Tales of the City, Armistead Maupin's six-volume chronicle of gay and straight life in San Francisco, was hailed yesterday as Britain's favourite lesbian or gay novel in the Big Gay Read, the Guardian reports. Maupin will collect his award at Manchester's Queer Up North festival.Tales first appeared as a daily serial in the San Francisco Chronicle in 1976 and then became a highly acclaimed smash-hit miniseries on PBS in 1994. More Tales of the City and a novel, Night City followed. (Do visit the Tales of the City website to find out more about Maupin and his works.)
I haven't read the book, but realised as I read the synopsis that I'd seen the excellent film based on it by accident (as all my TV viewing tend to be!) on Astro. Time, methinks, to buy the book.
Second prize went to Sarah Walters for Tipping the Velvet. She who was also placed fifth for Fingersmith.
Related Posts:
The Big Gay Read(21/8/05)
The Transgendered Reading List (23/11/05)
9 comments:
Well! This is a surprise...
I bought the book last year at a PayLess clearance sale, solely on the grounds that it had the word "City" in the title. (I'm mad like that.) I shelved it away (like most of the books I buy, sadly) and promptly forgot about it till today when I read your post.
I had absolutely zero idea that this was a gay book! I mean, sure the blurb on the back mentions "the lovelorn tenants of a San Francisco apartment house"...
Hmmm. Wait, what was I thinking? There's the clue right there!
:D I shall give it a read this weekend.
Hmm. Looks interesting. Shall try and check it up later in kino.
not fond of sarah walters books :/ and some gay friends don't understand how i can possibly not like them when it has such huge gaynesses involved. I can't like everything just cause it's rainbow friendly, dammit.
Read all The Tales of the City books religiously whilst at Uni. It helped that the TV series was on at the same time. (Everybody wanted to know what was going to happen before it happened!) A truly fantastic series of books. Irritatingly, I normally work in Manchester (my office overlooks the gay village), but I'm on assignment in Birmingham everyday thoughout the literary festival. :-( Would love to see Maupin get his award tomorrow (Saturday) but I don't have the energy.
ted - well there you go, another reason to be jealous of you today!
lainie - i plan to read 'the night watch' next read
walker - brum is my home turf - sort of. shame you're going to miss the guy tho' it would have been nice to have had a report from our on the spot reporter!
On the wrong spot reporter tomorrow unfortunately. :(
Birmingham: The centre has changed for the better since I last spent a lot of time there (7+ years ago). They've even got a ferris wheel which they bizarrely compare to the London Eye. (It's like comparing a couple of blocks of council flats to the Petronas towers.)
i know this great music hall song dating back to whenever called "i can't find brummagen" which is about how a guy who revisits the city after 20 years and can't find anything because of all the redevelopment! the story continues!
i haven't been back for a frighteningly long time
shall take you up the twin towers when you come here
Wow the last time I saw a ferris wheel.. and you guys still have Fanta right ? :) Gotta get there sometime :)
Hey. I just found it and tapped it out on the piano. Could imagine a pub sing-song breaking out when I closed my eyes. ;)
Don't you have many (any?) ferris wheels in that part of the world? They're bordering viral here. Popping up, and breaking down all over the place.
(And I won't forget that twin towers offer!)
wow! you did find it too
i had to sing the whole thing!
sure we have ferris wheels whenever there's a funfair, but no permanent ones
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