28 Barbary Lane: Tales of the City Books 1-3

Armistead Maupin wasn't the only gay writer active in the 70's, but his "Tales of the City" books were among the most popular reads. Beginning as a newspaper column, Maupin had the idea to allow reads to direct the story to a certain extent. They would write in to tell him how the story should go, and he would decide which idea he liked best. So I've heard, at least. These books are filled with rich characters. Mr. Maupin was excellent at drawing readers into his stories by making sure that the people one found in them were people one would want to know. They seemed not only real in that they were multi-faceted personalities of their own, but real in that they were surrounded by the events and culture of the 70's, which were beautifully captured. Someone reading the books now, when stumbling across a reference to LeCar or Jim Jones, will be transported back in time. Readers not old enough to remember the 70s will get a good glimpse of what gay culture was like then... or a part of it, at least. Maupin's characters experience situations that just about everyone can relate to. There are also situations that are extraordinary, but it's the day to day that make Mouse, Anna Madrigal and the rest seem like the folks who live next door. The "28 Barbary Lane" volume includes the first three books in the series. It's a wonderfully rich read. Not complicated or highbrow, perhaps, but not all stories should be. This is one of those "curl up next to the fire" books and I can't imagine my collection being without it.

Having the first three books in the "Tales of the City" series all in one place is a huge convenience as I am continually reading them. There is an absurd joy I get whenever I read these stories. Please understand, I realize these characters are fictional, but I so want to be friends with them and take part in their bizarre adventures. Maupin has a very minimalist writing style. The chapters are rarely more than three pages long, and in some cases almost entirely dialogue; yet somehow Maupin is able to create a world so real I feel I know these character intimately.What makes this collection so wonderful is that it does not contain the final three books in the series. It helps to maintain my delusion that the last three book simply don't exist and the action stops at the end of book three. I highly recommend this collection.

It's especially wonderful to have these three novels packaged as one. As three, they seem to fit together as a document of twenty-something culture before AIDS. While the 4-6, the second three of the series, are darker and more realistic, 1-3 are lighthearted with almost the flavor of a Dickens novel. Indeed, San Francisco is Maupin's London, and coincidence plays a large hand in his plots. Unfortunately, so do drugs and promiscous sex. But I suppose this serves as a reminder of times past, when life was freer, and a shot of penicillin could cure almost anything. Nevertheless, these stories brought back many memories and shared experiences. Michael, Mary-Ann, Brian, Mona and Mrs. Madrigal are three-dimentional, human characters. We can relate to them as people, even if we can't quite fathom their crazy, crazy ways.

This series was recommended to me by a friend during my freshman year of high school. I began reading the books when I was 14 and found that I loved the story lines and found myself getting wound up in the fantastic lives of the characters. The short chapters made it SO easy to lay in bed at night and promise myself "just one more chapter"...but then i'd flip ahead and find that the next chapter was only three pages and i simply COULDN'T end there! this pattern would usually go on until about three o'clock or until i finished the book, whichever came first! Because i was so young when i read the first two books in the series, I think a lot of the meaning was lost to me. During my second year of college i re-read the first two books and found myself falling madly in love with the adventures of the characters in the book. I found mysel weeping on the train...gasping on the plane...and laughing out loud like a lunatic at a cafe. I read the entire series in less than a month and to this day, elements of the stories stay with me. This book is a MUST read for any lovers of fun, entertaining and poignant stories.