Books › Further Tales of the City

Further Tales of the City
First published 1997 · 386 pages
A breezy, gossipy love letter to a bygone era of queer liberation and the messy, beautiful reality of found family.
What it feels like
Reading this feels like catching up with your most glamorous, chaotic, and deeply loved friends over a long, boozy brunch. Because of its origins as a daily newspaper serial, the narrative moves with an addictive, bite-sized rhythm, pulling you through a web of mistaken identities, romantic entanglements, and delicious scandals. Yet beneath the soapy, satirical surface lies a profound well of warmth. The atmosphere is vibrant and sun-drenched, capturing San Francisco at the glittering, fragile precipice of the early 1980s. It is a world where urban anonymity gives way to the fierce, protective bonds of chosen family. Readers who delight in witty banter, queer history, and sprawling, character-driven joy will find themselves completely at home in this nostalgic, big-hearted embrace.
- Mood
- breezy
- nostalgic
- vibrant
- soapy
- Tone
- wry
- affectionate
- gossipy
- satirical
- warm
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- found family · sexual liberation · urban community · shifting cultural eras · search for identity
- The writing
- Snappy, dialogue-heavy, and effortlessly readable, carrying the addictive rhythm of its newspaper-serial origins.
- The arc
- Begins with chaotic, intertwined escapades and settles into a warm, poignant affirmation of chosen family.
- Who it's for
- Anyone who craves a witty, sprawling soap opera anchored by deep affection for queer history and eccentric urbanites.
Content notes
- drug use
- homophobia
- sexual content
About the book
"This work was published in somewhat different form in the San Francisco Chronicle" - t-p verso.
Originally published in bookform: New York: Harper & Row, 1982.
Description from Open Library.
Books like Further Tales of the City
See why they match
City of NightJohn RechyAn unflinching, neon-lit journey through the gritty margins of mid-century America, pulsing with restless energy and the search for self.
Sex and the CityCandace BushnellA sharp, cocktail-soaked anthropological study of Manhattan's elite and their cynical, glittering mating rituals.
The Berlin StoriesChristopher IsherwoodAn intimate, autobiographical exploration of queer identity and expatriate life set against the bustling backdrop of historical Berlin.
Dancer from the DanceAndrew HolleranA glittering, tragic love letter to the endless nights and profound loneliness of 1970s queer New York.
Best Gay Romance 2008Labont�, RichardA tender and passionate mosaic of gay love in all its fleeting and enduring forms.
Winesburg, OhioSherwood AndersonA quiet, piercing look behind the closed doors of a small town, revealing the profound loneliness and hidden desires of its inhabitants.