Harper Perennial, 2007 - Cover illustration and design by Gregg Kulick
BOOKS READ 24: TALES OF THE CITY BY ARMISTEAD MAUPIN
This book…sucked.
And it’s the first in the series of 7! SEVEN! And it was made into three television mini series. THREE TELEVISION MINI SERIES! And it’s been described as, “Perhaps the most sublime piece of popular literature America has ever produced…” SUBLIME! WHAT THE HELL.
I am willing to say the book is somewhat entertaining, but calling it sublime is truly a stretch.
Okay. Okay.
The book is about an apartment building in San Francisco during the late 70s and all these ‘characters’ that live inside it and their lives. Simple, could be great.
I respect that the author of this book is giving a voice to gay contemporary life and also himself is gay and is comfortable with that.
But this book was terrible. I think people like the short but somewhat drama filled chapters this book is divided into, or something. But it’s really dated. It’s slightly sleazy. The quote that I chose for this book to put on this blog, I admit, it’s really good, a couple of really great lines that put a feeling that I’m sure everyone feels into words in such a great way. I always try to pick quotes that show the overall tone of the book, and this quote in no way represents the quality of the book. But maybe that is why so many people love this book so much, the author was able to put into words what many people were feeling, it’s just what the people in the late 70s and early 80s felt.
It’s 2010 though dude.
I want to feel 2010 feelings.
