One of the most entertaining books ever written
Rating:
5 / 5
This series was recommended to me by a friend during my freshman year of high school. I began reading the books when I was 14 and found that I loved the story lines and found myself getting wound up in the fantastic lives of the characters. The short chapters made it SO easy to lay in bed at night and promise myself "just one more chapter"...but then i'd flip ahead and find that the next chapter was only three pages and i simply COULDN'T end there! this pattern would usually go on until about three o'clock or until i finished the book, whichever came first! Because i was so young when i read the first two books in the series, I think a lot of the meaning was lost to me. During my second year of college i re-read the first two books and found myself falling madly in love with the adventures of the characters in the book. I found mysel weeping on the train...gasping on the plane...and laughing out loud like a lunatic at a cafe. I read the entire series in less than a month and to this day, elements of the stories stay with me. This book is a MUST read for any lovers of fun, entertaining and poignant stories.
Buy This Book! Again and Again!
Rating:
5 / 5
What a perfect series! I have read and reread this incredible book, always ending up giving my latest copy to a dear friend or family member who needs to be reminded of how magical and fateful life can really be. After reading the books the first time in college at The University of Texas at Austin, I now find myself living in San Francisco. Armistead Maupin characterizes the many people (straight and gay) who fill this incredible city so perfecly, you will swear he's writing about people you know. If you haven't ever seen the PBS movie version of the first book, buy it here on Amazon. It's equally wonderful!
I wanna live at 28 Barbary Lane.
Rating:
5 / 5
Having the first three books in the "Tales of the City" series all in one place is a huge convenience as I am continually reading them. There is an absurd joy I get whenever I read these stories. Please understand, I realize these characters are fictional, but I so want to be friends with them and take part in their bizarre adventures. Maupin has a very minimalist writing style. The chapters are rarely more than three pages long, and in some cases almost entirely dialogue; yet somehow Maupin is able to create a world so real I feel I know these character intimately.What makes this collection so wonderful is that it does not contain the final three books in the series. It helps to maintain my delusion that the last three book simply don't exist and the action stops at the end of book three. I highly recommend this collection.
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