Further Tales of the City

Written by Armistead Maupin

Narrated by Armistead Maupin

Inspiration for the Netflix Limited Series, Tales of the City

The third novel in the beloved Tales of the City series, Armistead Maupin’s best-selling San Francisco saga.

The calamity-prone residents of 28 Barbary Lane are at it again in this deliciously dark novel of romance and betrayal. While Anna Madrigal imprisons an anchorwoman in her basement, Michael Tolliver looks for love at the National Gay Rodeo, DeDe Halcyon Day and Mary Ann Singleton track a charismatic psychopath across Alaska, and society columnist Prue Giroux loses her heart to a derelict living in a San Francisco park.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Oct 6, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061977350

Armistead Maupin

Armistead Maupin is the author of the Tales of the City series, which includes Tales of the City, More Tales of the City, Further Tales of the City, Babycakes, Significant Others, Sure of You, Michael Tolliver Lives, Mary Ann in Autumn, and The Days of Anna Madrigal. His other books include the memoir Logical Family and the novels Maybe the Moon and The Night Listener. Maupin was the 2012 recipient of the Lambda Literary Foundation’s Pioneer Award. He lives in London with his husband, Christopher Turner.

Reviews for Further Tales of the City

[bogopea · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Continuation of characters in Tales of the City and More Tales of the City. Enjoyable.

[charlotteburt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another comfort re-read. A minor character takes centre stage as Prue, a society columnist falls in love with a homeless man who lives in the park who turns out to be more than he seems.

[sunnydrk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The characters and tales continue to grow. Old friends reemerge and new friends are made.

[maggie1944 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

More laughing out loud, more thoughtful pauses when remembering some of the awful stuff that happened back in the day, more caring about this merry band of people who populated San Francisco in the 1970s. Maupin sticks a genuine mystery into this book, and there were moments when I did not know if I put the book down because I did not want to find out "what happens", or if I was too excited to read "what happens". How he pulls an impossible story together at the end is a wonder to behold. And the heroes are totally lovable!

[satyridae · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lovely narration by Barbara Rosenblat. I wish I could find the next 3 narrated by her, as I also have the last book to listen to. Worth a listen if you are a fan.

[debavp · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Maupin never fails to deliver with these characters.. It’s a very fast read, so you have to slow down and enjoy it. This one had quite the drama and an “Oh No” moment. A very interesting look back at the big socio-political events of that era. If the intent at the time of original publication was “conspiracy theory”, it certainly would have been plausible.

[thorold_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another cruise-ship plot? What is this, The Love-boat?Actually, this is one of the best plots in the series. When I re-read it, I took the opportunity to look up Jim Jones and the People's Temple: I hadn't realised quite how conspicuously the leading lights of liberal San Francisco (Harvey Milk, Angela Davis, Maupin's colleagues on the Chronicle, etc.) were taken in by Jones. Maupin must have been stepping on some tender toes when he brought the subject of Jonestown up.It is interesting, though, that when this one was adapted for television, they had to bring in a whole new plotline in order to give Olympia Dukakis enough to do to make it worth her while to play Mrs Madrigal. The plot of the book is very focussed on Mary Ann and DeDe, as well as bringing out Prue Giroux, who was only a very minor character before. Michael's plot is important, but seems to be almost independent of what all the other characters are doing. So this book is maybe stronger as a self-contained novel than as an episode in the cycle.

[presto_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Further tales of the City jumps forward a few years from More Tales of the City, but most of our favourite characters are still there; the residents of 28 Barbary Lane; Anna Madrigal’s children. The improbable events and unlikely coincidences continue with unabated abandon, but this is part of the charm of the stories. But what holds the book together is the skilful way that Maupin involves all the regular characters in the main plot; and main plot there certainly is (with a Jonestown connection), a plot which keeps one guessing to the end.It’s every bit as good as and possibly even funnier than its predecessors; highly recommended.

[jeffome · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another coincidence-filled jolly good time.....this one a wee bit more graphic than previous volumes in the series, but still just plain fun....short little chapters, ridiculous circumstances and a rather startling take on a major world event that was fun to contemplate.....have at it......you probably will not regret it.

[kenkwa · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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!

[webgeekstress · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

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.

[klarusu · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[alexthehunn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Maupin's delightful and fascinating characters find their way through San Francisco in the heady 70s. This is my personal favorite in the series.