Rating: 
Summary: "28 Barbary Lane" kept me up all night!
Review: "He's not gay", and you need not be either to enjoy Armistead Maupin's "28 Barbary Lane, The Tales of the City Omnibus, Volume One". It is one of the few books that I have ever seen that transcends sexuality issues and is entertaining and lovable at the same time. Maupin takes a group of oddly matched tenants and a mysterious landlady and mixes it into the most interesting book I have read in years. My eyes were drooping at 2 AM, but I kept on to find out what happened next to the motley group. There are elements to suit anyone's reading preferences: Several mind-tingling mysteries and puzzles, romance galore (both straight and gay), a commentary on the state of our country (from many points of view), and a chance to absorb an interesting account of events during a period of American history that hasn't been taught in school. This is a wonderful book for anyone, and it would be especially good for a reading group looking for a book to stimulate discussion.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly engrossing!!
Review: A friend loaned me the series which I read at break-neck speed. I literally could not put them down - and was duly heckled about it. It was not possible to remain aloof from the lives of these characters and the more I was engrossed, the more I wanted the story to continue. Unfortunately, there was an ending; but I often wonder, did Brian end up with that girl? Oh, yeah, it's just a book!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Read / classic
Review: A wonderful portrayal of life in San Francisco of the past. Gay culture just getting a strong hold, free-love was the theme.
Like watching a movie from the past..but even better.
Rating:
Summary: Some of the best gay fiction I have ever read.
Review: All of the books in Armistead Maupin's "Tales of the City" series are a wonderful balance of humor and pathos. There is a certain mixture of straight storylines that balances each lifeline involved. Many people will see parallels in their lives.
Rating:
Summary: Better than candy!
Review: All that and a bag of chips. These books are DELICIOUS!
I devoured all six and beg for more.
Armistead, do you have an apartment available?
Rating:
Summary: A Look Back
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: oooooh, the 70's
Review: As a young kid, I ate these books up. I so wanted to go live in San Francisco and meet the wonderful, wild, funny and crazy people that populated these books. For all of the sex and "perversion", there's a wonderful innocence to these stories- the good guys prevail and the baddies get their just desserts. It also helps that, in addition to being a master of plot, Armistead Maupin writes excellent dialogue.By the end of these three novels, you will really care about the main characters. It's a big letdown that, in the next three books, the real-life 80's have to intrude on the frothy 70's fun, much like it did in our lives. Truly one of the must-reads of this century (and yes, I know exactly what I am saying), this six-book series will make you laugh, have you on the edge of your seat, and finally, make you weep.
Rating:
Summary: oooooh, the 70's
Review: As a young kid, I ate these books up. I so wanted to go live in San Francisco and meet the wonderful, wild, funny and crazy people that populated these books. For all of the sex and "perversion", there's a wonderful innocence to these stories- the good guys prevail and the baddies get their just desserts. It also helps that, in addition to being a master of plot, Armistead Maupin writes excellent dialogue. By the end of these three novels, you will really care about the main characters. It's a big letdown that, in the next three books, the real-life 80's have to intrude on the frothy 70's fun, much like it did in our lives. Truly one of the must-reads of this century (and yes, I know exactly what I am saying), this six-book series will make you laugh, have you on the edge of your seat, and finally, make you weep.
Rating:
Summary: You are reading this book, damnit!
Review: Dear God! I have never been more thoroughly entertained by such a well written book. Maupin has captured the feelings of people in both San Francisco's social elite class, and the diverse residents of 28 Barbary Lane. Maupin's masterful weaving of the two mainly separate story lines has put this book permanantly out on my coffee table. I lent it to my best friend and I'm afraid I'll never get it back!!! You heard me right, it's that good!
Rating:
Summary: FANTABULOUS!!!
Review: Ever read a book that really, really could be called "compelling"? Well, here's one, the complete series of "Tales of the city". It is so compelling, that I now find myself living in San Fransisco. Truly
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