Mary Ann in Autumn: A Tales of the City Novel
Armistead Maupin
Mary Ann in Autumn: A Tales of the City Novel
Twenty years have passed since Mary Ann Singleton left her husband and child in San Francisco to pursue her dream of a television career in New York.Now, a pair of personal calamities has driven her back to the city of her youth and into the arms of her oldest friend, Michael “Mouse” Tolliver, a gay gardener happily ensconced with his much-younger husband. Mary Ann finds temporary refuge in the couple’s backyard cottage, where, at the unnerving age of 57, she licks her wounds and takes stock of her mistakes. Soon, with the help of Facebook and a few old friends, she begins to reengage with life, only to confront fresh terrors when her speckled past comes back to haunt her in a way she could never have imagined...
3.9 out of 5 based on 7 reviews
|
Omniscore:
|
| Classification |
Fiction |
| Genre |
General Fiction |
| Format |
Hardback |
| Pages |
304 |
| RRP |
£17.99 |
| Date of Publication |
November 2010 |
| ISBN |
978-0385619318 |
| Publisher |
Doubleday |
| |
Twenty years have passed since Mary Ann Singleton left her husband and child in San Francisco to pursue her dream of a television career in New York.Now, a pair of personal calamities has driven her back to the city of her youth and into the arms of her oldest friend, Michael “Mouse” Tolliver, a gay gardener happily ensconced with his much-younger husband. Mary Ann finds temporary refuge in the couple’s backyard cottage, where, at the unnerving age of 57, she licks her wounds and takes stock of her mistakes. Soon, with the help of Facebook and a few old friends, she begins to reengage with life, only to confront fresh terrors when her speckled past comes back to haunt her in a way she could never have imagined...
Reviews
The Independent
Richard Canning
“Phew! That's some relief. This novel is extremely good in familiar ways … Its author has recovered all the dynamism and intrigue found in the best Tales, matching them as carefully to the paraphernalia of our world (iPhones; webcams) as the 1970s volumes had documented the fashions and priorities of that era.”
10/12/2010
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The Financial Times
Christopher Fowler
“The hot mess of relationships is as convoluted as ever, but now we’re less shock-able. Eco-friendly sex toys? Cross-gender urination devices? Sperm spa facials? What once felt like an advance party for the future can now be seen for what it is; the liberal lifestyle of the inhabitants of a tiny bubble on the far side of the world. But the residents’ generosity of spirit, reflected from Maupin’s own luminous world-view, remains liberating.”
19/11/2010
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The Guardian
Alfred Hickling
“...the good news is that, in terms of structure and that slightly detached, uniquely avuncular, quite-possibly-stoned tone of voice, Maupin seems to have got his mojo back.”
20/11/2010
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The Daily Mail
Wendy Holden
“This beautifully titled book, from this splendidly-named author, is the eighth in his famous Tales Of The City series; I haven’t read any of the others but, on the strength of this one, I’m going to rush out and buy the lot … Compassionate, life-affirming, beautifully written and funny.”
25/11/2010
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The New York Times
Joseph Salvatore
“...tenderhearted and frolicsome... underneath all the rigging and staging, all the convenient coincidences and improbable encounters, Maupin has built Mary Ann a solid narrative, has given her not only a story, but an entire life.”
12/11/2010
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The Sunday Times
Phil Baker
“It is not entirely believable but it’s hard to dislike, as the author continues his sentimental excursions into what he calls “the genderless neutrality of the human heart”.”
12/12/2010
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The Independent on Sunday
Katy Guest
“The cultural references are still fresh (Facebook and a labradoodle are vital plot levers) and the characters still compelling ... The writing is, at times, embarrassingly clunky: especially the unbelievable coincidences and the awkward recaps of the past 21 years ... But even the novel's naff bits are, in their way, charming.”
21/11/2010
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