The Days of Anna Madrigal (Tales of the City Series #9)

by Armistead Maupin Narrated by Kate Mulgrew

Overview

Narrated by Kate Mulgrew

New York*Times Bestseller

“Wonderful. . . . As compulsively readable and endearing as all the previous novels have been.” -*Booklist*(starred review)

Suspenseful, comic, and profoundly moving, The Days of Anna Madrigal, the ninth installment in Armistead Maupin's bestselling ""Tales of the City"" series, follows one of modern literature's most beloved and indelible characters-Anna Madrigal, the transgender landlady of 28 Barbary Lane-as she embarks on a road trip that will take her deep into her complicated past

Now ninety-two, and committed to the notion of “leaving like a lady,” Mrs. Madrigal has seemingly found peace with her “logical family” in San Francisco: her devoted young caretaker Jake Greenleaf; her former tenant Brian Hawkins and his daughter Shawna; and Michael Tolliver and Mary Ann Singleton, who have known and loved Anna for nearly four decades.

Some members of Anna's family are bound for the otherworldly landscape of Burning Man, the art community in Nevada's Black Rock Desert where 60,000 revelers gather to construct a city designed to last only one week. Anna herself has another destination in mind: a lonely stretch of road outside of Winnemucca where the 16-year-old boy she once was ran away from the whorehouse he called home. With Brian and his beat-up RV, she journeys into the dusty troubled heart of her Depression childhood to unearth a lifetime of secrets and dreams and attend to unfinished business she has long avoided.

Editorial Reviews

MAY 2014 - AudioFile

This wonderful conclusion to the series Tales of the City takes listeners where they long to be—deep in the company of magical Mrs. Madrigal—joining her in a joint, or not—as she considers life’s whimsical turns. Kate Mulgrew portrays Anna with a delicious growl, which lightens or quickens as the action and other characters demand. And much is demanded, for the plot encompasses sex, love, and oddity in the Nevada desert, adventures in a wheezing RV, and Mrs. Madrigal’s boyhood—yes, boyhood—in her mother’s brothel. Yet Mulgrew voices men and women with equal fluidity and personifies the book’s many emotions without ever overplaying. The comedy and drama are all to Mrs. Madrigal in this perfect ending to an iconic series. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

The New York Times - Charles Isherwood

…for those who've followed these characters through the decades, [The Days of Anna Madrigal] provides a necessary valedictory lap: a final toke, if you will, on a literary joint that has provided a light, sweet high for a long time. Mr. Maupin's adeptness at fluid dialogue, his flair for shaping characters who thread the needle between pop archetypes and singular human beings, and his great gift for intricate if occasionally preposterous plotting are all on display…

From the Publisher

Wonderful … Maupin’s last novel in the (Tales of the City) series is as compulsively readable and endearing as all the previous novels have been.” — Booklist (starred review)

“Maupin spins his usual good-hearted web of intrigues involving people who have created their own communities.” — Kirkus Reviews

“The ninth Tales of the City installment is Maupin’s farewell to his beloved cast of characters … Maupin’s flare for dialogue and fully realized contemporary characterizations is again on display … this installment is a memorable, satisfying capstone to his series.” — Publishers Weekly

Booklist (starred review)

Wonderful … Maupin’s last novel in the (Tales of the City) series is as compulsively readable and endearing as all the previous novels have been.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173745156
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	01/21/2014
Series:	Tales of the City Series , #9
Edition description:	Unabridged

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