Another entertaining book in the Tales of the City series. A warning if you have not read any Maupin books before. Firstly, it is expected that you have read previous books in the series if you are going to follow the plot (though a canny reader will probably get what is going on). Secondly, plot is not Maupin's strong-point: he telegraphs any twists in the tale from way to far ahead in the story, and everything is just so over-the-top it is laughable.
But there are redeeming features. Maupin writes vivid characters, which you just can't help laugh at and along with at the same time. They are all fully formed while being that little bit OTT that you just can't bring yourself to believe they would exist in 'the real world', yet secretly know they would.
This series is an engaging look at San Francisco in the 1970s and 1980s, and will probably stand as an important chronicle of the time and place. ( )

Further Tales of the City continues on with the characters you just have to fall in love with from the very first book. Being an eclectic reader, this book was recommended to me by a salesperson at my local bookstore, and I am glad I listened. To be able to sit down and actually guffaw at some of the crazy antics these characters get themselves into!! It would be so much fun to be a resident of Barbary Lane for just a year! ( )

As with others in the series, this is of interest mainly for the depiction of life in San Francisco during that era. It's considerably weaker, and less plausible, than the others in the series. ( )

I can't really believe it's taken me this long to find these gems, but sometimes it's the ones that lie undiscovered under your nose that prove the most surprising. These books detail the lives of a motley band of individuals who live in San Francisco on Barbary Lane under the watchful eye of the matriarchal Anna Madrigal. The pluses and minuses of these stories all stem from the fact that they were initially serialisations in a regular newspaper column. It makes them an addictive doddle to read - each book is divided into bite-sized chunks that have an element of self-containment mixed with a splattering suspense that leaves you wanting more. The characters are skilfully drawn and quickly come to life and become much-loved friend - a testament to Maupin's skill as a writer. They are each a little window onto life in San Francisco at the time - an interesting documentation of society there.

I guess, should you choose to, you could level the criticism that the interlinking storylines are all-to-convenient and readily wrapped up .... but I didn't find it problematic. It is an inherent quality of the original media they were published in and you have to allow for that format. I'm just glad to see them put together as a book so that they can be enjoyed by everyone. I think that if you cannot overcome objections to plot and structure, then these books were probably never meant for you. Personally, once I found them, I couldn't put them down and I'll certainly be looking forward to the next batch. ( )

Even though some of the plot twists and turns are evident early on, how the author leads the reader on a serpentine course through these stories is all the fun. ( )