Reviews with content warning for Fatphobia - Tales of the City

Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin

7 reviews

elleneam's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I can see why some people liked these books, but the style just wasn't for me. While it was fast-paced and mildly entertaining I found there to be far too many characters, none of whom where particularly likeable. The style of writing, while maybe suited to a newspaper column, in a book just felt like a long list of events happening one after the other. I found it really hard to draw out themes or really any point this book was trying to make, and there is a chronic absence of plot. If you like your books like a soap opera, this will maybe work for you, otherwise steer clear.

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ericaw212's review against another edition

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challenging funny lighthearted tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

it was an easy read even though i didn’t understand 90% of the references. somehow i want to read the next 8 books in the series!

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novella42's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Recommended to me by a bookseller who mentioned it got them through COVID when they were too scatterbrained to focus on reading. A couple weeks after that conversation I found myself unfortunately in the same position. I gave it a try (accidentally downloading the abridged version without realizing it) and found the lighthearted little vignettes of queer folks in San Francisco worked like a charm.

I was surprised how progressive it was for its time, and grateful for the glimpse into queer history. I'm a sucker for found family tropes and recognized Mrs. Madrigal in quite a few of my own friends.

It was also a reminder of a time in my life when some friends and I took a budget trip to San Francisco, sleeping on couches and eating dehydrated soup rations just to be able to see the city. I felt like I was there again. The city came through almost like its own character. It was the comfort I needed, with one exception.

There was one component of the book that was racist and which was not handled well. (Spoiler for this book and a little for book two as well.)

The racism of the transracial character isn't really addressed at all, nor why it was problematic for her to take on a Black identity or appropriate a lot of Black culture and make a ton of money off it. It was good that Mona broke up with her, but she seemed mostly upset about the lie, rather than the act itself. Maupin seemed to have been a big fan of Black Like Me. As if transracialism was an easier way for him to write about racial issues than just including a BIPOC
character in the first place. When Maupin brings the character back in the next book, he doubles down on the lack of consequences, letting her off the hook entirely and painting her as still slightly exotic. It left a bad taste in my mouth and is the reason I took off a star.

As a side note, I was bored enough and nostalgic enough over the city setting that I found the 1993 miniseries streaming free online and watched all eight episodes in two days. It was *remarkably* faithful to the material, staying close to the author's writing in a way I think modern miniseries don't bother with. I want to read the rest of the series so I can then watch the rest, especially the 2019 Netflix miniseries with Elliot Page and a lot of the original actors.

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