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Tales of the City

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Tales of the City

By: Armistead Maupin
Narrated by: Armistead Maupin
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About this listen

Inspiration for the Netflix Limited Series, Tales of the City
A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick

The first novel in the beloved Tales of the City series, Armistead Maupin's best-selling San Francisco saga.

For almost four decades Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City has blazed its own trail through popular culture - from a groundbreaking newspaper serial to a classic novel, to a television event that entranced millions around the world. The first of nine novels about the denizens of the mythic apartment house at 28 Barbary Lane, Tales is both a sparkling comedy of manners and an indelible portrait of an era that changed forever the way we live.

Don't miss more from Armistead Maupin.©2000 Literary Bent LLC (P)2006 HarperCollins Publishers Fiction Genre Fiction Humorous Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction City Comedy San Francisco

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Critic reviews

"Maupin, with all his elegance and charm, has found a place among the classics." ( The Observer)
Most relevant  
I hadn't heard of this title until it was on Radio 4 book of the week and I was hooked, the fabric of this book is rich in both characters and there are plenty of them along with the storylines. Listening to this audio has been one of lives little pleasures and I will truly miss them 5 Stars all the way.

Addictive

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Gay or straight, young or old just get it. Just get it! It entertaining, real, sad, happy. It brings incite and reality. It shows the good, the bad, the ugly and the true. It's real. Get it!

Just get it!

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It has been sometime (around 20 years) I have read the legendary "Tales of the City". It made me move all the way from Turkey to San Francisco, and I have enjoyed every bit of the stay for four years. So, after all this time, it was a pleasure to go back to Barbary Lane!
I highly recommend that you get all three of them, it is easy listening, though at first the reader seems to be bored and does not read very enthusiastic, but after sometime he gets into it as well.
It is once again very interesting to find out how Bay Area has set the trend for the rest of the world some 30 years ago!
3 stars because it is abridged and someone with more soul could make the stories and characters livelier.
Yet, it is a classic!

Gee, it is nice to be back home!

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As a 'Tales of the City' virgin I bought this book on impulse and I'm loving it. I love audiobooks and plug myself in at every opportunity and this has made running/walking/cycling/even hoovering a pleasure to be eagerly anticipated! I like long books as it really gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself and at 18 hours this definitely qualifies! It is easy to see that it is based on a newspaper serial and that it covers several books as there are several distinct storylines. Basically, a saga, it covers relationships (of course!) - gay and straight; friendship; AIDS; child abduction; transubstantiation hmmmmm, what else - what else do you want!

Ooooh I'm loving this.

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I have owned this audiobook now for two years and have listened to Tales of the City more than twenty times in that space of time! Maupin's characters are colourful, humorous and wonderfully real. I can't recommend this audiobook more!

BEST AUDIOBOOK ON AUDIBLE

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San Francisco is a magical city, full of surprises, but never disappointment, sometimes its impossible to see what's over the next hill - but the roads all lead in straight lines and the intersections lead you back to familiar territory and landmarks.
From Ghirardelli Square to Russian Hill and on to the downtown it's easy to jump aboard at any time and let Armistead Jones Maupin guide you through the sights, sounds and smells of the city. I guarantee you'll want to visit once you walked around The Bay.
A real pleasure of a book, which frequently made me laugh along the road and brought back the pleasure of being in San Francisco - highly recommended.

Easy to fall in love with this City

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I first read the Tales of the City series about 15 years ago and I have visited the residents of Barbary Lane every couple of years since. As a 'newish' member of Audible I seized the opportunity to reacquaint myself with Mrs. Madrigal, Mary Ann, Brian, Mona and my overall favourite character, Mouse. Maupin?s characters are most definitely 3-D, flawed but endearing. Set in San Francisco, this audiobook charts the ebb and flow of the character?s relationships from the early 1970s to the 1980s. Although I was really pleased to have all six books in one audiobook, it was noticeable that some substance of the books was missing and the technical details don?t mention if it is an abridged version (hence the 4 rather than 5 stars). This is a great listen if you aren?t particularly prudish or if you love San Francisco and if both apply then I guarantee you?ll enjoy it.

Barbary

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Like another said, the original details didn't make it clear this recording is ALL six books, so about 2-3h per book (seems to have been updated now on audible site). Much of the detail is therefore lost, and if I hadn't read the books (MULTIPLE times) before, I think I might have found it a bit choppy to follow. I was very disappointed to start with on listening to this abridged version, however..... it is still Maupin, its still the TOTC characters, and I LOVE the books. The narrator doesn't always do some of the characters justice, nor the highs and lows of the story..... but its still one of my favourite written series and I can fill in the gaps in my own mind as I listen.

Unexpectedly abridged.... but TOTC rocks!

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I read this series about 8 years ago, and loved it. I was so excited to see the entire series in one audiobook...it makes it excellent value for money. And it didn't disappoint - it was wonderful to listen to the tales again!! The only reason I have given this 4 stars instead of 5 is the narration. I liked the narrators voice, but it was funny when he did the girls voices!

I hope Night Listener and Maybe the Moon will be available soon!!

I still love these stories...

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I thought this title was an interesting proposition, but unfortunately after giving a fair trial, I gave up. The characters lacked depth and as far as I was concerned were just names. The story chopped and changed between characters without warning. The plot was highly contrived and highly improbable. It read like a cheap daytime soap opera.

two dimensional charachters and poor reading

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