The City referred to is San Francisco, and More Tales of The City does have an awful lot of Bay City chic about it. The first third is a series of short stories; some sections are very short. So many characters are introduced that it is difficult to keep track of them all.
But the author shows his art, as in guile, by pulling these zany yarns into a ‘whodunnit’ with ghoulish undertones, that keeps the reader interested for the greater part of the novel. The sub-plots go off in the near foreground, like a particularly colourful fireworks display.
The ending is over-neat though there are a number of loose ends, possibly deliberate to hand a sequel on. this is the liveliest book I have read for a very long time, and I’d recommend it even though it is a bit pricey.
(Originally published in Gay Star in Spring 1985)
Links:
| Title | More Tales of The City |
| Author | Armistead Maupin |
| Publisher | Black Swan |
| Amazon Link | Armistead Maupin – More Tales Of The City |
| Pages | |
| Price | £33.98+p&p |
| Other Formats | |