Logical Family: A Memoir - Hardcover

Maupin, Armistead

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062391224 ISBN 13: 9780062391223

Publisher: Harper, 2017

Synopsis

"A book for any of us, gay or straight, who have had to find our family. Maupin is one of America’s finest storytellers."—Neil Gaiman

"I fell in love with Maupin’s effervescent Tales of the City decades ago, and his genius turn at memoir is no less compelling. Logical Family is a must read."—Mary Karr

In this long-awaited memoir, the beloved author of the bestselling Tales of the City series chronicles his odyssey from the old South to freewheeling San Francisco, and his evolution from curious youth to ground-breaking writer and gay rights pioneer.

Born in the mid-twentieth century and raised in the heart of conservative North Carolina, Armistead Maupin lost his virginity to another man "on the very spot where the first shots of the Civil War were fired." Realizing that the South was too small for him, this son of a traditional lawyer packed his earthly belongings into his Opel GT (including a beloved portrait of a Confederate ancestor), and took to the road in search of adventure. It was a journey that would lead him from a homoerotic Navy initiation ceremony in the jungles of Vietnam to that strangest of strange lands: San Francisco in the early 1970s.

Reflecting on the profound impact those closest to him have had on his life, Maupin shares his candid search for his "logical family," the people he could call his own. "Sooner or later, we have to venture beyond our biological family to find our logical one, the one that actually makes sense for us," he writes. "We have to, if we are to live without squandering our lives." From his loving relationship with his palm-reading Grannie who insisted Maupin was the reincarnation of her artistic bachelor cousin, Curtis, to an awkward conversation about girls with President Richard Nixon in the Oval Office, Maupin tells of the extraordinary individuals and situations that shaped him into one of the most influential writers of the last century.

Maupin recalls his losses and life-changing experiences with humor and unflinching honesty, and brings to life flesh-and-blood characters as endearing and unforgettable as the vivid, fraught men and women who populate his enchanting novels. What emerges is an illuminating portrait of the man who depicted the liberation and evolution of America’s queer community over the last four decades with honesty and compassion—and inspired millions to claim their own lives.

Logical Family includes black-and-white photographs.

About this title

About the Author:

Armistead Maupin is the author of the nine-volume Tales of the City series, which includes Tales of the City, More Tales of the City, Further Tales of the City, Babycakes, Significant Others, Sure of You, Michael Tolliver Lives, Mary Ann in Autumn, and now The Days of Anna Madrigal. Maupin's other novels include Maybe the Moon and The Night Listener. Maupin was the 2012 recipient of the Lambda Literary Foundation's Pioneer Award. He lives in San Francisco with his husband, the photographer Christopher Turner.

Review:

“A sweetly frank and funny memoir by a storyteller in the first rank.” (O Magazine)

“Entertaining.... Wry and sharply drawn.... There is a good deal of what one expects from Maupin, wit and heartache rolled up into a tidy package, so that any anecdote can bring an ache of longing and a belly laugh all in the same paragraph. There is also vivid, sharp writing.” (New York Times Book Review)

“I fell in love with Maupin’s effervescent Tales of the City decades ago, and his genius turn at memoir is no less compelling. Logical Family is a must read.” (Mary Karr)

“Engaging and revelatory, Maupin’s memoir is a delight, punctuating a distinguished career in letters.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

“A book for any of us, gay or straight, who have had to find our family. Maupin is one of America’s finest storytellers, and the story of his life is a story as fascinating, as delightful and as compulsive as any of the tales he has made up for us.” (Neil Gaiman)

“Wise, witty, and beautifully told.” (People, Book of the Week)

“Logical Family gives selflessly of such heartrending experience as it journeys through Maupin’s life.” (Slate)

“Vivid and charming.” (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

“Maupin is a gifted story teller. His memoir packs much into 289 pages.... Humorous and poignant by turns.” (Charlotte News & Observer)

“Engrossing and emotional.... The story is told with such clarity that even those unfamiliar with Maupin’s work can appreciate his life experiences.... The true prize here is the cleverness with which Maupin bares his soul. Maupin ties the bonds of joy and heartache he shares with both his families (biological and ‘logical’), and in so doing he has crafted a nuanced reflection on what it means to love and be loved in a flawed but beautiful world.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0062391224
• ISBN 13: 9780062391223
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304