More Tales of the City

Tales of the City #2

by Armistead Maupin

The internationally beloved classic comes to life in a Showtime miniseries.Few Works of Fiction have Blazed a Trail Through popular culture like Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series. Since its publication as a daily newspaper serial in 1976, Maupin's incisive comedy of manners has expanded into six bestselling novels, the first of which became a highly acclaimed television miniseries starring Oscar-winner Olympia Dukakis as the irrepressible Anna Madrigal, doyenne of 28 Barbary Lane.

Now More Tales of the City is becoming a Showtime miniseries, once again starring Olympia Dukakis, Laura Linney, and Thomas Gibson, as well as exciting new cast-members, including Swoosie Kurtz and Ed Asner. It will be broadcast in June 1998.

HarperFlamingo is delighted to announce the publication of two new editions of More Tales of the City to tie in with this broadcast. The first, packaged in the series format, will allow readers to collect the entire Maupin library in a uniform look. The second features a special cover to tie in with the Showtime series and an eight-page photo insert that will delight Maupin's longtime devotees and introduce a whole new audience to this American classic.

"Remarkable, delectible, addictive". -- New York Times Book Review

"There's been nothing like it since the heyday of the serial novel 100 years ago". -- Walter Kendrick, Voice Leterary Supplement

Genres: Fiction, LGBT, Queer, Gay, Humor, Contemporary, Gay Fiction

340 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Armistead 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.

Reviews

[Fabian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Armistead Maupin is one of the best summer read writers. His Tales of the City trilogy is part sitcom, part kitsch, melodramatic and historic, irreverent and yet o-so dated, & damn if you cannot recognize his influence in groundbreaking TV, like "Sex and the City" and "Will & Grace". Things are explained, expanded, & the 4 or so separate strands of character destinies intertwine and repel each other at intervals that make the reader anticipate each and every episode. The ridiculousness will tickle you, the characters will stay with you. Finally, Michael Tolliver's contribution to gay lit. is made more clear, as is why Mrs. Anna Madrigal was my favorite character from the last installment in the first place. (Duh!)

[Heidi Wiechert · Rating 4 out of 5]

"For all her trials, she loved it here in San Francisco, and she loved her makeshift family at Mrs. Madrigal's comfy old apartment house on Barbary Lane." pg 11, ebook

All of the characters whom readers loved from the first book (Tales of the City) are back and mixing things up in San Francisco. This soap opera-ish fictional series remains as fast-paced in its second installation as it was from the start.

Mary Ann is still working for Halcyon Communications, which is under new leadership, and has to face a new set of challenges. That's not even mentioning the dark memories she's trying to forget about a certain former boyfriend, or two.

Michael Tolliver, called Mouse by his friends, is still on the look out for love after a disastrous semi-relationship in the last book.

Mona Ramsey, the free spirit, is about to uncover another major secret about her past. She can add it all of the other ones she's picked up...

"And she was- she believed- the only one who knew Mrs. Madrigal's secret. That knowledge, moreover, formed a mystical bond between the two women, an unspoken sisterhood that fed Mona's soul on the bleakest of days." pg 18

There's a pregnancy, romantic cruise, conspiracy, secret club and more in this installment. A must-read for any fan of the series.

"I want it too badly, Mary Ann. Any idiot can see that. When you want it too badly, no one wants you. No one is attracted to that... desperation." pg 129

One criticism I had for this book, the same I had for the last one, is in the highly unlikely coincidences contained in many of the plot twists. It seems to me that in a city the size of San Francisco, the dozen or so main characters would be more likely to run into other people than each other.

But, like most works of fiction, I suppose it's fine to suspend your disbelief on some points.

As for the rest of the book, I would describe it as compulsively readable. It's almost like book candy, you can't stop at just reading one. I certainly couldn't.

And, with that, it's on to the next one...

[da AL · Rating 5 out of 5]

This whole series is comprised of the few books I read multiple times & still love. Audiobook editions are great too!

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t realize how much I had missed Mrs. Madrigal, Mary Ann Singleton, Mona Ramsey, and Michael “Mouse” Tolliver until I began More Tales of the City, Armistead Maupin’s sequel to his spectacular Tales of the City. (Other books had gotten in the way.)

In the sequel, Mary Ann finally meets the man of her dreams — although he has nightmares of his own. Mouse, too, finds love while he narrowly escapes death. And through a serendipitous encounter in the Nevada desert, Mona finds out more about Mrs. Madrigal — and herself — than she ever wanted to know. Lastly, Mary Ann and her new love investigate an unusual and intriguing mystery; to say any more about it would ruin the fun.

But I also missed this San Francisco circa 1980 when young people could revel in life, before young college graduates became so burdened by college debt, venereal diseases, underemployment, and judgmental sniping from elders who should know better. And it didn’t hurt to see the loathsome Beauchamp Day get his long-deserved comeuppance.

This second book in the series is not quite as delightful as the first, but it’s close and it’s still good enough to merit five stars. I promise it won’t take as long for me to revisit the fascinating tenants of 28 Barbary Lane and their sparkling and wise landlady.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really love all of Maupins’s work and I was nervous that on a reread this wouldn’t hold up to my memory of it. But it did.

[Vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Armistead Maupin wrote nine volumes of this episodic series about a group of close-knit San Fransiscans in the 1970’s, but I may be stopping here at book #2. The story and characters continue to be quirky and charming, but Maupin wears his love for melodrama on his...typewriter ribbon sometimes: amnesia as narrative device, a life-threatening illness, a nasty side plot about someone hired to assault a pregnant woman, a silly storyline about a series of voyeuristic coincidences. As much as I love the residents of 28 Barbary Lane (a stand-in for the real Macondray Lane in the Russian Hill neighborhood), it got too be a little too ridiculous, a little too reliant on a domino-falling series of implausible coincidences, and soapy in a not fun way. I was ready to finish this book.

As far as the cast of characters go: Mary Ann’s new boyfriend was bland and the amnesia mystery never really gelled, it just got sillier only to find that the cause was trauma from exposure to an Episcopalian cannibal cult. Seriously. DeDe gives birth and then her storyline goes haywire when she moves to Guyana with D’Orothea, who randomly waltzes back into the series near the end. Don’t tell me she’s living in fucking Jonestown now. That’s got to be what it is, right? The best stories involve Michael, who finds love, and Mona, who makes some important discoveries about her family tree (probably not that surprising discoveries if you read the first book.)

[Miss Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read about 250 pages this afternoon after a got off work, bringing me to the end of the book. If that's not a testimonial, I don't know what is.

Maupin is intensely readable. If you read from the Tales of the City series, his characters will become your friends. And, like me, you'll be glad he's written several books featuring them. I can't wait to read the next.

With the first one, I felt intrigue took a back seat to plain old human interest. With this one, the mystery we were left with at the end of the first one ends, but a new enigma is presented, and it's much more in the foreground. Which I like. While the mysterious element is heavy, the base of the book is still the characters, and that includes the city.

Further Tales, here I come!

[MAPS - Booktube]

Meilleur que le tome 1.

Contrairement au premier tome où il fallait découvrir et rencontrer les personnages, dans ce tome-ci c’est chose faite. Le début avec le petit « recap » donne l’impression de retourner avec des personnages qu’on connaît depuis longtemps. Oui il y aura ajout de personnages, mais la base est bien établi et la quantité d’ajout est moindre.

L’histoire est encore plus prenante que le tome 1. Il y a plusieurs intrigues et des dénouements.

L’ambiance est toujours «  on point. » J’aimerais avoir plus de référents par contre, ça me permettrait d’apprécier davantage.

[Kylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is something so remarkable about the way Armistead Maupin writes. It's so gossipy and intimate and I can't help but want to know more about everyone on Barbary Lane. I said it before and I'll say it again, I feel like I've been given an invite to the biggest gossip session in town, and I've been thrilled with every minute of it.

So great to read more about Mrs Madrigal, Michael, Mona, Brian and yes...Mary-Ann. Oh Mary-Ann, will you ever lose those ol' Connecticut ways?

I can't fault this second volume. It's truly delicious and I laughed out loud so much.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cracking follow-up to the first Tales of the City book. Preposterous as ever, but just as addictive. Maupin manages to tread a fine line between sentimentality and humour. What comes across is the fact that these characters love each other and the reader loves them in turn, becoming a vicarious member of the Barbary Lane family.
What really affected me when I first read these books, as a recently "out" Gay man, was the depiction and template they gave for Gay/Straight relationships. In the books, sex isn't something to be ashamed of; rather it is something to be cherished, as part of the remarkable human condition, in whatever form it is found. The characters are seen, and see each other, as people first and foremost and their sexuality is just part of their personality make-up. In the first book, Mona bursts in on Michael and John, with a breakfast tray and announces, "Hi! I'm Nancy Drew! You must be the Hardy Boys!" Prior to reading the "Tales" books, I was seeing a man, who was quite a bit older than me. It was my first real "relationship" after recently accepting my sexuality. One Saturday morning, we were in bed together and his straight housemate came breezily into the bedroom, carrying three mugs of coffee. His girlfriend had gone out to work and he thought he would wake us. He handed us two of the mugs and promptly sat on the edge of the bed with the third, chatting away to us, as if two, (obviously,) naked guys in bed together was the most natural thing in the world. I was absolutely mortified; we were obviously naked and it was equally obvious that we hadn't just shared a bed because of a lack of facilities! After reading the "Tales" books, I could see that this was just Barbary Lane in action in the real world; a world where prejudice didn't exist and where two people of the same sex sharing a bed, was as natural and uncomplicated as seeing your Mum and Dad in bed together, when you were a kid and took them breakfast in bed on Mother's Day.
That is what is so endearing about these books; the innocence! Despite the talk and action around sexuality that goes on, it is essentially an innocent world, where differences are accepted and celebrated, in the name of the greater "sameness". It is a wonderful world to escape to and always a pleasure to revisit these old "friends". If only the real world WAS like that all the time; where even low-rent whorehouses and cannibals are taken in their stride!

[Karine Mon coin lecture · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un vrai plaisir que de retrouver ces personnages. Ce tome est une continuité du premier et nous retrouvons tous les personnages quelques semaines après les événements de ce dernier. C'est une vraie plongée dans une époque, drôle et émouvant à la fois.

[Dennis Holland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gays of Our Lives set in San Francisco 90210. There is even more drama, more romance and more hilarity than the first in the series. Re-reading the books, I’m having such fun falling for these lovably ludicrous characters and their ridiculously amusing adventures all over again!

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always enjoy reading, and re-reading, the wonderful books in the Tales of the City series.

[Cleo Rainey · Rating 5 out of 5]

W I L D

[Yaroslav · Rating 5 out of 5]

English below
От і друга книга англійською прочитана.
Я задоволений як я спланував це читання. Чотири місяці на том якраз той темп, щоб отримувати задоволення. (Правда в третій книзі шрифт дуже дрібний і доведеться трохи напрягтися)
Я з величезним задоволенням повернувся на Барбарі лейн 28. Тут вже більше саме "історій", досить різнопланових. В другій книзі стало більше мого улюбленого Майкла Мауса і це додатковий плюс.
В другій книзі я трохи змінив підхід і не намагався перекладати кожне незнайоме слово і розуміти все дослівно. І норм. Загальне розуміння сюжету було майже без словника.
Тиждень перерви і буде ще більше історій міста.
So the second book is read in English.
I am pleased with how I planned this reading. Four months on the volume is just the pace to have fun. (True, in the third book, the font is very small and you will have to strain a little)
It was with great pleasure that I returned to 28 Barbara Lane. There are already more "stories", quite diverse. In the second book, there was more of my favorite Michael Mouse and this is an additional plus.
In the second book, I changed my approach a little and did not try to translate every unfamiliar word and understand everything literally. And norms. The general understanding of the plot was almost without a dictionary.
A week off and there will be even more stories from the city.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am pretty sure that this is not the edition I read back at the end of the 1980s when I discovered Maupin on returning to live in the USA after living in Ireland and the UK since 1969. I do know it was three volumes and paperback and that I loved the stories, I found them funny, charming and utterly captivating. They are there in my mind long as fond memories of books loved long after I ceased to love either Mr. Maupin or the later incarnations of his characters.

But I refuse to be drawn on later disappointments, I separate them form what began it all, I haven't read these stories in forty years, but I would have no hesitation in picking them up again or recommending them to others.

[Jack Burrows · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fulfilling sequel, "More" feels like a maturer, more refined - yet no less hilarious and at times outrageous - style of writing and storytelling from Maupin.

With most characters now well-established there are fewer of the "contrived coincidences" which I so enjoyed from the first novel, but when they do occur they are laugh-out-loud funny. Rather than getting to know each other, the residents of Barbury Lane are secure in their inter-relationships and so they embark on separate, though occasionally interweaving, journeys of their own: there is Mona's journey of self-discovery, Michael's blossoming relationship with Jon and a sudden turn in health as well as Mary Ann's new lover's mysterious past to unravel.

Amid it all is the magical Mrs Madrigcal, ever-enigmatic and the mother figure/moral compassion that we'd all love to have in our lives. It is hard not to be drawn into this colourful, vibrant and lively version of San Francisco and not feel something for each and every character, so rich is the story-telling and characterisation which breathes life into every page.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: I have read this series multiple times; Maupin lifts my spirits and gives me hope.

———-

Like the first book in the series, More Tales of the City began in serial form in the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper. Picking up a few months after the events of the first novel, it continues the story of the inhabitants of 28 Barbary Lane.

In this second of the series, Mona Ramsey, while working the phones at a whorehouse in Nevada, discovers the identity of her father. Around the same time, Mrs. Madrigal tells Brian some surprising details about her own identity.

Also in this novel, Mouse and Mary Ann take a Mexican cruise and both find romance; for Mouse, this comes in the form of Jon Fielding who had earlier “dumped” him.

Meanwhile, back at Halcyon Hill, both DeDe and Frannie move on after the death of Edgar. Frannie finds a cure for her depression at the Pinus camp for rich old ladies where houseboys are always ready to help, and DeDe announces to her husband that he is not the father to their soon-to-be-born twins. Beauchamp responds with an unusually dark and horrifying plan of action that backfires.

As with the first novel, these pre-AIDS San Francisco adventures are light, wry, and addictive. Unintentionally, however, Maupin makes his later readers think about the coming health crisis as Michael falls ill and is compelled to come out to his parents who support Anita Bryant’s anti-gay campaign.

I like this second of the series of Tales of the City as much as the first. Yes, the plot line is still soap-operish while Maupin develops his characters, but the book is still full of hope and joy that becomes all-too-poignant as we recall that just a few months after the book was released, the June 6, 1981 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle included a headline on page four that read “A Pneumonia That Strikes Gay Males.” That article was thought so unimportant it did not include a byline.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

i’m living for this series so far! a little messier than the first, but all the love and gayness is overflowing in these pages. i would kill to have friends like the group at 28 barbary lane.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect pandemic reading :)

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The amount of drama in this one is simply ridiculous, but since it rarely happens in my usual reading program, I can pass it. And I also understand that the series was first published in a newspaper, bit by bit, so the reader back then experienced the whole thing slowly and not in the face, like I did.
Forgetting this, my listening was a sheer delight.
What slightly bothered me, though, was the racist language some of the characters used. I understand that this book was written a couple of decades ago, but still. You know.

Overall, I loooooved this book and now consider myself a fan of the series too.
Many of the characters are dear to my heart and I want to listen to a whole thing non-stop.
Michael and Mona!
Michael and Mona!
And Anna. Oh, I love her so much.

(gonna stop myself, cause I'm getting emotional)

[☆ Annie ☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

...sigh...


Okay. So. This could have been worse, I think...
Possibly?
*sigh some more*
More Tales of The City was the perfect way to keep those people I loved so well from book 1 in my everyday life, there is no denying that. Still, everything moved way too fast, without build-up and in a way that, more often than not, made zero sense. I wish situations were spaced out, better explained, and some all-together completely avoided.
Even so, I can't not admit that Michael, Mona and Mrs. Madrigal belong to my heart and will always have a place there, and for that I am truly grateful. For that alone, it was almost worth it hehe
You see, there is something so very charming about this book... Almost like going home. Or finding one!


*"The problem is, when you're born at the end of the rainbow, there's no place to go."*

[LenaRibka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audible

A soap opera with a high addiction potential.
I've never thought that a novel about MANY different people who continuously bump into each other - it is a small world, my friends - could be so entertaining. But it looks like I can't have enough of Armistead Maupin's crazy creative fantasy.
.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just as fun to read as the first book in the series, but I rated it even higher because it approached more serious issues of generational homophobia and self-doubt so dang well.

Michael Tolliver's letter to his parents and Mary Ann's confession and guilt about her initial anger toward "wasted" homosexual men both had me in tears. And, of course, the sharp wit of all the characters had me cracking up every other page or so.

Can't wait to read the next one!

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one made me almost cry in public several times, I love the characters so much! It's quirky and honest and fascinating and I'm so glad I still have several volumes to read!

[Amélie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didn’t think it could get more insane, then the Episcopalian cannibals turned up.

[Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfect perfect perfect

[steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ★

Ok I understand why these books might not be everyone's thing, but they're certainly mine! I just love the short chapters and the intertwining stories between all the characters. It keeps your attention and the little twists and revelations throughout are brilliant. Of course it's not groundbreaking, deep, thoughtful literature, it's literally sat on the line of being a comedy soap opera, but an incredibly sweet and human one.

The end twist of this book and the previous were pretty shocking and I really loved that. They've got a formula and it never fails to keep me interested.

Like I said in my previous review, I love the representation. Of course there's a bit of outdated language but it's a product if it's time where that was the language they had. But oh my god the way Anna's story is described makes me so happy. The intergenerational acceptance of an older, happy, maternal trans woman is incredible. In terms of other characters, I'm happy to see Mona in another relationship and to actually witness her grow into it more, getting closer to Brian and bonding with him. I'm very happy about Mary Ann and Burke and excited to read about what her plans are next! I loved the reunion between Michael and Jon (plus Michaels entire story in this book, I really did not expect that, and I'm glad he has his kind doctor boyfriend to take care of him)! I enjoyed DeDe's story, I'm very happy she came out of this unharmed and it's interesting to read about the reactions of her family to her pregnancy. I'm definitely looking forward to reading about her relationship with Dorothea and the twins!

Overall, a really enjoyable read, well for me it was! (also a huge fan of all the Isherwood and Cabaret references in this one, that was an extra little treat for me!)

[Ayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that explains things lol

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, fast and with short chapters- an Excellent beach read. Just as spicy and fun as the first.