Take a Stroll on Barbary Lane

I discovered the Barbary Lane gang through the wonderful PBS Series, Tales of the City. I immediately took myself off to Barnes and Noble and bought all the Maupin titles available (7 at that time) and proceeded to immerse myself in a totally alien world, San Francisco of the '70s and '80s.

This turned out to be a mistake. If you take nothing else away from this review, take this. Do not try to read this series of books, one after another, as fast as possible. Rather, ration yourself and read only one a month, at most. I found that the characters started to get contrived and stale, becoming less believable. Incidentally, this is not an uncommon phenomenon. Sometimes it has to do with how the author begins to change his own perceptions of the characters but often it is just plain old too much of a good thing. If you don't know what I mean, just try eating nothing but your favorite food for a week and then see how much it appeals to you. In this case, it is a combination of both, and some of the characters do become parodies of their earlier incarnations.

The PBS series is pretty closely based on the first two titles, Tales of the City and More Tales of the City. Maupin has a wonderful ear for dialog and if you read the books before watching the show, you will not be annoyed by great gaps in continuity. In fact, you will be surprised at just how closely the books are followed, with entire passages used, word for word. Maupin was closely involved in the filming of his works and wrote the screenplays, so this is easy to understand.

Maupin's subject matter is not for everyone. If you are offended by open discussion of sex, both gay and hetero, he will not be be your favorite author. However, if your exposure to the "gay lifestyle" has been primarily through pejorative avenues, a little Maupin will go a long way to humanizing your view of "different strokes for different folks." Armistead Maupin writes about people, first and foremost. Their sexual proclivities are secondary to who they are as individuals. Maupin's novels are inhabited by a diverse group of characters, some good, some bad, most a mixture and all interesting and entertaining.

All of the Maupin books are mysteries, to some extent. The first two deal with the mystery of Mrs. Madrigal, landlady extrodinaire of 28 Barbary Lane. Later he involves us in a sinister little sortie into the true meaning of a central tenet of the Christian Faith and how some church members choose to interpret it. Then he introduces an interesting view of the late Jim Jones. A lot of the fun of these books is following the revealed clues and trying to out-guess the Barbary Lane residents as they gamely struggle through the maze, ultimately finding the truth themselves.

Maupin's style is light and easy to read. He is very funny and you will laugh out loud at some passages, others will tug at your heart and you may shed a tear or two. You will most certainly develop deep affection for some of these characters and equally come to dislike others. Just who they are may come as a surprise.