Back to Barbary Lane - (Tales of the City Omnibus) by Armistead Maupin (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Armistead Maupin's bestselling Tales of the City novels--the fourth, fifth and sixth of which are collected in this second omnibus volume--stand as an incomparable blend of great storytelling and incisive social commentary on American culture from the seventies through the first two decades of the new millennium.

"Tearing through [the tales] one after the other, as I did, allows instant gratification; it also lets you appreciate how masterfully they're constructed. No matter what Maupin writes next, he can look back on the rare achievement of having built a little world and made it run."-- Walter Kendrick, Village Voice Literary Supplement

Armistead Maupin's uproarious and moving Tales of the City novels have earned a unique niche in American literature and are considered indelible documents of cultural change from the seventies through the first two decades of the new millennium. The nine classic comedies, some of which originally appeared as serials in San Francisco newspapers, won Maupin critical acclaim around the world and enthralled legions of devoted fans.

Back to Barbary Lane comprises the second omnibus of the series--Babycakes (1984), Significant Others (1987), and Sure of You (1989)--continuing the saga of the tenants, past and present, of Mrs. Madrigal's beloved apartment house on Russian Hill. While the first trilogy celebrated the carefree excesses of the seventies, this volume tracks its hapless, all-too-human cast across the eighties--a decade troubled by plague, deceit, and overweening ambition.

Like its companion volumes, 28 Barbary Lane and Goodbye, Barbary Lane, Back to Barbary Lane is distinguished by what The Guardian of London has called "some of the sharpest and most speakable dialogue you are ever likely to read."

From the Back Cover

By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Armistead Maupin's bestselling Tales of the City novels--the fourth, fifth, and sixth of which are collected in this second omnibus volume--stand as an incomparable blend of great storytelling and incisive social commentary on American culture from the seventies through the first two decades of the new millennium.

Back to Barbary Lane comprises the second omnibus of the series--Babycakes (1984), Significant Others (1987), and Sure of You (1989)--continuing the saga of the tenants, past and present, of Mrs. Madrigal's beloved San Francisco apartment house. While the first trilogy celebrated the carefree excesses of the seventies, this volume tracks its hapless, all-too-human cast across the eighties--a decade troubled by plague, deceit, and overweening ambition.

Like its companion volumes, 28 Barbary Lane and Goodbye Barbary Lane, Back to Barbary Lane is distinguished by what the Guardian (London) has called "some of the sharpest and most speakable dialogue you are ever likely to read."

Review Quotes

"Tearing through [the tales] one after the other, as I did, allows instant gratification; it also lets you appreciate how masterfully they're constructed. No matter what Maupin writes next, he can look back on the rare achievement of having built a little world and made it run." - Village Voice Literary Supplement
"An enormously talented writer--witty but always sympathetic, generous in showing us the secrets of his heart.... By writing about what's seemingly different Armistead Maupin always manages to capture what's so hilariously painfully true for all of us."- - Amy Tan
"Perhaps the most sublime piece of popular literature America has ever produced.... As with the Beatles, everyone seems to like Maupin's tales--and really, why would you want to find someone who didn't?" - Salon
"A consummate entertainer who has made a generation laugh.... It is Maupin's Dickensian gift to be able to render love convincingly." - Edmund White, Times Literary Supplement