John's Book Reviews: Armistead Maupin

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by John Q McDonald --- 21 July 2012

Armistead Maupin

by Patrick Gale

San Francisco author Armistead Maupin has grown to be one of the icons of the gay community in that city, in the country, and even in some other countries. His sprawling series of Tales of the City novels are beloved by readers both gay and straight. They are beautiful portraits of a time and a place, and its characters are often as charming as his portrayal of the city itself. This small volume, by Maupin's friend Patrick Gale, is Gale's loving portrait of Maupin, himself. On the strength of his writing, Maupin became a very public figure as an activist for the gay community, but also as an associate of both closeted and out celebrities. Most particularly, related here, his well-known association with Rock Hudson, who turned out to be an icon of closeted Hollywood. The Tales... novels have enough of a confessional tone to them that readers have often been inclined to read Maupin into the stories. No doubt, a solid biography would help to dish the details and clear up misconceptions. This little book is more of a conversational personal history. Gale had long relaxed conversations with his subject. He relates to Maupin's history, so there is an intimacy and a gentleness about the book. It is episodic, as well, moving forward and back in time as it touches on individual themes in Maupin's life. But all of this adds to its charm, and the implication that its subject is also a charming and engaging character. We read of his early years as a closeted young man in the South, with his conservative politics and establishment father, struggling a bit with what he knew were his natural inclinations. He spent time in the navy, in Vietnam, and came to San Francisco at the end of the sixties. There, he established himself as a columnist for a local paper, where he crafted his engaging stories. Maupin rubbed elbows with the famous both nationally and locally, and his occasional conflicts with them are treated gently here. There is, of course, much that relates to the well known stories in The Tales of the City, so a reader's curiosity is often satisfied. Maupin and Gale are both present in this book, and they are both apparently forthright about their experiences. A fitting biography for its subject, who recently announced he is leaving his beloved San Francisco (leaving it to the hipsters and the foodies) for some place called Santa Fe.

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