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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
The one thing J K Rowling introduced to me with her Harry Potter novels is that publishing day matters!! Once I was hooked on the Potter saga (post book #4) I made sure to get the following books the day they were available. However, I wouldn't read them until my summer stay at the family lake house. But, I still had to have the books as soon as possible!
Then in 2007 as the literary and magical world braced itself for the end of Harry Potter a miracle of sorts happened Armistead Maupin revisits 28 Barbary Lane with Michael Tolliver Lives. Which he first claims is NOT a Tales of the City novel (anyone who's familiar with the Tale/City books will know that wasn't true). I got the book as soon at it was published and unlike the Potter books I started reading it once I had it in hand! The first time that ever happened!!
Jump to 2013! I've been reading all the Tales/City book in anticipation for the new one in Jan 2014 (titled The Days of Anna Madrigal).
And just finishing Michael Tolliver Lives for at least the third time it brings be back to reconnecting with long lost friends! Through the narrative of 'Mouse' we learn (in general) what happens to the principle characters of the original 6 books (I didn't like reading that Mona died of breast cancer)! But still got chocked up when the story turned to outside Anna Madrigal's hospital room.
Armistead Maupin has the great literary skill of creating characters we love and are willing to return to time and time again!
I give Michael Tolliver Lives a solid 4 star review!
Then in 2007 as the literary and magical world braced itself for the end of Harry Potter a miracle of sorts happened Armistead Maupin revisits 28 Barbary Lane with Michael Tolliver Lives. Which he first claims is NOT a Tales of the City novel (anyone who's familiar with the Tale/City books will know that wasn't true). I got the book as soon at it was published and unlike the Potter books I started reading it once I had it in hand! The first time that ever happened!!
Jump to 2013! I've been reading all the Tales/City book in anticipation for the new one in Jan 2014 (titled The Days of Anna Madrigal).
And just finishing Michael Tolliver Lives for at least the third time it brings be back to reconnecting with long lost friends! Through the narrative of 'Mouse' we learn (in general) what happens to the principle characters of the original 6 books (I didn't like reading that Mona died of breast cancer)! But still got chocked up when the story turned to outside Anna Madrigal's hospital room.
Armistead Maupin has the great literary skill of creating characters we love and are willing to return to time and time again!
I give Michael Tolliver Lives a solid 4 star review!
My favorite book so far, this one of the series I am grateful to be reading because of the Great American Read. As a straight man this is a different perspective for me but in general I feel like Michael way more than most people would expect. Thanks for a great story Mr. Maupin.
I know that an exclamation mark would be hyperbolic, but I think that, after an 18 year absence, "Michael Tolliver Lives!" is an appropriate title. Abandoned by his author in 1989, Michael Tolliver has been up to a lot in his absence. This wasn't originally going to be a Tales of the city book, but Maupin realised that Michael Tolliver was the perfect vehicle for an ageing gay man.
This explains why it's written in the first person, and how everything seems to grow organically from that original concept. It can be dangerous resurrecting beloved characters after a long time away, but Maupin has let them all live and die natural lives in the interim.
The shift from third person to the first is not without its problems: unlike The Night Listener, where the narrator was addressing his hypothetical radio audience, there is no indication of whom Michael is speaking to. This is not normally a problem with other first person books, but it's clear that Michael is addressing someone, and I refuse to believe it's me. He reminds you of things a couple of times and he explains things that don't strictly need explanation.
Because we're presented the exclusive viewpoint of Michael, other characters - Brian in particular - get short shrift from Maupin. This isn't a failing as much as it is a necessary evil. Just because one wants an author to overstuff a book doesn't mean that they should. Maupin shows more restraint here than he has previously.
Of course, the other side of the double edged sword is that the exercise is rather more personal than any previous entry in the Tales canon. Rather like Maupin's prior effort, The Night Listener, I found myself tearing up or even outright crying at times in the last fifty pages.
I welcomed this book because I considered Sure of You a huge downer to end the series on. Maupin doesn't idolise his characters, and so they sometimes make horrible decisions and become people that you can easily fall out of love with - as I did with several. The character arcs from book to book actually made me worry about reading on for fear that the characters - not Maupin - would compromise themselves.
Michael Tolliver Lives is an invigorating experience. It sounds stupid, but it is "life-affirming". Maupin writes death and loss very well, having experienced it too often first hand (this series, after all, spans pre-AIDS society to "post"), but he also writes survival. His honesty is brutal, and I don't agree with every stance that Michael takes, but I don't have to. I'm touched in such a way that I don't have to internalise the whole experience. Ultimately, Michael Tolliver Lives, despite the way that it treats some characters (Mona!), feels like more of a gift from Maupin than anything else.
Mary Ann in Autumn, only recently published, promises to be a return to the original format of sprawling and unlikely storylines that intertwine in vague and strange ways. Mary Ann's return as a focal character might set everything that was wrong in Sure of You right once and for all.
This explains why it's written in the first person, and how everything seems to grow organically from that original concept. It can be dangerous resurrecting beloved characters after a long time away, but Maupin has let them all live and die natural lives in the interim.
The shift from third person to the first is not without its problems: unlike The Night Listener, where the narrator was addressing his hypothetical radio audience, there is no indication of whom Michael is speaking to. This is not normally a problem with other first person books, but it's clear that Michael is addressing someone, and I refuse to believe it's me. He reminds you of things a couple of times and he explains things that don't strictly need explanation.
Because we're presented the exclusive viewpoint of Michael, other characters - Brian in particular - get short shrift from Maupin. This isn't a failing as much as it is a necessary evil. Just because one wants an author to overstuff a book doesn't mean that they should. Maupin shows more restraint here than he has previously.
Of course, the other side of the double edged sword is that the exercise is rather more personal than any previous entry in the Tales canon. Rather like Maupin's prior effort, The Night Listener, I found myself tearing up or even outright crying at times in the last fifty pages.
I welcomed this book because I considered Sure of You a huge downer to end the series on. Maupin doesn't idolise his characters, and so they sometimes make horrible decisions and become people that you can easily fall out of love with - as I did with several. The character arcs from book to book actually made me worry about reading on for fear that the characters - not Maupin - would compromise themselves.
Michael Tolliver Lives is an invigorating experience. It sounds stupid, but it is "life-affirming". Maupin writes death and loss very well, having experienced it too often first hand (this series, after all, spans pre-AIDS society to "post"), but he also writes survival. His honesty is brutal, and I don't agree with every stance that Michael takes, but I don't have to. I'm touched in such a way that I don't have to internalise the whole experience. Ultimately, Michael Tolliver Lives, despite the way that it treats some characters (Mona!), feels like more of a gift from Maupin than anything else.
Mary Ann in Autumn, only recently published, promises to be a return to the original format of sprawling and unlikely storylines that intertwine in vague and strange ways. Mary Ann's return as a focal character might set everything that was wrong in Sure of You right once and for all.
I loved this book. It was so far outside the norm of what I usually read. I picked it up as a freebie off B&N and I am so glad I did. Just a great story.
Sytarted this last night after hearing Armistead Maupin in conversation with Julie McCrossin at the Sydney Opera House as part of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival.
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Love all the Tales of the City books. They are a must read
funny
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think the word that best describes this book is 'tender'. I loved revisiting these characters and seeing what they're up to. Things seem less carefree in Barbary Lane and also more mature. Even though I miss the less dark books from early in the series the sequels' change in tone reads natural and still full of love. Also, I feel like Maupin wrote quite a lot of himself into this one.