this book in part because I was curious. Everyone who ever attended SFSU had to read it for some class or other along the way, except I, the lit major. I had an attitude about it then that it must be more from the "pop fiction" angle of things, and so it took the book's clearance price of five dollars at a local bookstore to convince me to give it a go.

I should start by saying that I've lived in SF for nine years now, and would frequently visit in the years leading up More...

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Jan 31, 2011

Andres rated it:

I have a bias toward San Francisco. I think it the greatest city in the world. Although I haven't been to many of the great ones. So when I was assigned a book regarding San Francisco in the 70s, I was interested. As my book cover says, this book is indeed a 'love letter' to SF. The book shows that the city by the bay is one like none other. The characters in the book, some new to the city, are free in the city. They aren't prosecuted, aren't frowned upon by their peers, or cast out to dry by so More...

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Oct 26, 2010

Secret Bookshelf rated it:

I have this rule about reading a book: I usually give every book a chance of 100 pages. If I still don‘t like it by then I stop reading it. This is what happened with The Tales of the City. I was supposed to read it for my book club meeting but I found out about the book club only a few days before the meeting so I never managed to read the whole book. I managed to read around 80 pages. Nevertheless, I went to the meeting anyway. It was a great evening with lovely people but all they said was co More...

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Apr 22, 2010

Kassa rated it:

I’d never heard of this book until it started showing up on a lot of author lists of their top 10 favorite books of all time. It’s been described as a gay classic and authentic to San Francisco in the 1970’s. Since this story was first published in the newspaper as a serial in the 1970’s, it has gone on to be a miniseries that garnered several award nominations. Even reading the book today, it remains a whimsical delight that clearly set the stage for many such spin offs in the future. The begin More...

3 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 28, 2009

Davis rated it:

If you're looking for a wonderful trip to a fantasy land, this is the book for you! The good news is that the trip won't end after this book. There are five more books in the series.

I was given this book over twenty years ago and I immediately went out and bought each of the others after I had read the preceding ones. I have read through the entire series at least three times and it has been just as refreshing each time I have done so.

If you're gay, you will love these bo More...

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Dec 06, 2011

Will rated it:

Call it 3.5 stars, I'm a little torn.

It's a breezy and in the year 2011, dated slice-of-life novel set in 1976 San Fransisco. I think it's of some small importance to remember that this novel (as well as the next three in the series) were originally published regularly as a newspaper serial. I think that a reader younger than 30 and/or one who is unfamiliar/intimidated by gay culture would have a tough time with this book, but the story is just perfect for film/tv adaptation, which i More...

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Jan 16, 2012

Bridget rated it:

Not every book is able to emulate the lives of a dozen characters and not every author can keep the characterisations consistent, but this was such a book by such an author. I enjoyed sharing the secret laden colourful lives of the people of the city and found them imagined complexly enough that I could not bring myself to hate even the most distasteful ones (but that might be because I don't like to dislike anyone.)

The plot was in some places predictable, but wasn't most of the time. More...

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Aug 21, 2011

Bryan rated it:

This book illustrates, more or less totally, my problem with rating systems. For instance, Tales of the City rates three stars from me, thus putting it alongside "1984" and "Of Human Bondage", two works which are formally superior to "Tales" in every way, and also "The Catcher in the Rye" which made a huge impression on me at the time that I read it, but which I have no desire ever to read again. If I were to rate "Tales" based on how much I en More...

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Jan 17, 2012

Shovelmonkey1 rated it:

Fluffy hetero/homo romantic nonsense set in San Fran in a time period which I am not really clear on but it might be the end of the 1970s. I think Nixon gets a mention. Or maybe it was Carter. Anyway it's not the summer of love and that's what is important as most of the characters in the book seem to spend a lot of time bemoaning the passing of '67 and wondering what will become of them now that all the free love has gone away or at least become more illusive. People are still producing their o More...

10 comments like (9 people liked it)

May 12, 2010

Vincent rated it:

I read this book back in 1994. A friend called my partner at the time to tell him Tale of the City had been made into a movie and was on PBS. We watched it and I feel in love with the story and characters. I found out there were 6 books in the Tales series (Now 7 counting the new 2007 "Michael Tolliver Lives") and read every one of them. I even made sure to visit some of the locations mentioned in the book when I visited San Francisco on vacation. I LOVED these books! Picking up More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 09, 2011

Kai rated it:

Never heard of this book or the author before until I picked it up at a used book store in Hillcrest, San Diego. I was first drawn by the interesting square shape and the fun cover of the book (a cartoon map of SF, with a legend!), and as I started reading at the stand I found myself laughing out loud at least twice every PAGE, and I knew then and there I gotta take this home with me. Hard to believe this book was written 30 years ago as it still feels very relevant, though irreverent, even wi More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 06, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

My oldest sister Laurie, who was involved in the theater scene, used to rave about this series. When my book club selected Tales of the City, I finally had the opportunity to see what the fuss was about.

The story focuses on the interweaving lives of the residents of a San Francisco apartment complex in the 1970's. Groovy, man. Though the cultural references are obviously dated, I found this novel to be hilarious! I'm going to highlight some of the passages that had me giggling. I'm n More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 19, 2009

El rated it:

I liked The Night Listener quite a bit and promised myself (like a treat) that I would read more by Armistead Maupin in time. I once worked with a guy who raved about this particular series, so I especially looked forward to getting to it; but then that guy quit under suspicious circumstances and colored my opinion (albeit unfairly) of Maupin's worth. So it took a few years, but here it is.

The first of the series begins with naive Mary Ann coming to San Francisco in the seventies t More...

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Nov 14, 2011

Ben rated it:

I read this for the first time many years ago while in college and before having moved to San Francisco. I recall enjoying it, though I couldn't place the action in anything more than a foggy vision of the land around the Golden Gate Bridge. I had only touristy notions of San Francisco and an embarrassingly simplistic concept of California.

Having lived in San Francisco, I now know where most of the events occur in Tales of the City, which makes the story much more enjoyable. It More...

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Sep 25, 2011

Paul rated it:

Tales of the City (and its several subsequent volumes) will never be mistaken for capital "L" literature. Small wonder, considering Armistead Maupin's novels began as a collection of his serialized newspaper column about the inhabitants of 28 Barbary Lane, a fictional apartment building in San Francisco in the mid-1970s. That said, Maupin has created great characters and some of the most engrossing narrative you'll ever stumble across.

From Mary Ann Singleton, the wide-eye More...

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Oct 25, 2007

Amy rated it:

Chock full of colorful characters and steeped in pop cultural references, this series blows me away. I laugh out loud. I cry louder. I feel like I could pick up the phone and call Mouse and chat with him like we were old, dear friends. These characters did become a part of my world, they were just that real and genuine. Read these books. And then read them again and again.

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 20, 2011

Aurelie rated it:

Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin follows the lives of a few characters living in 1970's San Francisco. The book especially focuses on the residents of the 28 Barbary Lane: Mary-Ann, Michael, Mona, Brian, Norman and Anna Madrigal, the landlady.
Tales of the City is an entertaining book and an easy read. It's really funny, with lots of pop-culture references, and in the same time there's also more serious themes thrown in. I was afraid at first that the book would be a little dated (being More...

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Sep 26, 2011

Nathan rated it:

I'm not usually one for serial drama, but this story quite surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. Maupin showed us the pulse of the late 70s through his vivid character development and intertwining story lines. The best part? We came to know Mary Ann, Michael, Anna and the gang not through chapters full of background, but by listening to them weave their own tales for us.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 27, 2010

Vara rated it:

I picked this up because I loved the various TV mini-series based off of it, and I missed my hometown. If you don't know the series, or SF very well...you may find this read confusing.

It's a serial novel written in/about 70s San Francisco. It reads like a screenplay, so this is easy to finish reading in a day or two. I found the TV mini-series more compelling, only because there was little to no detail in the book. The book is 90% dialogue. It definitely helps to know the city and lo More...

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Sep 27, 2010

Mary rated it:

I bought this at City Lights Bookstore, whose historical significance (and touristy-ness) gives you a strong urge to buy books related to either the Beats or San Francisco/California. (Doing otherwise might feel like dining at PF Chang's in Shanghai.) And so, I bought Tales of the City.

Tone-wise, this book resembles Sweet Valley High or Who Put That Hair In My Toothbrush?. Pure 70s he-said-she-said type stuff. But in the midst of such bubblegum sweetness, Maupin covers drugs, adulter More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 24, 2011

Jamie rated it:

I read this book because I've been wanting to forever and I saw it on Shi's "to-read" list and it happens to have been made into a musical that is debuting at the ACT in SF this month.... so now's the time. I liked it because I like San Francisco. Well, I love San Francisco. And I like a nice little cheap poolside read in pretty packaging during a heat wave. I think I would have loved it if I was 20 years older. I felt like reading it was like being left out of the inside joke a b More...

1 comment like

Dec 11, 2009

Ian rated it:

I picked this up at a library book sale in Florida, read it in Florida, Israel and Egypt and really loved it. Perhaps I'm just homesick, but I think there's something more than that.

First of all, it really feels like San Francisco. Many of the places, characters and institutions haven't changed in the thirty five years since the book first came out. We've still got Cliff House and The Endup, Eccentric land-ladies and advertising copywriters on coke, and Safeway dating and halloween. More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

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