Further Tales of the City (Tales of the City #3) (1982)
by Armistead Maupin Set in 1981, shortly before the shadow of AIDS cast its pall over the world, Armistead Maupin’s lovable cast of characters carry on in a novel that mixes grounded personal stories of heartache and discovery with absurdist developments that would strain the credulity of a soap opera fan. Armistead Maupin The core friendship of Michael and Mary Ann becomes more distant in this book as their lives take different trajectories, Mary Ann becoming more career-oriented and less emotionally available while Michael explores his identity and pursues relationships in the gay capital of the USA. This estrangement will become more pronounced in future books, a rather heart-breaking choice by Maupin, but one related with sensitivity and honesty. Anna Madrigal doesn’t have much of a presence this time, and she is missed. This book could be criticized for having an uneven tone, but I think that Maupin has achieved a rather magical balance between closely obser...