Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin

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An Overview

Tales of the City began as a fictional column in the San Francisco Chronicle becoming a series of novels.

Main Body

Tales of the City was originally written as a series of newspaper columns, so the compilation has quick chapters and rapid plot developments. It makes a naturally easy transition from newspaper serial story to print book to audiobook, The short chapters lend themselves well to listening in short bursts, but if you’re able to listen for longer, it will definitely hold your attention.

Tales of the City takes place in San Francisco in the 1970′s. Mary Ann, an innocent young woman from Ohio, moves in with Connie, an old friend from high school. That doesn’t turn out so well, so she decides to find her own place. Once she moves into her apartment at 28 Barbary Lane, that’s when the adventures begin! For the most part, the book’s light hearted escapades were enjoyable, but there was one aspect of the book that disturbed me.

At the time that this book took place, people weren’t aware of AIDS. The sexual behavior and drug use in the book would be considered suicidal by today’s standards. I can’t help but finding myself wondering if any of the characters were able to survive their proclivities.

The Narration

Sounding more like listening to a radio show than a traditional audio book.