Q Media: Tales of the City

In the last little while, I've been trying to catch up on my queer culture. I've read Gay America, watched Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, and listened to Barbra and Liza, among many other things.

One of the queer cultural must-reads that I've most enjoyed is Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series. I'd heard a lot about them and thought that they would be a great entry into the history of queer culture.

I was right. Really, really right.

For someone born in the mid-eighties (sorry), it was an extremely informative and fascinating look at the attitudes, opinions, and culture of the gay community in the 70s and 80s. I felt like I almost learned more from reading the series than I did from Gay America. So many issues were touched on, so many trends, cultural icons...it was a handy, book-shaped time machine and I loved every moment.

First of all, I love media with a ton of characters that all unexpectedly intertwine. Movies like Love Actually and Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her are so fun and totally what I dig, regardless of their artistic merit. So the hilarious cast of characters in Tales of the City that fall in and out of one another's lives was so fun to explore. Then, the situations they dealt with were so alternatingly absurd and heart-breakingly real that I couldn't help but keep turning page after page. I literally read the entire seven book series in a matter of weeks.

One of the things that I loved most about it was how complicated and human it was. In the end, not everything finished happily. Normally I hate that in media (I like a happy ending, what can I say?), but with this series, it felt right that characters would drift apart, die, or move to a foreign country. It was all part of the fun. I think the first three books and the last, most recent edition (Michael Tolliver Lives, published a couple of years ago) were my favourites, but the whole series is worth a read.

I think I may re-read them once summer hits. They're just the perfect mix of clever writing, fun characters, and outlandish plot points to entertain, excite, and move you to the very last page.

Five stars!