Siebenunddreißig
Book Title: "Mary Ann in Autumn"
Author: Armistead Maupin
Page Count: 364
First Published: 2010
Rating: superfunk - golden - sweet - blah - superblah - blergh - goatfood
In this newest installment of the "Tales of the City" series Maupin reaches back to a dangling thread left in one of the very early novels.He also re-introduces Mary Ann, about to divorce and about to have her ovaries removed because of cancer. Honestly, I think this was the only way to bring her back and ignite even a spark of sympathy for the character, because she has made terrible choices in the past books. But now, I guess the reader is mostly like Mary Anns daughter, whom she left when she was I think two. We were estranged for a while, because she left an did other things we were absulutely not happy with, but now she's back, and she has a whole lot of new baggage, but is still very sweet and has remnants of everything we loved about her, and so we will get to know her again and let her into our lives and maybe even learn to re-like her.
Maupin also manages to capture the essence of the age so well. Reading all the books in a row must feel like time-sightseeing. "To your left, 1976. Look at that far out hair! To your right, 1985. What a bleak outlook. And up ahead, the new millenium!"
I like the new characters he introduced in the last book, "Michael Tolliver Lives", Brians (and Mary Anns) daughter Shawna and Michaels employee Jake, biologically female and struggling to meet his own standards of what it means to be a man. Both have their own plots to deal with, Jake meets the first man interested in him as a male, only he happens to be a christian fundamentalist. It fits Maupin's style to introduce a character like that, but I hope we will hear more of him in future books, because he fell rather flat. More important was Shawna's story about a homeless woman she meets and feels a connection with, a connection that will eventually lead her back to her estranged mother in true Maupin "It's a small world after all" style, which I loved.
I think my only criticism will forever be that these books can't be set in a world where it is always a version of the 1970s because that was what charmed me about them so much in the beginning.
Now, currently, I'm reading "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell", which promises to be a great book, but it is very long, so who knows when I'll finish that. The style is pleasantly chatty so you can read for long stretches without noticing, though.
And I've finally managed that critical hurdle of the end of OotP and can go on enjoying the HP audio books. Cornelius Fudge/Margaret Thatcher OTP, yes? Oh also, I never noticed, but in the last chapter of OotP it becomes quite clear that Ron actually wants Ginny to date Harry instead of anyone else. Does that strike anyone as weird? Especially since Harry seems to be scared of his reaction in HPB. I toyed with the idea of twittering along with the audiobooks, but I figured no one would be interested in a constant theme of "THE MIRROR YOU IDIOT THE MIRROR" and such things. Now, if I could draw, that would make for an interesting tumblr, but I can't, so that's for someone else to do.
Author: Armistead Maupin
Page Count: 364
First Published: 2010
Rating: superfunk - golden - sweet - blah - superblah - blergh - goatfood
In this newest installment of the "Tales of the City" series Maupin reaches back to a dangling thread left in one of the very early novels.He also re-introduces Mary Ann, about to divorce and about to have her ovaries removed because of cancer. Honestly, I think this was the only way to bring her back and ignite even a spark of sympathy for the character, because she has made terrible choices in the past books. But now, I guess the reader is mostly like Mary Anns daughter, whom she left when she was I think two. We were estranged for a while, because she left an did other things we were absulutely not happy with, but now she's back, and she has a whole lot of new baggage, but is still very sweet and has remnants of everything we loved about her, and so we will get to know her again and let her into our lives and maybe even learn to re-like her.
Maupin also manages to capture the essence of the age so well. Reading all the books in a row must feel like time-sightseeing. "To your left, 1976. Look at that far out hair! To your right, 1985. What a bleak outlook. And up ahead, the new millenium!"
I like the new characters he introduced in the last book, "Michael Tolliver Lives", Brians (and Mary Anns) daughter Shawna and Michaels employee Jake, biologically female and struggling to meet his own standards of what it means to be a man. Both have their own plots to deal with, Jake meets the first man interested in him as a male, only he happens to be a christian fundamentalist. It fits Maupin's style to introduce a character like that, but I hope we will hear more of him in future books, because he fell rather flat. More important was Shawna's story about a homeless woman she meets and feels a connection with, a connection that will eventually lead her back to her estranged mother in true Maupin "It's a small world after all" style, which I loved.
I think my only criticism will forever be that these books can't be set in a world where it is always a version of the 1970s because that was what charmed me about them so much in the beginning.
Now, currently, I'm reading "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell", which promises to be a great book, but it is very long, so who knows when I'll finish that. The style is pleasantly chatty so you can read for long stretches without noticing, though.
And I've finally managed that critical hurdle of the end of OotP and can go on enjoying the HP audio books. Cornelius Fudge/Margaret Thatcher OTP, yes? Oh also, I never noticed, but in the last chapter of OotP it becomes quite clear that Ron actually wants Ginny to date Harry instead of anyone else. Does that strike anyone as weird? Especially since Harry seems to be scared of his reaction in HPB. I toyed with the idea of twittering along with the audiobooks, but I figured no one would be interested in a constant theme of "THE MIRROR YOU IDIOT THE MIRROR" and such things. Now, if I could draw, that would make for an interesting tumblr, but I can't, so that's for someone else to do.