Mary Ann in Autumn

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.

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.

He's done it again. No matter how many years it's been since reading the originals, he brings you back to this amazing family as if you never left them. You love them again. Grow with them. Cry with them. It makes aging in San Francisco, as I have all the more fun. I wish he could write a book every week. Thank you, Armisted, for this. You remind me why I continue to live in San Francisco and make my own memories.

I always feel sad, yet fulfilled, when I finish one of Mr. Maupin's books. They have been with me throughout life's journeys. When is the next one? Anna perhaps?

One of those few stories you hate to reach the end of.