G থেকে Saint-Martin-d'Arberoue, France
** spoiler alert ** Well-written, engaging and very difficult to put down, but eternal loneliness was not the ending I wanted. I may recommend this book, but I don't think I'll read it again.
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin This was suggested by Berni, who chose it for my now defunct book club, but I'm glad I got this out of it as the very least. I'm amazed this book was written in 1978! It's a perfect depiction of life in the 70s. That kind of perfection written about a certain time in a certain decade usually doesn't come until the decade is well over and well reviewed, and well thought out, and well deciphered. I was continually impressed by Maupin's ability to put you right there. The book opens depicting Mary Ann, who it seems will be the book's heroine. And in way, I suppose she is. The book, is not, however seen through Mary Ann's eyes, but through the eyes of all of the characters. The seamless segue from one character to another, from one situation to another makes the book an easy read, but not so easy that you don't think. There's lots to think about here. I found the most complicated, and therefore, the most interesting character in the book to be Beauchamp... part renegade, part savvy, part stupid, part lame... lots of parts to Beauchamp... all leading to one complicated individual. The unraveling of this character is like a crescendo. Most interesting does not always mean most favorite, however. That honor goes to Michael "Mouse" Tolliver. A quiet, but flamboyant, energetic, but unmotivated gay man who lives his life in an unsure way, Michael is easy to love. It's no wonder Armistead has another book that follows this one called Michael Tolliver Lives. Favorite line from the book: Michael's father to Michael's mother on men dressed as nuns on roller skates whom he refers to as "fruits," (Michael's father is a Florida Citrus grower,): "Why not? I'm a citrus grower, Alice. We raise fruits!" I have it if you want it... it's ready to be passed on!