The Days of Anna Madrigal: A Novel
Written by Armistead Maupin
Narrated by Kate Mulgrew
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
Narrated by Kate Mulgrew
New York Times Bestseller
“Wonderful. . . . As compulsively readable and endearing as all the previous novels have been.” — Booklist (starred review)
Suspenseful, comic, and profoundly moving, The Days of Anna Madrigal, the ninth installment in Armistead Maupin's bestselling ""Tales of the City"" series, follows one of modern literature’s most beloved and indelible characters—Anna Madrigal, the transgender landlady of 28 Barbary Lane—as she embarks on a road trip that will take her deep into her complicated past
Now ninety-two, and committed to the notion of “leaving like a lady,” Mrs. Madrigal has seemingly found peace with her “logical family” in San Francisco: her devoted young caretaker Jake Greenleaf; her former tenant Brian Hawkins and his daughter Shawna; and Michael Tolliver and Mary Ann Singleton, who have known and loved Anna for nearly four decades.
Some members of Anna’s family are bound for the otherworldly landscape of Burning Man, the art community in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert where 60,000 revelers gather to construct a city designed to last only one week. Anna herself has another destination in mind: a lonely stretch of road outside of Winnemucca where the 16-year-old boy she once was ran away from the whorehouse he called home. With Brian and his beat-up RV, she journeys into the dusty troubled heart of her Depression childhood to unearth a lifetime of secrets and dreams and attend to unfinished business she has long avoided.
Armistead Maupin
Armistead Maupin is the author of the Tales of the City series, which includes Tales of the City, More Tales of the City, Further Tales of the City, Babycakes, Significant Others, Sure of You, Michael Tolliver Lives, Mary Ann in Autumn, and The Days of Anna Madrigal. His other books include the memoir Logical Family and the novels Maybe the Moon and The Night Listener. Maupin was the 2012 recipient of the Lambda Literary Foundation’s Pioneer Award. He lives in London with his husband, Christopher Turner.
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Reviews for The Days of Anna Madrigal
36 ratings17 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I love this book so much I don't know how to express it. I may write more about it, when the dazzling beauty has sunk in a bit more.
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- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The story is great. The recording however skipped a whole section.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/567 of 75 in 2015. I remember, oh my God was it really 39 years ago, picking up the San Francisco Chronicle at my parents' home in northern California, and finding a serialized novel being printed--a novel set in San Francisco and full of eccentric and wonderful characters, including a young gay man named Michael Tolliver. I remember asking my mother to make sure she kept all her Chronicles until my next visit so I could continue reading this colorful story that felt so much like the way I wanted my life to be. Mother, bless her, did not understand why I wanted to read this so badly, but she kept a pile of papers in the garage until my next visit, and I tore through each episode with glee.I remember shopping in Paris in 1995, going to Les Mots à la Bouche, Paris' leading LGBT book store, and buying every Yves Navarre publication I could find, only to see a flyer posted by the cash register announcing the upcoming publication of the first French translation of Tales of the City, which would include a booksigning at this very store by author Armistead Maupin. What? That was happening TODAY? in half an hour? I waited. Drove my associates crazy because I had taken my leave of them to do my shopping and didn't return when I was expected. Of course not, how could I miss meeting the author of one of my all time favorite collections. As Maupin signed my book, I related how I had read the serialized story so many years ago. He asked where I was living at the time? I replied "The same place I live now, Missoula, Montana." (Remember, we're both in Paris, France, at the time.) Over time, Tales of the City has grown into a series of nine novels, a British TV mini-series (carried in the US on PBS), two Showtime ventures, and even a couple of concerts. The Days of Anna Madrigal is, according to the author, the last in the series, but I sincerely hope he's lying to us and himself. As much fun as I found the serialized book back in 1976, I loved Anna's backstory as told in this latest venture, although by now, I cannot picture Anna Madrigal without seeing Olympia Dukakis' face. It is fitting that Maupin has dedicated this volume to Ms. Dukakis as she so fittingly brought the role to life on television. Barbary Lane is gone, and all the characters have moved on, but the love between them is still there, and this latest volume (note I refuse to say "last") brings together many of the players who have been long gone. There is also some travel as Anna returns to Winnemucca to find a ghost, and the whole troupe ends up at Burning Man. What a pleasure to see all these old friends again. I love you all, and I love Armistead Maupin for giving me the chance to spend times with these people who remain so real in my mind.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I have read this entire series. I don't what it is, but what seemed cute 25 years ago, just seems like self-involved narcissism now. Also all the social commentary has also gone, so I just a little unmoved overall.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I have loved this series from the beginning. It taught me. It entertained me. It captured me. The last two books - this one and the one before it - were important to finish the story but, honestly neither held up to the first ones. I am glad to hear what has happened to all the characters and the Burning Man setting was perfect. But, I'm not sad this is the end.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I get lost in Mr. Maupin's words and daydream for hours while I have his books in my hands.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What can I say? You had me at Richard Halliburton. I own a copy of The Complete Book of Marvels, Armistead. "They were just being _vivid_." That is priceless, Anna. Not to mention Winnemucca and Burning Man.A wonderful book. The barely adult characters we met in vol. 1 of Tales are now becoming grandparents. So it seems appropriate that Maupin takes his saga to Burning Man, which originally began on the beaches of San Francisco; if the spirit of the 70s lives anywhere, it lives at Black Rock Desert once a year. Maupin is honest enough to admit, even there, the wealthy drop in by helicopter; nothing is pure. But Maupin has always been a wonderful reflection of his times. He gets his due in Christopher Bram's Eminent Outlaws, not often elsewhere (I recommend that book highly). Enjoy Santa Fe. You've earned it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stories, in the end, are personal, and because of that reviews tend to be bullshit.The Tales of the City Saga helped me Come Out 25 years ago. It taught me the meaning of family - real family - although I constantly struggle in effectively communicating that today. Nearly 18 years later, the series would teach me how to begin growing old, and, in a way that I find eerie to this day, I would find myself living a part of the Tales Saga through my last great relationship. You cannot review something like this. You're too close. It means too much.All the other reviews have mentioned that this is the End of the Saga. Maybe. Perhaps it can be, and if so, perhaps Armistead did end it in the best way - an ending without an ending. Because, face it, that is so life, and Tales of the City is about nothing more than life, if a bit oddly presented. There is nothing here that mandates that the stories end, although, perhaps now, they can. In the words of Anna herself, "I've said all I need to say to each and every one of you. [...] It's in you now for good. [...] There's nothing you have to say, nothing you have to do...and nowhere I have to be. It's all free time from here on out."In the end, while Armistead is a good writer, I think this book, more than the others, needs the others to work. You cannot read it alone. Oh, it makes sense - the reading makes sense - I think, but without its history I don't think its possible to communicate its emotional depth.If you have read Tales of the City, if you are caught up, then read this book. If you have not, don't start here. Your journey starts 2073 pages before and 38 years ago.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I have read the whole Tales of the City canon. I have loved every minute of it. I have laughed. I have shed one or two tears. I have been frustrated with some characters and looked forward to the re-appearance of many. I was sad when some died. The characters in the pages of these books are like old friends. I have re-read many of the novels several times. I am probably due to read the whole thing now that I have the ninth and final book. I have read these books on planes, trains, buses and cars. I have read these books on vacation and at home. I have shared these books with many people. So, it was with a mix of joy and heavy heart that I picked this one up, knowing that it would be the last.It is a fun book and finally, the real truth about Anna's choice of last name is revealed. And no, the anagram has been a bit of a red herring all this time. The book alternates back and forth between the current time and Anna's past in Winnemucca. I don't want to give any details about the story because for those who have read all the novels it might spoil the enjoyment. Half the fun in these books is the discovery as you turn each page. This book is consistently good and is on par with all of the other novels. It shows us a little more, actually a lot more, about Anna. We get to see old friends like Brian, Shawna, Michael and some of the newer characters like Jake. We get a brief glimpse of Mary Ann. My biggest disappointment was that only mention was made of DeDe and D'orothea who have made me laugh more than any other in these pages. The finale takes place at Burning Man in Nevada and is a fitting ending for Anna as she glides off into the sunset, still kicking at 92 years old. I read the book in one sitting and when I turned that last page and shut the cover, I almost could not believe that my long term relationship with Tales of the City had reached its conclusion. There won't be any new adventures to discover but I will continue to read the stories again and again and to gift the books to as many people as I think will enjoy and learn from what the book has to offer. It is a wonderful look into the history of gays, lesbians and transgender people and their straight friends and family. The whole series covers 40 years of growth and change in society. It was a great ride!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A wonderful, fulfilling, fitting final Tales of the City story.Do not start here, start at 28 Barbary Lane with the first Tales of the City, but for those of us who have enjoyed the journey (and for those who have yet to), this is a joyful reunion with those characters you have known and loved through all their fictional lives.This is just the right mix of new stories, insights into past events and references to past stories and whilst sentimental, is warm hearted enough for you to accept it all.A beautifully judged farewell.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Makes you love the people in this series even more.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Reading this was like sitting down to tea with old friends. All of these character's will remain in my heart long after the last word has been read. Mr. Maupin creates a warm and lasting goodbye to these people. Yes, to me, they are more than just character's in a book. And they are all here. Brian, Michael ,Mary Anne and Jake. Plus a few more.He provides us with important aspects of Anna's childhood, growing up as "Andy" at the Blue Moon.Of course Maupin gives some twists and turns throughout the story. What a great read.With tears I regretfully finished this last installment of the series.Towards the end of the book, Anna contemplates, "How I wish we could all go back to Barbary Lane and sit around, smoke a joint and tell our stories."Exactly how I feel.Highly recommended
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For this ninth instalment of Tales of the City, Maupin brings back the main plot device (the festival with two parallel road trips) and one of the more memorable characters of Significant Others, mixing it in with memories of Mrs Madrigal's adolescence. Still lively and entertaining, but nothing very sensational this time, none of the campaigning and overcoming of taboos he was doing when he started with these characters 39 years ago(!), and perhaps also not quite as many jokes as there used to be. But we have no right to complain about that. If the subjects he writes about aren't pushing the boundaries of what's acceptable in light fiction any more, it's largely due to the fact that he himself redefined those boundaries, back in the seventies when he first took us to 28 Barbary Lane. There are certainly still battles to be fought, but Maupin has a perfect right to leave that to someone else, whilst he focuses on entertaining us and augmenting his pension. Long may he live to enjoy it!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This may be the last in the series of Tales of the City stories, although we've heard that before. Recent novels in the series focused on characters Michael Tolliver and Mary Ann Singleton, and this volume follows the model by centering on Anna Madrigal, now 92 and increasingly fragile. Unusual for the series, there are extensive flashback scenes to Mrs. Madrigal's childhood as Andy Ramsey, growing up in a brothel in the Nevada desert. Pretty much every other character is planning and eventually attending the Burning Man Festival, with it not being much of a surprise that they will all come together. Brian's new wife Wren offers some wry commentary on the series' penchant for unlikely coincidence and general nuttiness, which also doubles as exposition for anyone not able to remember incidents in the early books. Having Kate Mulgrew narrate the audiobook is the most perfect casting decision since Olympia Dukakis played Anna Madrigal in the film miniseries. It's not a perfect book - Maupin uses on of his favorite tricks, a serious Michael Tolliver illness to create tension - but if it is the final book, it is a good farewell to a cast of beloved characters.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This book was pretty good. I liked it, but I didn't love it. The main character is Anna Madrigal, a 92 year old transgender woman. The story goes back and forth between her at 92, and her life as a 16 year old boy named Andy. I really enjoyed the story of her past, and how she came to pick out her name, Madrigal. The story set in the present was not quite as interesting to me, maybe because there were many more characters to divide the focus. I did enjoy when they all went to Burning Man. I have never gone there, but the descriptions were very vivid.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All good things must come to an end, and after almost 40 years, Armistead Maupin has finally written the last Tales of the CIty book. Anna Magrigal, the den mother of the strange family of friend at 88 Barberry Lane is now a frail 92 years old. How is that possible I ask myself - well, until I do the math. However, she is still dispensing wisdom to her "children" (and now "grandchildren) and pondering the last mystery of her life.In this volume, while most of our old friends from the series make an appearance, the emphasis is mainly on the next generation. Jake, the transsexual man is now Anna's roommate and is keeping a close eye on her well being with a cast of new friends who are just as enchanted with her as were his parent's generation. Shawna, the adoptive daughter of Brian and Mary Ann is now the author of a best selling epistolary novel written in text messages and looking to make some serious life changes of her own. And Michael/"Mouse" is now happily married to the much younger Ben, but facing his on imitations of immortality.Anna meanwhile is ruminating on her youth and the3 boy who sent her off into the wider world out of the whorehouse in Winemucca, Nevada. As the story unfolds, the whole cast of characters meets up at the Burning Man event for one last celebratory party. It's a fitting end to the series, and makes me want to go back a re-read the whole thing, once again from the beginning.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The former residents of 28 Barbary Lane return in this book. Since the original cast is older and mostly settled in their lives, a new crop of children, younger spouses and friends are introduced. The true origin of Mrs. Madrigal’s name is revealed in a series of flashbacks to her youth as a boy in Winnemucca, and the whole gang ends up at (Where Else?) Burning Man.
Some authors change writing styles as the years go by (to good or bad results) but I thought this book’s tone and style was exactly as I remembered the first books when I read them so long ago.