EBAfter a few false starts, I’m now ready to share my thoughts on everyone’s favorite San Francisco saga, Tales of the City!
For anyone who doesn’t know, the main characters of Tales of the City are:
Mary Ann: a secretary from Cleveland who decides to move to San Francisco. She’s somewhat naive but learns quickly.
Mona: a copywriter who may or may not be a lesbian and likes to take Quaaludes
Michael: Mona’s gay best friend and the sweetest character. Also, seems not to work ever.
Brian: something of a Lothario (he ends up sleeping with a girl AND her mom), but underneath seems dissatisfied with it all. Mrs Madrigal: their landlord, who provides joints and has many secrets
Edgar Halcyon: Mary Ann and Mona’s boss, head of a major advertising agency and DeDe’s dad
DeDe Halcyon Day: Edgar’s daughter. A socialite who is also fairly dissatisfied.
Beauchamp Day: DeDe’s husband. Kind of a jerk. Also, his name is pronounced “bee-cham,” which I forgot from my first reading and kept forgetting throughout the entire book.
D’orothea: Mona’s current/former girlfriend. Former high-fashion model.
With the exception of Mary Ann, who introduces us to this world, every single character in Tales of the City has a secret. Some are fairly innocent (Brian was once a lawyer), while some are decidedly not (I won’t give anything away, but there’s infidelity, deadly diseases, pornography, and pretending to be a difference race.) And aside from one secret that isn’t even revealed until the later books, I had forgotten every single one, which made re-reading this book a complete and total joy. The chapters are all 3-5 pages long, and the book speeds by. Like many of my experiences re-reading old favorites, this was so incredibly relaxing.
When I read this ten years ago, there were so many things I didn’t appreciate that I do now. The greatest strength of this is the dialogue. It’s real and true and there’s tons of it, which I love. Give me two pages of dialogue over two pages of descriptions any day. I also didn’t appreciate the character of Brian as much as I do now. Reading it again he was definitely my favorite, even though he probably has the smallest role in the book. But this time around he just seemed so normal, so almost . . . quiet . . . in his dissatisfaction.
I also hate Beauchamp. But I always did.
What did you think? Was this your first time reading or are you a fan?
