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Tales of the City #1
Tales of the City
San Francisco, 1976. A naïve 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 handiwork of Armistead Maupin.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
About the author
Armistead Maupin
88 books1,835 followersArmistead 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 1976 he launched his groundbreaking Tales of the City serial in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Maupin is the author of nine novels, including the six-volume Tales of the City series, Maybe the Moon, The Night Listener and, most recently, Michael Tolliver Lives. Three miniseries starring Olympia Dukakis and Laura Linney were made from the first three Tales novels. The Night Listener became a feature film starring Robin Williams and Toni Collette.
He is currently writing a musical version of Tales of the City with Jason Sellards (aka Jake Shears) and John Garden (aka JJ) of the disco and glam rock-inspired pop group Scissor Sisters. Tales will be directed by Jason Moore (Avenue Q and Shrek).
Maupin lives in San Francisco with his husband, Christopher Turner.
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 1976 he launched his groundbreaking Tales of the City serial in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Maupin is the author of nine novels, including the six-volume Tales of the City series, Maybe the Moon, The Night Listener and, most recently, Michael Tolliver Lives. Three miniseries starring Olympia Dukakis and Laura Linney were made from the first three Tales novels. The Night Listener became a feature film starring Robin Williams and Toni Collette.
He is currently writing a musical version of Tales of the City with Jason Sellards (aka Jake Shears) and John Garden (aka JJ) of the disco and glam rock-inspired pop group Scissor Sisters. Tales will be directed by Jason Moore (Avenue Q and Shrek).
Maupin lives in San Francisco with his husband, Christopher Turner.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,470 reviews
August 16, 2007
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 gives an almost pop-up book feel. And addictive storytelling. Tales of the City is an escapist read. And itself an exercise in escapism -- using what San Francisco represents in the popular imagination to open wide a world of freedom and possibility within its pages, and without.
December 24, 2022
So I've finally reached 28 Barbary Lane and come face to face with Maupin's resident 'family' their myriad collection of lovers, friends, real family and more. A book heavily focused on dialogue and short snappy chapters at first begs the question, why is it so popular??
But as pages past, and plots grow, entwine, live and/or die the mosaic nature of these stories, sure signs of structure and long-form story telling emerge. Despite its mid to late 20th century setting it's still a pretty good read, that when you come to the end you seriously ponder about reading the rest of the series, because by now, you care about the San Francisco set, including its prominent LGBTQ community. For me a 7 out of 12, strong Three Star read.
2019 and 2011 read
But as pages past, and plots grow, entwine, live and/or die the mosaic nature of these stories, sure signs of structure and long-form story telling emerge. Despite its mid to late 20th century setting it's still a pretty good read, that when you come to the end you seriously ponder about reading the rest of the series, because by now, you care about the San Francisco set, including its prominent LGBTQ community. For me a 7 out of 12, strong Three Star read.
2019 and 2011 read
July 16, 2019
What did I do between finishing this novel and writing its review? I ordered "More Tales of the City" & "Further Tales of the City" on ebay-- I'm THAT invested/confident that they'll match this one!
It is uproarious and uber-funny! It stars the cute Mary Ann Singleton (think a more modern Holly Golightly--but less of a prostitute) & a vibrant array of costars. It is concise, like "Vile Bodies" and perhaps in that same realm of Evelyn Waugh-type social satire. And what else? Authentic pluses include the kitschyness inherent in a Pedro Almodovar comedy, and even some of the picaresque qualities of my all-time fave, "Confederacy of Dunces." It is about this enthusiastic selection of promiscuous pre-80's San Franners. It's about the bummer of losing hippie-hood & the "anguish in Bohemia." In one word: Awesome!
There are enough characters to satisfy most of the reader's wants, and to alternate his/her attentions AND affections. I insist that for me, not ultra-Gay icon Michael Tolliver but Anna Madrigal takes the "Miss Congeniality" crown. Ultimately, "Tales" offers entertainment in dollops, and informs the reader about age-old queries, like are Michael and Mona prototypes for 90's favorite fag-faghag TV couple Jack & Karen? Are there actual hetero bathhouses? What is a c***ring (heteros, take note [it is quite tiresome to explain this time and again])? Tales include hetero/homo sexual prowlers, nifty ways to pay the rent, and ever-clever and -ironic plot twists in this sweet escape.
And the immoral sinners are, ooh very, very CHARMING. Go ahead. "Bite the lotus."
PS: I recommend the new limited series on Netflix. Closure--the most important attribute for a finale for an American--is reached!
It is uproarious and uber-funny! It stars the cute Mary Ann Singleton (think a more modern Holly Golightly--but less of a prostitute) & a vibrant array of costars. It is concise, like "Vile Bodies" and perhaps in that same realm of Evelyn Waugh-type social satire. And what else? Authentic pluses include the kitschyness inherent in a Pedro Almodovar comedy, and even some of the picaresque qualities of my all-time fave, "Confederacy of Dunces." It is about this enthusiastic selection of promiscuous pre-80's San Franners. It's about the bummer of losing hippie-hood & the "anguish in Bohemia." In one word: Awesome!
There are enough characters to satisfy most of the reader's wants, and to alternate his/her attentions AND affections. I insist that for me, not ultra-Gay icon Michael Tolliver but Anna Madrigal takes the "Miss Congeniality" crown. Ultimately, "Tales" offers entertainment in dollops, and informs the reader about age-old queries, like are Michael and Mona prototypes for 90's favorite fag-faghag TV couple Jack & Karen? Are there actual hetero bathhouses? What is a c***ring (heteros, take note [it is quite tiresome to explain this time and again])? Tales include hetero/homo sexual prowlers, nifty ways to pay the rent, and ever-clever and -ironic plot twists in this sweet escape.
And the immoral sinners are, ooh very, very CHARMING. Go ahead. "Bite the lotus."
PS: I recommend the new limited series on Netflix. Closure--the most important attribute for a finale for an American--is reached!
February 9, 2018
my favorite of Maupin's books - a time capsule to San Fran 1976...
January 26, 2022
“Mother must be dying.”
“Stop trying to cheer me up.”
Now that, my friends, is what we in the business call a wild ride. This is a ridiculous 1970s soap opera that I could not help but enjoy, but I think above all else, it made me hunger on a deep level for a San Francisco I’ve never experienced.
Well. We’ll talk about that in a little while. For now, let’s just say this: Tales of the City is a wild ride from start to finish. On both the level of “this is fucking hilarious” and “holy shit, that was a plot twist”. It’s like someone combined Revenge, the 2012 television show, with The Office. It made me feel like I was on crack. I loved it.
“Finally, she looks at him intently and says, in a voice fraught with meaning, ‘which do you think you’d prefer, Rich? S or M?’”
“And?”
“He thought it was something to put on the hamburger.”
The tone of these is so delightfully absurdist — you have to lean into the humor a bit and suspend your disbelief to get to the good bits. Actually, it took me a while to get that the chapters were being absurd on purpose (okay, so I received these without context).
Some highlights of the admittedly ridiculous character cast include:
→Mary Ann, a San Francisco newbie trying to make it but making bad romantic decisions along the way. Often dumb but occasionally iconic.
→Mona, Mary Ann’s first friend when she comes to town. Best friend to Michael. Excellent person with some drug issues.
→Michael, a gay icon, Mona’s best friend and second roommate. Constantly looking for long-term love but hasn’t found it yet.
→Anna Madrigal, landlord to Mona and later Mary Ann and Michael. Mentor type. Some secrets of her own.
→Beachamp, rich and seemingly happy husband to DeDe. Secretly dissatisfied. Sort of a dirtbag.
→DeDe, rich daughter of a richer man. Not always the smartest.
→Edgar, dissatisfied dying man trying to come to terms with a wasted life via his new friendship with a certain landlord. Father to Dede and husband to Frannie.
→Brian, disaster and a half. Token heterosexual. One-time lover to Mary Ann.
→Jon, possible lover to Michael. Gynecologist.
→Dorothea, black lesbian back in town to get back her old lover.
→Vincent, depressed crisis hotline operator whose wife has left him to join the Israeli army.
→Norman, older man living on the top floor. Maybe a few secrets.
I think in basically any other book, this character cast would’ve been absurd, but in this book, they feel perfectly believable. I love how all of the characters are written as both flawed and at times selfish but still generally endearing. And the comics are not without their moments of genuine heart: the relationship between Anna and Edgar is honestly really wonderful and tender, and the friendship between Mona and Michael is — honest to god — peak mlm/wlw solidarity. (You will not be surprised to know they were my favorites.)
Due to the serial format, these issues often feel very distinct, at times dealing with very different characters and themes. But I definitely had some favorite scenes and plotlines.
➽Here are some of my book highlights (light spoilers only):
→Anna giving Mary Ann a joint as a welcome to San Francisco gift
→Michael’s meet-cute with Jon, which takes place at a skating rink after he breaks his nose trying to subtly skate up next to him
→when a feminist talking about rape shows up at Dede’s country club and a minor character says delightedly “this is better than when they brought the bulldyke in!”
→the scene in which Brian is trying to sleep with a woman who thinks he’s gay and trying to sleep with women to repress it, and who then, when he says he’s not gay, says clinically “You must not be in touch with your body” and walks out. an ally
→when Michael answers a call from Mary Ann’s mom and her mom is scandalized about the strange man at her apartment and she then has to tell her mother about the existence of gay people
→Mary Ann getting hired at a crisis hotline, accidentally making a pun about playing it by ear, and then contemplating biting her own tongue off
→the scene in which Frannie is unloading all her problems but cutting it with “no, but I wouldn’t want to burden you, darling” and you think it’s like, to a friend, and it’s to her fucking dog
→WHEN MICHAEL’S PARENTS FIND LUBE IN HIS FUCKING REFRIGERATOR
→when Brian asks Michael to go cruising with him and Michael is like… why are straight people like this but then does it anyway. relatable content from 1978
→the guy who photocopied his dick and used the enlarger
And before I get serious, a brief spoiler section:
about a bicon:
it’s Michael Sad hours, really no spoilers just a rant:
some incredible plot twists:
some less incredible plot twists:
The thing is, I said I was going to get serious, and there’s something I need to say.
Conservatives have long loathed it as the axis of liberal politics and political correctness, but now progressives are carping, too. They mourn it for what has been lost, a city that long welcomed everyone and has been altered by an earthquake of wealth. -from Washington Post's How San Francisco Broke America’s Heart
I grew up 10 miles south of San Francisco — at the time of writing this, I'm leaving for college in almost exactly a week — with a mother who works as an opera singer up in the city. When I was eight, I knew without a doubt that as soon as I left for college, my mother would be selling our house in favor of a nice apartment near SF opera, as most of her friends had. Ten years later, the idea itself is ludicrous. The money we would receive for selling our (fairly nice) house wouldn't pay rent on anything but a studio. Many of my mother's friends have moved to Oakland, taking long commutes simply to arrive. One of my best friends lives with her family in Brentwood, an area past Oakland and two hours from San Francisco — her mom works a job in Woodside so she can attend a private school in the Bay Area.
I grew up knowing San Francisco as a place of gay culture and a thriving arts scene — a place with a large homeless population and some crime, but also a place where people came to be themselves. Now, I know it as a city where the culture of old residents is rapidly disappearing, replaced with the more homogenous Silicon Valley scene.
In reading this book where San Francisco is known as a weird and quirky city with a thriving gay scene, I found myself mourning for a San Francisco (and a Bay Area) I am barely old enough to have experienced, let alone to remember. I've known for years that I wanted to leave for college, but I wonder sometimes whether, thirty years earlier, I would've wanted to come back.
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March 4, 2012
I think I am either too old or too young to fully appreciate this book. If I were older, I might appreciate the groundbreaking nature of its matter-of-fact approach to a variety of characters of different sexuality and gender at a time when social mores were drastically changing. And if I were younger, I might be totally enchanted by all the entertaining drama, good and bad and self-absorbed, that comes with being young, single and in your twenties in a big city.
But I wasn't able to really connect with the characters, who seemed fairly one-dimensional to me, for all that they were supposed to be exactly the opposite. And when I finally finished, I just felt tired and depressed and irritated, in the way that I would be if I spent an entire week watching soap operas and eating junk food.
I was impressed with the author's ability to effortlessly weave together a large cast of characters, and to bring settings to life with small details, and I was a little intrigued by the various plot twists, but not enough to kindle any interest in the rest of the series. I am, overall, disappointed.
But I wasn't able to really connect with the characters, who seemed fairly one-dimensional to me, for all that they were supposed to be exactly the opposite. And when I finally finished, I just felt tired and depressed and irritated, in the way that I would be if I spent an entire week watching soap operas and eating junk food.
I was impressed with the author's ability to effortlessly weave together a large cast of characters, and to bring settings to life with small details, and I was a little intrigued by the various plot twists, but not enough to kindle any interest in the rest of the series. I am, overall, disappointed.
January 18, 2016
I know I am going to be in the minority here, but this is the most overrated novel I have read in a very long time. In fact, I did not even keep it after reading, but rather donated it to charity.
I had heard many good things about this text for years, and finally picked it up. Based on reviews, and what I had heard I was expecting a book in the vein of Dickens, with characters that leapt off the pages and spoke to the human condition. Only one character, in my view, lived up to that expectation. The landlady of Barbary Lane, Mrs. Madrigal. The other characters felt one dimensional, and as a reader I was completely uninterested in their lives. This is a dangerous thing for a character driven novel to do.
"Tales of the City" felt like a soap opera to me, not at all the interesting character study so many have made it out to be.
My advice, read E.L. Doctorow instead for great realistic characters.
Or, if you want the San Francisco setting, then read Christopher Moore's vampire series set in San Fran. This series might not be considered "great literature", but at least you recognize the characters and see their humanity.
As for the "Tales of the City" volumes...my trip through those tales is cut short.
I had heard many good things about this text for years, and finally picked it up. Based on reviews, and what I had heard I was expecting a book in the vein of Dickens, with characters that leapt off the pages and spoke to the human condition. Only one character, in my view, lived up to that expectation. The landlady of Barbary Lane, Mrs. Madrigal. The other characters felt one dimensional, and as a reader I was completely uninterested in their lives. This is a dangerous thing for a character driven novel to do.
"Tales of the City" felt like a soap opera to me, not at all the interesting character study so many have made it out to be.
My advice, read E.L. Doctorow instead for great realistic characters.
Or, if you want the San Francisco setting, then read Christopher Moore's vampire series set in San Fran. This series might not be considered "great literature", but at least you recognize the characters and see their humanity.
As for the "Tales of the City" volumes...my trip through those tales is cut short.
October 23, 2019
There was this whole stereotype about gay dudes, back in the day, they were every girl's best friend. Oh man, girls loved to get themselves a gay best friend. He would swan about calling her outfits fierce and making bitchy jokes. He would listen to her complain about her love life. He would say things like "Girrrrrrrl, he did NOT deserve you!" He himself would be neutered. The whole thing is frankly offensive; it reduces gay men to campy tics. They exist only during brunch.
idk who this is I literally googled "stereotypical gay guy"
You can't exactly tell someone their actual life is offensive, and this is, more or less, Armistead Maupin's life, pulled apart and turned extremely soapy for this iconic gay book, the first in an endless series. But he was under command, by the San Francisco newspaper that serialized it in the 1970s, not to overgay it - which could help explain its tiptoeing quality. According to my friend Gray, some editor was keeping a chart of the characters to make sure, as Maupin puts it, "the homo characters didn't suddenly outnumber the hetero ones and thereby undermine the natural order of civilisation." Which is funny to think about because with the amount of fucking all these people are doing of each other and each other's others, you have to imagine that the character chart would look pretty much like this
Crazy wall!
So good luck, editor. And besides, Maupin snuck in so much queer stuff, it's like a Where's Waldo where everyone's Waldo.
It's a little bit sad and scary to read this book with hindsight. It's like one of those early scenes in movies where kids are skipping in slow-motion and you're like oh, man, this can't end well. In 70's San Francisco everyone was tumbling into bed with everyone, but the AIDS crisis was looming. But first: brunch!
I've been here on Goodreads for about ten years now, and I have a few friends that have been here with me the whole time. One in particular, El, wrote savagely funny and insightful reviews that deeply influenced me. Over our long friendship, we talked each other through good times and bad ones, and we talked endlessly, endlessly about books. She died two weeks ago - suddenly, accidentally, shockingly. I miss her. But as I finished this book, I looked it up and there she was again - as always, way ahead of me. Here's her review. This is what she sounded like.
idk who this is I literally googled "stereotypical gay guy"
You can't exactly tell someone their actual life is offensive, and this is, more or less, Armistead Maupin's life, pulled apart and turned extremely soapy for this iconic gay book, the first in an endless series. But he was under command, by the San Francisco newspaper that serialized it in the 1970s, not to overgay it - which could help explain its tiptoeing quality. According to my friend Gray, some editor was keeping a chart of the characters to make sure, as Maupin puts it, "the homo characters didn't suddenly outnumber the hetero ones and thereby undermine the natural order of civilisation." Which is funny to think about because with the amount of fucking all these people are doing of each other and each other's others, you have to imagine that the character chart would look pretty much like this
Crazy wall!So good luck, editor. And besides, Maupin snuck in so much queer stuff, it's like a Where's Waldo where everyone's Waldo.
It's a little bit sad and scary to read this book with hindsight. It's like one of those early scenes in movies where kids are skipping in slow-motion and you're like oh, man, this can't end well. In 70's San Francisco everyone was tumbling into bed with everyone, but the AIDS crisis was looming. But first: brunch!
I've been here on Goodreads for about ten years now, and I have a few friends that have been here with me the whole time. One in particular, El, wrote savagely funny and insightful reviews that deeply influenced me. Over our long friendship, we talked each other through good times and bad ones, and we talked endlessly, endlessly about books. She died two weeks ago - suddenly, accidentally, shockingly. I miss her. But as I finished this book, I looked it up and there she was again - as always, way ahead of me. Here's her review. This is what she sounded like.
October 21, 2011
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 have the memory of the whole event, as if these were real people, real friends and real events.) However, the story grips you so strongly that you just rattle through the book and the dialogue is still sparkling and reminds you why you fell in love with these characters in the first place. I STILL want to grow up to be like Anna Madrigal! I am looking forward to reaching the later books, Babycakes and Sure of You, which I don't remember so clearly.
January 12, 2018
I guess I was destined to “discover” Armistead Maupin in 2017. Although, to be fair, he’s hardly a secret – he’s been writing for four decades and has generations of loyal readers.
Back in the spring, I gave a favourable review to the documentary The Untold Tales Of Armistead Maupin.
A few months after that, the galleys to Maupin’s memoir, Logical Family, arrived on my desk. I’d already read his stand-alone (and excellent) novel Maybe The Moon, but it seemed to me that in order to appreciate the memoir (and avoid any spoilers revealed in it) I’d have to read at least the first of his famous Tales Of The City books.
So I began the nine novel cycle. And, as friends both IRL and on here had told me, the writing was so much breezy fun - the literary equivalent of eating candy – that I tore through the first book quickly. After reading the memoir, I finished book two.
It took no time at all to get caught up in the adventures of the denizens of San Francisco’s 28 Barbary Lane: bright-eyed 20-something Mary Ann Singleton, newly arrived from Cleveland; jaded bohemian Mona Ramsey; Michael “Mouse” Tolliver, Mona’s gay best friend who soon becomes Mary Ann’s good friend after Mona disappears; Brian Hawkins, an apparently “woke” ex-lawyer who now works as a waiter and is a notorious womanizer; and of course their eccentric landlady, Anna Madrigal, who has, it turns out, chosen each one of her tenants very carefully.
Maupin has admitted that it took him time to discover the right pace and tone for the book, and to become a decent writer; he also had constraints from the publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle, where the book originally appeared in serialized form. (As we're told in the documentary and the memoir, Maupin was told to keep a chart of the book's gay and straight characters, to make sure the former didn't outnumber the latter.)
True, some chapters feel loose and vignette-like. But once the plot gets going – involving sex, lies and a secret dossier on one of characters – it’s impossible to put down. Maupin has lots of fun with his characters, whether they’re looking for love and relationships (Mary Ann, Mouse), tired of their marriage and looking elsewhere for connection (Mary Ann’s lecherous, bisexual boss, Beauchamp Day; Beauchamp’s boss and father-in-law, Edgar Halcyon, who has a big secret and is also having an affair with one of the main characters).
There’s some savage satire in here, especially involving well-to-do characters: a coterie of “A-list gays”; the “ladies who lunch” society women who compete with each other to bring famous artists to the city and who hold patronizing consciousness-raising rap sessions about “serious” subjects like rape.
One of the characters, a former girlfriend of Mona’s, has a storyline that was far ahead of its time, as Maupin points out in his memoir. I have to admit that when I read the big revelation, I laughed out loud, it was so brutally funny. And other social observations still ring true decades after Maupin wrote them. This series really was way ahead of its time.
But it’s not just satire or the book's prescience that keeps us reading; it’s the hopes and dreams of its characters and the friendships they form under the gabled roof of their unique abode; it’s the sense of fun and excitement that you get in moving to a new city and meeting cool new people – even if you’ve only moved there as a reader.
So go ahead and add me to the huge list of Armistead Maupin fans. Can’t wait to read the other books in the series.
Back in the spring, I gave a favourable review to the documentary The Untold Tales Of Armistead Maupin.
A few months after that, the galleys to Maupin’s memoir, Logical Family, arrived on my desk. I’d already read his stand-alone (and excellent) novel Maybe The Moon, but it seemed to me that in order to appreciate the memoir (and avoid any spoilers revealed in it) I’d have to read at least the first of his famous Tales Of The City books.
So I began the nine novel cycle. And, as friends both IRL and on here had told me, the writing was so much breezy fun - the literary equivalent of eating candy – that I tore through the first book quickly. After reading the memoir, I finished book two.
It took no time at all to get caught up in the adventures of the denizens of San Francisco’s 28 Barbary Lane: bright-eyed 20-something Mary Ann Singleton, newly arrived from Cleveland; jaded bohemian Mona Ramsey; Michael “Mouse” Tolliver, Mona’s gay best friend who soon becomes Mary Ann’s good friend after Mona disappears; Brian Hawkins, an apparently “woke” ex-lawyer who now works as a waiter and is a notorious womanizer; and of course their eccentric landlady, Anna Madrigal, who has, it turns out, chosen each one of her tenants very carefully.
Maupin has admitted that it took him time to discover the right pace and tone for the book, and to become a decent writer; he also had constraints from the publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle, where the book originally appeared in serialized form. (As we're told in the documentary and the memoir, Maupin was told to keep a chart of the book's gay and straight characters, to make sure the former didn't outnumber the latter.)
True, some chapters feel loose and vignette-like. But once the plot gets going – involving sex, lies and a secret dossier on one of characters – it’s impossible to put down. Maupin has lots of fun with his characters, whether they’re looking for love and relationships (Mary Ann, Mouse), tired of their marriage and looking elsewhere for connection (Mary Ann’s lecherous, bisexual boss, Beauchamp Day; Beauchamp’s boss and father-in-law, Edgar Halcyon, who has a big secret and is also having an affair with one of the main characters).
There’s some savage satire in here, especially involving well-to-do characters: a coterie of “A-list gays”; the “ladies who lunch” society women who compete with each other to bring famous artists to the city and who hold patronizing consciousness-raising rap sessions about “serious” subjects like rape.
One of the characters, a former girlfriend of Mona’s, has a storyline that was far ahead of its time, as Maupin points out in his memoir. I have to admit that when I read the big revelation, I laughed out loud, it was so brutally funny. And other social observations still ring true decades after Maupin wrote them. This series really was way ahead of its time.
But it’s not just satire or the book's prescience that keeps us reading; it’s the hopes and dreams of its characters and the friendships they form under the gabled roof of their unique abode; it’s the sense of fun and excitement that you get in moving to a new city and meeting cool new people – even if you’ve only moved there as a reader.
So go ahead and add me to the huge list of Armistead Maupin fans. Can’t wait to read the other books in the series.
January 5, 2019
First book of 2019
A cast of characters that you’d remember
Mary Ann
The landlady
Beauchamp n deedee
Eddie
A string of guys
String of girls
San Fransisco in the 1970s
Still hippies
Drugs
Hash
Sex in many forms
Scandals
The rich
The poor
A cast of characters that you’d remember
Mary Ann
The landlady
Beauchamp n deedee
Eddie
A string of guys
String of girls
San Fransisco in the 1970s
Still hippies
Drugs
Hash
Sex in many forms
Scandals
The rich
The poor
March 7, 2012
i really don't get what all the fuss is about. this is some kind of modern classic? the writing is so pedestrian, it's like i fell into a deep sleep and somehow continued reading.
B-O-R-I-N-G ... P-R-O-S-E
still, an extra star because of the surprisingly intricate narrative.
and that said, i think the miniseries was far more distinctive and interesting.
B-O-R-I-N-G ... P-R-O-S-E
still, an extra star because of the surprisingly intricate narrative.
and that said, i think the miniseries was far more distinctive and interesting.
August 4, 2020
Tales of the City is a snappy, humorous and heart-felt look at the intersecting lives of several people living in San Francisco in the 1970's. As they struggle for love, money and happiness, they establish friendships and create a new kind of family- one of their choosing rather than one they were born into.
"Mary Ann Singleton was twenty-five years old when she saw San Francisco for the first time." pg 9, ebook
One of the main characters is Mary Ann from Ohio. She came on a vacation to San Francisco and decided to stay because she loved the people and the general vibe.
But her mid-western upbringing didn't prepare her for the work and dating scene of San Francisco.
His smile was approaching a leer. Mary Ann chose not to deal with it. "She's a little strange, but I think she means well." pg 47
On a hunt for the perfect apartment, Mary Ann meets Mrs. Madrigal, the unconventional and slightly mysterious owner of a large place on Barbary Lane.
Once the other residents of the apartment are introduced, the story really takes off. The breakneck pace is probably due to the fact that Tales of the City was originally written as a serial with cliffhanger endings each week to bring readers back to the publication.
It works incredibly well in a novel format. The chapters are short and punchy. Although most of the tension of the story is created through the dialogue rather than action, it is gripping stuff.
In some ways, this book is rather like life. Everybody is mixing together, trying to find their own way and lifestyle that feels right to them.
From day to day, it doesn't seem like much happens. But taken altogether, it encompasses the growing pains accumulated through weeks, months and years of a lifetime.
"No wonder you're miserable. You sit around on your butt all day expecting life to be one great Hallmark card. ... You've got to make things work for you, Mary Ann." pg 111
Recommended for readers who enjoy their fiction with a big helping of soul-searching and humor, delivered at the speed of life.
"Mary Ann Singleton was twenty-five years old when she saw San Francisco for the first time." pg 9, ebook
One of the main characters is Mary Ann from Ohio. She came on a vacation to San Francisco and decided to stay because she loved the people and the general vibe.
But her mid-western upbringing didn't prepare her for the work and dating scene of San Francisco.
His smile was approaching a leer. Mary Ann chose not to deal with it. "She's a little strange, but I think she means well." pg 47
On a hunt for the perfect apartment, Mary Ann meets Mrs. Madrigal, the unconventional and slightly mysterious owner of a large place on Barbary Lane.
Once the other residents of the apartment are introduced, the story really takes off. The breakneck pace is probably due to the fact that Tales of the City was originally written as a serial with cliffhanger endings each week to bring readers back to the publication.
It works incredibly well in a novel format. The chapters are short and punchy. Although most of the tension of the story is created through the dialogue rather than action, it is gripping stuff.
In some ways, this book is rather like life. Everybody is mixing together, trying to find their own way and lifestyle that feels right to them.
From day to day, it doesn't seem like much happens. But taken altogether, it encompasses the growing pains accumulated through weeks, months and years of a lifetime.
"No wonder you're miserable. You sit around on your butt all day expecting life to be one great Hallmark card. ... You've got to make things work for you, Mary Ann." pg 111
Recommended for readers who enjoy their fiction with a big helping of soul-searching and humor, delivered at the speed of life.
April 26, 2018
Speedy and stagy, the tales breeze by in a kaleidoscopic blur: Maupin interweaves disparate narrative threads with such ease that you hardly register how elaborate the plot actually is, until you've finished it.
February 28, 2024
After watching the TV series based on this book, I immediately headed to the library to read the source novel--- loved it!! Quirky, funny, sad but most of all it was captivating... Especially for someone who was a youngster on the East Coast at the time who was fascinated by the 1970s but too young to have really experienced any of that decade.
PS— and one of the first authors to follow me on Twitter was this author— major thrill!!
(Reviewed 2/29/12)
PS— and one of the first authors to follow me on Twitter was this author— major thrill!!
(Reviewed 2/29/12)
June 28, 2021
These tales started as a series in the San Francisco Chronicle in the mid 70’s, and I remember reading them when I lived nearby. Back then, California wasn't called “Cali,” and San Francisco was “The City” (never “Frisco” for heaven’s sake). For many at that time, trans people were something out of Rocky Horror Picture Show, so this was a little shocking, but in a fun and gentle way. It perfectly captures the pre-AIDS innocence and the post-60’s mindset of discovery that was the 1970’s.
And it is so much fun. Mary Anne Singleton arrives in The City from Cleveland, and we see the wild world of San Francisco through her innocent eyes. “Would she ever stop feeling like a colonist on the moon?”
Everyone was busy shaping their own unique identities. In the immortal words of the Isley Brothers:
It’s your thing
Do what you wanna do
I can’t tell ya
Who to sock it to
But the iconic Mrs. Madrigal brings them together to create a family in her apartment complex on Barbary Lane, a made-up name (heavy with meaning from San Francisco’s lawless Gold Rush days) of a very real place inspired by Macondray Lane in Russian Hill, home of the crookedest street in the world, just down from the elite Nob Hill, and just up from Fisherman’s Warf.
This needs to be read like the soap opera it is. Each little chapter is a tease about the characters, and their lives fill in more and more as you go. I think it would be fun for anyone to read, but having lived through that time, it’s very special. Where else do you see references to Instant Breakfast and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman anymore?
And those aren’t the only throwback phrases. Beach Blanket Babylon is a local reference, but everyone will remember the t-shirts: Keep on Truckin’ and Dance 10, Looks 3. No? Maybe your biorhythms are off. How about a glass of Hi-C? Here--have a Wash’n Dri. Have you signed up with Kelly Girl yet? Have a Nice Day!
More Tales of the City anyone? Count me in. If I can’t go back in time, spending more time with Maupin’s characters is the next best thing.
And it is so much fun. Mary Anne Singleton arrives in The City from Cleveland, and we see the wild world of San Francisco through her innocent eyes. “Would she ever stop feeling like a colonist on the moon?”
Everyone was busy shaping their own unique identities. In the immortal words of the Isley Brothers:
It’s your thing
Do what you wanna do
I can’t tell ya
Who to sock it to
But the iconic Mrs. Madrigal brings them together to create a family in her apartment complex on Barbary Lane, a made-up name (heavy with meaning from San Francisco’s lawless Gold Rush days) of a very real place inspired by Macondray Lane in Russian Hill, home of the crookedest street in the world, just down from the elite Nob Hill, and just up from Fisherman’s Warf.
This needs to be read like the soap opera it is. Each little chapter is a tease about the characters, and their lives fill in more and more as you go. I think it would be fun for anyone to read, but having lived through that time, it’s very special. Where else do you see references to Instant Breakfast and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman anymore?
And those aren’t the only throwback phrases. Beach Blanket Babylon is a local reference, but everyone will remember the t-shirts: Keep on Truckin’ and Dance 10, Looks 3. No? Maybe your biorhythms are off. How about a glass of Hi-C? Here--have a Wash’n Dri. Have you signed up with Kelly Girl yet? Have a Nice Day!
More Tales of the City anyone? Count me in. If I can’t go back in time, spending more time with Maupin’s characters is the next best thing.
May 30, 2012
One of the most overrated authors of all time. Not surprisingly the fact that this series of amateurish daytime soap-opera novellas were adapted for TV meant it was one of those rare instances in which the TV adaptation was actually better than the books. Okay, to be fair, I only read the first book. I slogged through the whole thing, and i absolutely hated it. But, this much i know. The reader could not possibly relate to the San Francisco backdrop unless he had actually spent quite a bit of time there and new the city well. Maupin fails to describe anything. He just rattles off locations as if everyone knows exactly where they are, what they look like, and their general vibe. The characters were so paper thin, my nine-year-old niece could probably create something with more depth.
I know my thoughts on this book won't be popular, as it's the type of thing that has gained a huge cult following over the years, but for the life of me, i cannot understand how people enjoy these works even on an ironic level. i suppose if you enjoy supermarket romance novels or reading letters to porn magazines, this would be suitable entertainment, but let's not pretend that this actually rises beyond that kind of level. It's the kind of very low brow entertainment that's disguised as something with incredible depth, and nobody has the guts to say 'hey...the emperor has no clothes!'
I know my thoughts on this book won't be popular, as it's the type of thing that has gained a huge cult following over the years, but for the life of me, i cannot understand how people enjoy these works even on an ironic level. i suppose if you enjoy supermarket romance novels or reading letters to porn magazines, this would be suitable entertainment, but let's not pretend that this actually rises beyond that kind of level. It's the kind of very low brow entertainment that's disguised as something with incredible depth, and nobody has the guts to say 'hey...the emperor has no clothes!'
June 14, 2017
3,5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.
I think about...some things...
1) Could I have liked it more if I had read it shortly after the release date. The answer is SURE. OF COURSE. NO DOUBTS.
2) Could I have liked it more if I hadn't' read
Boystown series ? Probably yes. BEFORE reading Tales of the City I was sure that Jake Biondi has discovered a totally new genre. Only Armistead Maupin published his Tales around 35 years earlier than Jake Biondi his Boystown series.(San Francisco vs. Chicago, calm narration vs. wild action non stop). The structure is very similar, the writing is different, but I don't want to be the main judge in the competition "what is better" between them. I like both, Okay?
3) Could I have liked it more WITHOUT Mary Ann. The answer is - ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! Means---> No doubt. Of course. Sure.
Ihatedislike this character. Yes, I'm not indifferent in this case- I dislike her with all my guts. She is not unpleasant or stupid or very mean. She is just out-most BORING and she occupies much too much plot for my liking.
4)Honestly, I expected more from this book(there are too many exciting reviews, also from the readers I trust), but I think(still or in spite of everything) that it is a very good written and pretty entertaining book. Many nice lines(I highlighted a lot!) and a lot of plot here.
5)About how to rate it...Hmmm...it is by far not the best book I've ever read, because I wasn't eager to read it in one sitting. And I'm not very eager to read the next book ASAP.
+/& I could put it down for a while and didn't have any urgent desire to spend a sleepless night reading it.
+/& It was my third or forth attempt in giving it a go(every time I stopped after around the first 10 pages). It could be a bad timing, but also a bad sign.
+/& I found the beginning too dull for my immediate liking it. (The reason is Mary Ann. BORING is a keyword). There was too much of her at the start.
Summery:
An interesting, nice and very entertaining soap opera, with too less sex scenes for my spoiled soul-but a lot of sex behind closed doors-a lot of all different characters to satisfy every taste and all kind of possible and impossible relationships, some great lines, intriguing plot with a promising further development in the next installments. I'm in.
September 27, 2021
Is it perfect? No.
Are the character likeable? No.
Why five stars? Well, this book will now and forever be one of my all time favourite reads. I first read it aged16, over the Summer holidays whilst my parents were away and I suddenly realised that it was okay to be different from the other boys at my school.
Everytime I read about Micheal or Mary Ann (or any of the others) it's like catching up with old friends and even though this must be my 20th time of reading their tales are always a delicious gossipy mixture that has you laughing, crying or just wanting to know more.
Are the character likeable? No.
Why five stars? Well, this book will now and forever be one of my all time favourite reads. I first read it aged16, over the Summer holidays whilst my parents were away and I suddenly realised that it was okay to be different from the other boys at my school.
Everytime I read about Micheal or Mary Ann (or any of the others) it's like catching up with old friends and even though this must be my 20th time of reading their tales are always a delicious gossipy mixture that has you laughing, crying or just wanting to know more.
October 31, 2019
I listened to this in audio, read by Frances McDormand. Tales of the City was originally published in 1978 (the year I was born) and it focuses on a cast of characters all linked in some way to a landlady in San Francisco (near where I was born.) .
May 6, 2019
I'm coming up to my ten year anniversary as a San Francisco resident, so it seemed high time to give our city's urtext a go (well that, and I was invited to a film festival screening of the first episode of the upcoming Netflix series). I admit it took an unexpectedly long time to nudge myself onto its wavelength: I realized I had always assumed it was a gay text (it really isn't), and found Maupin's prose style surprisingly flat, even when taking into consideration the format restrictions of its original serial newspaper publication (Dickens this is not, and I'm not even a fan). There was also much less specificity of locale than I wanted, considering so much of the city it portrays has disappeared—or is on the verge of it. But as the storylines of the various characters become increasingly tangled, it's impossible not to get swept up in the complex rhythms of everyday life's countless little dramas. I'll likely continue to the next volume at some point, and maybe it won't even take me another ten years to get around to it.
January 17, 2012
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 own home grown and having affairs though, so all is not lost.
Short chapters give lightening flash insights into the personal troubles and turmoils of all the principle characters, some of whom have as much substance as a light sea mist. These word chunkettes were originally formed because the book was serialised in a newspaper before it was printed as a novel and the on demand instant gratification element of this comes through in the book. The ending was a let down for me though - a pretty major incident occurs and it's basically just laughed off by the main characters who then return to being self-fluffing meddlesome pseudo-libertines.
It is well written though and clearly set a bench mark precedent for Sex and City and possibly even Californication both of which deal with writers producing serialised works about the state of the nations sex lives while doing a bit of navel gazing and attempting to get laid themselves. Note, if it is sex you are after then Hank Moody (David Duchovny) is much more successful at getting laid than Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) so if you're undecided on a box set and this is the clincher then go with Californication.
Short chapters give lightening flash insights into the personal troubles and turmoils of all the principle characters, some of whom have as much substance as a light sea mist. These word chunkettes were originally formed because the book was serialised in a newspaper before it was printed as a novel and the on demand instant gratification element of this comes through in the book. The ending was a let down for me though - a pretty major incident occurs and it's basically just laughed off by the main characters who then return to being self-fluffing meddlesome pseudo-libertines.
It is well written though and clearly set a bench mark precedent for Sex and City and possibly even Californication both of which deal with writers producing serialised works about the state of the nations sex lives while doing a bit of navel gazing and attempting to get laid themselves. Note, if it is sex you are after then Hank Moody (David Duchovny) is much more successful at getting laid than Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) so if you're undecided on a box set and this is the clincher then go with Californication.
June 19, 2010
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 Francisco sky.
Of course the Tales of the City series will never become a classic, but it's already cult. Maupin's language is simple and flows effortlessly and always keeps you on edge; especially by the end, this book was quite suspenseful!
I'm happy in calling this book one of my favorites because, overall, it has all I want a book to have: great characters, exquisite story, musicality and fluidity and the engrossment factor.
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 Francisco sky.
Of course the Tales of the City series will never become a classic, but it's already cult. Maupin's language is simple and flows effortlessly and always keeps you on edge; especially by the end, this book was quite suspenseful!
I'm happy in calling this book one of my favorites because, overall, it has all I want a book to have: great characters, exquisite story, musicality and fluidity and the engrossment factor.
July 4, 2021
Not my way of living so I didn't relate.
Furthermore, I was totally alienated by the characters' lifestyles. Did anyone mature after high school? Too many charaters, so easy to get lost. Shallow, self-absorbed, or clueless
Furthermore, I was totally alienated by the characters' lifestyles. Did anyone mature after high school? Too many charaters, so easy to get lost. Shallow, self-absorbed, or clueless
May 1, 2019
I've always wanted to read this series so am so happy I finally did. Loved the story and the characters. This is such an easy read and the characters are wonderful. Will be so happy to read the other books in the series. There is also a BBC series that you can watch on Amazon. I plan to do this also. This was on the list of the Great American Reads and I now know for sure why it is.
July 26, 2018
1970s' classic about a ragtag group of San Francisco residents figuring out what the hell they're doing amongst sex, drugs, and an occasional party.
Good. Well-worth a glance.
Good. Well-worth a glance.
January 15, 2018
I had originally marked this as a re-read. I know I owned this book at one time; the cover with Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis was immediately recognizable and I remember purchasing it after the brouhaha about the adaptation airing on PBS in the early 90's (Jesus don't want gays on his teevee set.) But nothing in here jogged even a faint memory bell so I'm thinking now I never actually read this, I just bought the book in protest. I’m such a poser.
Anyway, NOW I’ve read it.
The first entry in Maupin's nine volume series about a collection of San Francisco residents in the 1970's, it was originally published as a newspaper serial (I know, it seems like something quaintly Victorian now) so each chapter is only 2-3 pages long. Like an Altman film, the cast is large and quirky. Mary Ann Singleton, a young and naive secretary, impulsively extends her vacation to San Francisco into a permanent stay. She rents a room from eccentric, pot-growing landlady Anna Madrigal, who has a colorful tenant named Mona who works at an advertising firm who needs a secretary. Mona has a friend named Michael, a recently dumped gay man, who moves in. And so it goes.
Maupin does a great job of weaving a cast of characters in ever-expanding concentric circles. Toward the end, some of the stories went in directions that were a bit too far-fetched for me (the mysterious sad sack tenant Mr. Williams, D'Orothea the model.) It was a light and sweet and (sometimes) bittersweet read, and perfect for January. I ordered the next book from the library and could see myself actually finishing this series.
Anyway, NOW I’ve read it.
The first entry in Maupin's nine volume series about a collection of San Francisco residents in the 1970's, it was originally published as a newspaper serial (I know, it seems like something quaintly Victorian now) so each chapter is only 2-3 pages long. Like an Altman film, the cast is large and quirky. Mary Ann Singleton, a young and naive secretary, impulsively extends her vacation to San Francisco into a permanent stay. She rents a room from eccentric, pot-growing landlady Anna Madrigal, who has a colorful tenant named Mona who works at an advertising firm who needs a secretary. Mona has a friend named Michael, a recently dumped gay man, who moves in. And so it goes.
Maupin does a great job of weaving a cast of characters in ever-expanding concentric circles. Toward the end, some of the stories went in directions that were a bit too far-fetched for me (the mysterious sad sack tenant Mr. Williams, D'Orothea the model.) It was a light and sweet and (sometimes) bittersweet read, and perfect for January. I ordered the next book from the library and could see myself actually finishing this series.
August 15, 2020
Era il 1978 quando Armistead Maupin (scrittore, poi, diventato un’icona della narrativa LGBT) pubblicò Tales of the City, una serie di racconti ambientati a San Francisco pubblicati per la prima volta su Pacific Sun e successivamente sul San Francisco Chronicle.
Una sorta di feuilleton che, come testimonia l’autore nel suo Post scriptum, non aveva ambizioni letterarie:
”La consideravo una sorta di elaborata parodia per pochi intimi sulla vita così come veniva vissuta a San Francisco e da nessun ‘altra parte.”
Ma si sa che le vie editoriali sono infinite e il successo lo sorprende, tanto da radunare questi quadretti in un unico volume a cui ne seguiranno altri due (“Nuovi racconti di San Francisco” e “Ritorno a San Francisco.”)
Simpatico per trascorrere qualche ora ma, sinceramente, ho trovato, per i miei gusti troppi stereotipi accoppiati ad un’assenza minima di scrittura.
La protagonista, Mary Ann, veste i panni della classica provinciale che abbandona il paesello e si butta tra le braccia metropolitane piena di speranze e si ritroverà in una San Francisco trasgressiva.
Molta infelicità che si maschera e anestetizza.
Se da un lato mi aspettavo qualcosa di più, dall’altro credevo di trovare qualcosa di meno.
Insomma, molto sesso, molte droghe e poco rock and roll...
Una sorta di feuilleton che, come testimonia l’autore nel suo Post scriptum, non aveva ambizioni letterarie:
”La consideravo una sorta di elaborata parodia per pochi intimi sulla vita così come veniva vissuta a San Francisco e da nessun ‘altra parte.”
Ma si sa che le vie editoriali sono infinite e il successo lo sorprende, tanto da radunare questi quadretti in un unico volume a cui ne seguiranno altri due (“Nuovi racconti di San Francisco” e “Ritorno a San Francisco.”)
Simpatico per trascorrere qualche ora ma, sinceramente, ho trovato, per i miei gusti troppi stereotipi accoppiati ad un’assenza minima di scrittura.
La protagonista, Mary Ann, veste i panni della classica provinciale che abbandona il paesello e si butta tra le braccia metropolitane piena di speranze e si ritroverà in una San Francisco trasgressiva.
Molta infelicità che si maschera e anestetizza.
Se da un lato mi aspettavo qualcosa di più, dall’altro credevo di trovare qualcosa di meno.
Insomma, molto sesso, molte droghe e poco rock and roll...
January 7, 2019
I know, you’re shocked, SHOCKED*! that I haven’t read this before. Well that is remedied. Now I know this world, the house on Russian Hill, Mary Ann and all the inhabitants of Mrs Madrigal’s house.
There’s a wonderful documentary on Armistead Maupin (Netflix, thanks Chris for telling me about it) that made me love the book and it’s author even more. He talks about his logical family. His biological family just didn’t work out. When you’re a gay boy with a southern white supremacist father, you need to find your people. Your logical family. I highly recommend the book. But of course you’ve already read it 😉
Next up, the miniseries.
UPDATE
* On second thought, maybe you're not shocked. I see that I was not the last person to read Maupin.
* I was so surprised that the opening scene of the miniseries was with Laura Linney (not the surprise) and Parker Posey (SURPRISE!) They're delightful. And Olympia Dukakis is just amazing in this. Thumbs up for the miniseries as well.
There’s a wonderful documentary on Armistead Maupin (Netflix, thanks Chris for telling me about it) that made me love the book and it’s author even more. He talks about his logical family. His biological family just didn’t work out. When you’re a gay boy with a southern white supremacist father, you need to find your people. Your logical family. I highly recommend the book. But of course you’ve already read it 😉
Next up, the miniseries.
UPDATE
* On second thought, maybe you're not shocked. I see that I was not the last person to read Maupin.
* I was so surprised that the opening scene of the miniseries was with Laura Linney (not the surprise) and Parker Posey (SURPRISE!) They're delightful. And Olympia Dukakis is just amazing in this. Thumbs up for the miniseries as well.
January 29, 2023
Armistead Maupin is a magnificent writer. His characters and plots kept me reading and, most of all, he opened my heart toward every single one of these San Francisco originals.
For sure, I indentified with Mary Ann, a newcomer to the wildly non-Midwestern culture. But every character was so vividly drawn, I felt as though they welcomed me into their world.
For sure, I indentified with Mary Ann, a newcomer to the wildly non-Midwestern culture. But every character was so vividly drawn, I felt as though they welcomed me into their world.
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