The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 2 June 2008
by Armistead Maupin
In the fourth book in the Tales of the City series (there are eight books, so far, depending on how you're counting them), we get a respite from the darkness that pervaded the previous volume, Further Tales of the City. But the author was writing, at the time, via installments published in San Francisco newspapers. His story was dynamic, and absorbed the current events of the time (mid 70s to the late 80s). And it absorbed the mood of San Francisco. In this book, the city's gay community begins to suffer the first ravages of the AIDS epidemic. Michael Tolliver's lover, Jon, is now gone, his ashes buried in the courtyard of 28 Barbary Lane. But this isn't a book about AIDS. It's about Mary Ann Singleton's marriage, and Brian's desire to have a baby. It's about the Queen of England, and her visit to California with the Reagans. And it's about Michaels journey to England, where adventures befall him, and missing friends turn up in the wierdest places. The book is a serialized entertainment. Its chapters are short and fast moving, but the characters and stories are so charming it is hard to put down. Maupin's novels now also benefit from a sort of nostalgic haze. Written for contemporary readers, he was depicting the scene as he saw it. Now, the stories are set in a time long enough ago as to be colored rosy by memory. They have an immediate newspapery feel, though, and, despite their often bizarre turns, have a compelling authenticity. Mary Ann is flawed and driven, evolved from her early days in the city. Michael is growing up, life and death having mellowed him. Anna Madrigal reigns as a kind of Greek chorus and mother hen. Mona Ramsey is bitter in Seattle, and looking for almost any adventure to liven up her life. All of them are complex enough to keep the reader interested, but entertaining and light enough to make the books a real pleasure to read.
Also by Maupin: [Tales of the City]
[More Tales of the City]
[Further Tales of the City]
[Significant Others]
[Sure of You]
[Michael Tolliver Lives]
[Mary Ann in Autumn]
See also: [Armistead Maupin by Patrick Gale]