Last entry for 2009. Don't remember why I didn't read this when I bought it - maybe some thoughts of rereading the earlier Tales of the City or catching up on the books I have missed from Maupin's world. I forgot how much I loved Maupin's books in the 1980's. I was going to head to San Francisco after college, but got sidetracked in the Midwest and stayed. It is still one of my favorite cities, though I haven't been there for years. I wanted to live amongst those crazy Californians (as opposed to those from LA). Maupin created a world I could totally relate to, even if it was quite a bit wilder than my own, but it still was full of young people looking for love, sex, where they belong, what they want to do. And it was largely a gay world. Though I felt pretty comfortable with what I knew of the gay world, this helped me understand it better and become even more comfortable with it. I would have loved to have lived on Barbary Lane.
In this book the main character is Michael Tolliver and he is 55, settled in a profession he likes (taking care of other people's gardens),with a partner he married in city hall, an aging mother in Florida, etc. Again, I totally relate (well, except for having a partner next to me.) Maupin and his characters have mellowed. We no longer jump around following 20 different people. This is Michael's story, though he catches us up with most of the others, when appropriate. I just liked being in that middle aged space with him. There were very few references I didn't get, so it just felt comfortable - and Maupin is always fun. Anna Madrigal is still around, Brian and his daughter Shawna, we hear about Mona's fate and even meet Mary Ann. The new characters are Ben, Michael's husband, Jake, his partner at work, and Michael's brother Irwin, his wife Lenore, and Michael's mom, whom we probably met at some point, but now that she is at her life's end, we get to see more of her.
What a wonderful year of books!
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