Mary Ann in Autumn
A Tales of the City Novel
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4.6 • 209 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Inspiration for the Netflix Limited Series, Tales of the City
The eighth novel in the beloved Tales of the City series, Armistead Maupin’s best-selling San Francisco saga.
Following the success of his New York Times bestseller Michael Tolliver Lives, Armistead Maupin’s Mary Ann in Autumn is a touching portrait of friendship, family, and fresh starts, as the City by the Bay welcomes back Mary Ann Singleton, the beloved Tales of the City heroine who started it all. A new chapter begins in the lives of both Mary Ann and Michael “Mouse” Tolliver when she returns to San Francisco to rejoin her oldest friend after years in New York City… the reunion that fans of Maupin’s beloved Tales of the City series have been awaiting for years.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the sure-to-please follow-up to Michael Tolliver Lives, the bestselling Tales of the City reboot, it's been 20 years since series anchor Mary Ann Singleton left her family and headed to New York. Maupin's San Francisco is comforting in its familiarity, and the gang is (mostly) all here, older, wiser, and settled in: Michael "Mouse" Tolliver is married to Ben; Shawna, Mary Ann's estranged daughter, is a popular sex blogger who is dating Otto, an enigmatic professional clown; and grand dame Anna Madrigal, once landlady to Michael and Mary Ann, is still kicking in her late 80s. Into this milieu returns Mary Ann, who ditched her husband and the young Shawna for a career in television. Now, nearing 60, she's back with news she can't bear to tell anyone but Michael. From the haven of his tiny garden cottage, Mary Ann regroups and confronts some uncomfortable chapters in her past. As ever, Maupin's edgy wit energizes the layered story lines. His keen eye for irony and human foible is balanced by an innate compassion in this examination of the life of a woman of a certain age.
Customer Reviews
Parallel universe
As someone who discovered Tales of the City when it first aired as a miniseries in his early twenties, and moved to San Francisco in no small part in search of Barbary Lane, it was such a treat to read this latest installment in my Russian Hill flat and be tickled by the idea that if I'd only been paying closer attention two years ago I might have caught the gaze of one Mary Ann Singleton as I passed the Missing Sock or Swensen's that Autumn. Maupin and I live in this city and I feel he captures San Francisco's Zeitgeist perfectly. It's a rewarding and delightful voyeurism to drop in on these familiar characters and feel like even though they don't really exist except in some parallel universe we share the same experiences. When Maupin and his partner sat behind me on a flight back to San Francisco from Palm Springs a few months back, I posted in on Facebook and it was interesting that the most excited comments came from recent transplants, no doubt lured themselves to this great city by the idea of Barbary Lane...just like me.
The good old days
I loved this book. It more than felt like home, it felt like the good old days. I read 'michael Tolliver Lives' and while it was night to 'catch up with old friends' from the original series it was just 'nice'. MaryAnn in Autumn was the real deal. It read and flowed and wove together as all things should on Barbary Lane. Thank you. I'm disappointed it's over.
Must read
For any reader who loved Tales of the City, this has familiar and new characters, in a rich story that is hard to put down. Readers new to the series will enjoy it on it's own merits. Armistead Maupin is an incredibly talented and gifted writer. You know these characters live in him, and on the page.