Michael Tolliver Lives

By: Armistead Maupin

Narrated by: Armistead Maupin

Inspiration for the Netflix Limited Series, Tales of the City

The seventh novel in the beloved Tales of the City series, Armistead Maupin's best-selling San Francisco saga.

Nearly two decades after ending his groundbreaking Tales of the City saga of San Francisco life, Armistead Maupin revisits his all-too-human hero Michael Tolliver - the 55-year-old sweet-spirited gardener and survivor of the plague that took so many of his friends and lovers - for a single day at once mundane and extraordinary...and filled with the everyday miracles of living.

©2007 Armistead Maupin (P)2002 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Maupin denies that this is a seventh volume of his beloved Tales of the City, but - happily - that's exactly what it is, with style and invention galore." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Sweet without being sappy." ( Booklist)

Pleasantly surprised

I frankly had no idea what this book was about when I downloaded it. I was pleasantly surprised. It turned out to be and extremely entertaining listen. Maupin has created a very interesting set of characters whose humanity and humanness will lift your spirits.

Worthy epilogue to Tales

If you're a fan of the Tales of the City books (as I am), you will thoroughly enjoy revisiting the main characters that you have missed all these years since the last novel was completed. Now, they are roughly 20 years older, and Maupin presents them as characters living with new interests, concerns and conflicts. I would have to agree that Michael Tolliver Lives is not quite up to the same extraordinary level of the first 6 books, but it is nevertheless a thoroughly enjoyable, engrossing, and moving read. Superbly read by the author.

Persistence Is Rewarded

I liked hearing the ongoing saga of characters whom I had become fond of through previous audiobooks. The author's books make for great listening as he's such a good storyteller. That said, as a Southern, conservative, heterosexual female, I was initially repelled by the first-person, graphic descriptions of male organs and homosexual love-making. Also, the narrator didn't fit my image of Michael Tolliver whom I'd liked a lot in earlier books. Finally, I didn't like the knee-jerk liberal, political stances and broad-brushed disrespect toward those holding more conservative views. However, for several reasons, I came back to the book and listened all the way to the end. I basically had become fond of the characters and wanted to hear more about their lives. Michael Tolliver as depicted by Maupin is good natured, has a self-deprecating sense of humor, and is devoted to his husband Ben. All the characters are described in a colorful, entertaining, very human way. The interpersonal values prized by the author and exemplified most perfectly in the life of Anna Madrigal are healthy, wholesome values. Finally in a strange way, the first-person narration and overly graphic sex talk, although initially off-putting, provided me with a much greater understanding of the variety of gay life styles and issues.

Sweetly Unsentimental

Michael "Mouse" Tolliver has always been the voice of reason in AM's The Tales of the City, but he comes to full maturity in this latest effort: Michael Tolliver Lives. Michael, once unabashedly youthful, has slipped into upper middle age with all the vigor and wit we'd expect. He lives comfortably with his much younger lover in the shadow of 28 Barberry Lane in what could be described as a "new" life, but the past is unalterably present.

This novel shakes him and things up when he's forced to choose between his logical and biological family. In doing so, Michael and the reader come to realize the heart has room to hold dearly more than we had ever thought.

There is sadness in Michael Tolliver Lives, as well as sweetness and sentiment and beautiful prose. With the wisdom that comes from experience, AM provides a resolution that makes for powerful insight into the human condition.

I loved this book and all it represents. Read it and and weep (or maybe smile!).

An extraordinary story, both poignant and humerous

Would you listen to Michael Tolliver Lives again? Why?

There are so many sub-plots and each one fascinating - much like our own lives often are
multifaceted, so I would listen to it again; probably on a road trip.

What did you like best about this story?

The interweaving of lives that are totally alien to mine.

Have you listened to any of Armistead Maupin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listened to them all - and I cannot say one is better than the other because they are a continuation of the lives of the characters that you meet in the first book.

If you could take any character from Michael Tolliver Lives out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Michael Tolliver - naturally!!!

Any additional comments?

Anyone who listens to this won't be disappointed - there are some explicit sexual descriptions but nothing that we don't already have access to in other forms of media. And if you totally don't like it, then fast forward! : )

More, more, more (please)… 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼‼️

Armistead’s narration effects in the MOST transformative way and produces a type of spiritual enlightenment. I know there are his “abridged” versions, but after the audiobook of “Logical Family”, I yearned to hear the audiobooks of “Tales of the City” in their entirety. So imagine my surprise when “Michael Tolliver Lives” was narrated by the author himself as well as “Mary Ann in Autumn”, “The Night Listener” & “Maybe the Moon”… 💃💃💃

Love Michael

And loved armistead narrating this story. Fantastic continuation of the series. It's moving and funny and helps us all learn how to love ourselves.

A wonderful novel but lacking performance

I’ve listened to all of the previous books. After spending weeks in this wonderful universe, being gently guided by Cynthia Nixon, Eric McCormack, and Francis McDormand, this performance falls rather flat.

That being said, its a wonderful trip to a familiar place. Like a warm blanket or a warm hot toddy.

He seems so sad

This book is brighter than the previous one in the series, but there’s a sadness to these later books that is heartbreaking. The characters do not seem happy. Anna Madrigal is elderly and is portrayed without her previous shine. Michael seems to be longing for someone to understand his inner monologues, beyond just the reader. It’s good to know their stories, but something is definitely missing. Perhaps it is the lack of the character of Barbary Lane’s community/family itself? I will persist, but I feel the heaviness weighing on me as I read.

I do enjoy hearing the author’s own voice, as I think you get a clearer idea of the intention of the words.

Friends indeed

I originally read the Tales series in the 80's. Some of this reading occured on city buses during my comute. I can remember bursting into laughter and turning redfaced on the bus. This book was certainly a return to old friends, a joyful experience. And a reminder that no matter how far we travel, we can always go home.