Continuing on with my 2013 re-read of the Tales of the City series... and I recalled at some point there was a drop-off in the series, and I think this may be the start. Now this is not to say, that I am still not thoroughly enjoying the Maupin's stories and characters, just that things are shifting a bit.I think part of it is that we have moved on to the 80s and with the AIDS crisis fully in swing, it is hard to have the same carefree and breezy feel of the earlier books, particularly with the "off-screen" event that puts a bit of a dark cloud of Michael's storyline. And alas, the core cast of characters have started going their separate ways (or dying), so the camaraderie of the earlier books are quite not there as well. I also recalled Mary Ann "turning" and this came here. I didn't really buy Brian's paternal biological clock, nor did I think it was in character for Mary Ann to do what she does to/and about Brian with regards to that. I know folks change, but it didn't feel right the first time and still holding on to that a bit on this go-round. Also, I forgot when these books turned more into "book form" vs. the serialized newspaper original. But this volume, marked the first where it didn't seem like you were reading chapters as if you were uncontrollably pulling potato chips out of the bag. So while it sounds like I am ragging a lot on Babycakes, it's really not the case. Yes, a bit of loss of steam but still thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to continuing on in the series. But trying to draw a line in the proverbial sand, I will knock off a star vs. the 4 stars I've gave the first half of the series -- but unofficially, log it at 3.5 stars. [While having no affect on my rating, I should note the Kindle edition of the book was riddled with spelling -- or more likely scanning -- errors. Would say there were at least a few dozen instances where T's where made into L's.]
Babycakes is a far better book than its three predecessors in the Tales of the City series. Between the previous book and Babycakes, Armistead Maupin realised that he couldn't keep writing about gay life in San Francisco as if AIDS hadn't happened. Babycakes begins shortly after the death from AIDS of one of its main characters. The book aches with the pain of that loss. It's a book about the transition from youth and innocence and adventure to adulthood, with the attendant gravity, ambiguity, strain, pain, and confusion.In Babycakes Maupin also starts to write about the inner emotional life of gay men with more depth, pathos, and authority than he did before. In the three earlier books Maupin's voice is authentic and genuine and sometimes moving, but in Babycakes he moves way beneath the outward shows.Babycakes is sometimes called a dark book, but I think that's mostly a relative judgment. Maupin's writing is still suffused with wit and archness, and Babycakes is still a fast read. The pace, however, is better than before. The first three books betray their newspaper column origins in their identically short, snack-sized chapters. In Babycakes the chapters have more variety, so the narrative has more room to breath. This is especially important in the critical scenes and conversations. Armistead Maupin creates wonderful dialog, and finally in Babycakes those dialogs have space to develop. (The scene where Mona learns about Jon's death is a good example of a moment that would have been ruined by the imposition of an arbitrary chapter boundary.)With Babycakes, the Tales of the City books rise majestically from being frivolous fun to being important works.
What do You think about Babycakes (1984)?
Armistead Maupin seems unable to make a plot work without relying on the most outrageous coincidences and chance meetings. So why do I enjoy this series so much? I think it’s because he so successfully communicates his love for his characters to me, so that I am actually looking forward to each unexpected encounter and unforeseeable event that turns everyone’s lives upside down. Maybe Maupin’s style of story construction is a natural outgrowth of developing as a writer in the gay subculture of San Francisco. SF is a large city that probably often felt like a small community, so why shouldn’t the rest of the world be that way, too? Wouldn’t it be nice if it were?
—David B
Whilst this book is sadder than some of the others in the series, it is still a really good read. The sadness comes from the fact that time has moved on - and the AIDs epidemic has hit the US, with consequences for some of our favourite characters. The book is still surreal and outrageous, but it is harder hitting I think because of this. I liked the journey that Michael goes on, I liked the chapters the bookend the whole thing (without giving too much away!) and it's just generally another fabulous installment in the series.I want to go and read the others, but that pesky book buying ban means I can't for another 10 days yet!
—Verity W
This series keeps powering on. This one, I would say, is the most complete. By that I mean, it reads like a full concept in a way that the other ones didn't. The previous three books read more like a series of events in these really interesting people's lives. There were arcs, but they seemed incidental to just hanging with these people. Babycakes definitely feels more fully conceptualized. It starts with Queen Elizabeth landing at SFO on a raining day three months before Easter, and ends with the Queen again just after Easter. Throughout, we jump back and forth between SF and the UK. The season in both places is rainier than usual. Operating in the background is the death of Michael's lover from AIDS (this is one of the very early mentions of the plague in fiction) and Mary Ann's struggle to conceive a child. Overall, Babycakes is the most somber of the books (so far), but since this is Maupin, that's still a far cry from a tearjerker. I really enjoyed this one, and I get the sense that he was wrapping up a lot of things from the first half of the series. I anticipate the next set of novels to take our friends from 28 Barbary Lane in a new direction. I'm pretty excited for the journey.
—Dan
