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Cover of 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.

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