Product Description

The first volume in the widely acclaimed and much-loved series

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3885 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-19
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Synopsis
San Francisco, 1976. A naive young secretary, fresh out of Cleveland, tumbles headlong into a brave new world of laundromat Lotharios, pot-growing landladies, cut throat debutantes, and Jockey Shorts dance contests. The saga that ensues is manic, romantic, tawdry, touching, and outrageous - unmistakably the handwork of Armistead Maupin.

From the Back Cover
`Maupin is a richly gifted comic author'
Observer

A naïve young secretary forsakes Cleveland for San Francisco, tumbling headlong into a brave new world of laundromat Lotharios, cut throat debutantes, and Jockey Shorts dance contests.The saga that ensues is manic, romantic, tawdry, touching, and outrageous - unmistakably the handiwork of Armistead Maupin.

About the Author
Armistead Maupin was born in Washington, D.C. in 1944 but was brought up in Raleigh, North Carolina. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, he served as a naval officer in Vietnam before moving to California in 1971 as a reporter for the Associated Press. In 1976 he launched his daily newspaper serial, Tales of the City, in the San Francisco Chronicle. The first fiction to appear in an American daily for decades, Tales grew into an international sensation when compiled and rewritten as novels. Maupin's six-volume Tales of the City sequence - Tales of the City, More Tales of the City, Further Tales of the City, Babycakes, Significant Others, and Sure of You - are now multi-million bestsellers published in eleven languages. The first three of these novels were adapted into widely acclaimed television mini-series. Maupin's 1992 novel, Maybe the Moon, chronicling the adventures of the world's shortest woman, was a number one bestseller. His novel The Night Listener was made into a feature film starring Robin Williams and Toni Collette in 2006.

Armistead Maupin lives in San Francisco, California.

Customer Reviews

Wolverhampton Libraries LGBT Reading Group Review
This book (the winner of The 2005 Big Gay Read, incidentally) is fondly regarded as a nostalgic romp through heady, carefree times before the threat of HIV and AIDS changed gay society irrevocably. Some readers had read this book before and enjoyed the opportunity to read it (and the rest of the series) again.

The story is compiled of short `episodes' and quite a large cast of characters to keep up with - most of whom, it turns out, are linked to each other; usually romantically. Some readers found it a bit hard to keep up with the conversations these characters have because of the way Maupin `lists' their dialogue.

The mystery side of Maupin's tales is often overlooked in the right-ups (in this case Norman Neal Williams and his sinister pastimes) but they certainly add an aspect of drama that might otherwise leave these stories as just light `sex and shopping' fiction.

The group recommends More Tales of the City as a compliment to this first volume.

Masterful comic soap
Centred on 28 Barbary Lane, San Francisco, the home of Anna Madrigal, Tales of the City chronicles the day to day life of Mrs Madrigal and her assorted tenants, along with their friends and colleagues. The eccentric Mrs Madrigal considers her residents as her family, leaves them notes accompanied by a joint and serves brownies suitably fortified. The residents include twenty five year old Mary Anne, a naïve young secretary newly arrived from Cleveland; Mona, a successful copywriter working for ad agency Halcyon Communications; Brian Hawkins, a randy waiter and one time lawyer in his thirties; and Michael (Mouse) Tolliver, a thoroughly likeable lively gay twink. Among the friends and colleagues, and very much part of the story are Edgar Halcyon, head of Halcyon Communications; and Beauchamp Day, his promiscuous son-in-law and business partner; along with their respective wives. By a remarkable series of coincidences the lives of residents, friends and acquaintances connect and interweave to comic effect.
Their escapades range from the devious to the outrageous, ruthless to movingly caring; their sexual interests/orientation from straight to gay, and not always necessarily consistent; the whole providing an hilarious and touching account full of adventure.
A thoroughly entertaining, funny and fast moving read, with some endearing and very likeable characters, I highly recommended it; and very much look forward to the subsequent developments in the many sequels.

A warm but not over paced novel
Tales of the City is a novel that gently guides the reader through thetwists and turns of life in San Franscisco. Though the plot is gentle,and rairly rushed, the characters provide enough detail and colour to keepthe pages turning.
The story is spun through a myriad of mysteries and individual tales ofthe people involved, all cummulating in a splendid finale. Though most ofthe secrets are unravelled, the book still leaves enough unansweredquestions for the reader to want to delve into the next book in theseries.
I really enjoyed this book, it is a warm and colourful view of SanFrancisco in the 1970's, the characters are each unique in their ownright, yet all are brought together by the themes exposed during theirdaily lives.