Rating: 
Summary: Maupin's a-mopin'
Review: I just don't understand all the favorable criticism this book received. I think it was, quite frankly, amateurish, sappy, and not a little embarrassing.My biggest problem with the book is Gabriel Noone, the protagonist. He is self-pitying, unpleasantly and unremittingly insecure, weepy, and whiney, and slips all too easily into passive depression -- not a voice that one likes to have narrate an entire novel. Although Maupin accurately captures the acute pain someone would feel when left by a lover of many years, the pathethic quality of Gabriel's moping ultimately leaves a reader unsympathetic to his situation -- particularly since Gabriel never moves (or attempts to move) past his initial pain and desolation. His misery and self-doubt extends to all other parts of his life, as well --Gabriel's remote and distant father can't emotionally connect with the son who so badly needs his approval, Gabriel fears that he's a fraud as a writer and might never be able to write again, and he spends much of his time fearing that strangers (and the public at large) are watching him and judging him to be either a loser or a pervert. Gabriel spends prodigious amounts of the book in tears -- you practically need to wring out the book. You want to yell at him "Snap out of it!" after only about 40 pages -- and he never does! Perhaps the biggest mystery in the book is why Gabriel's ex-lover didn't leave him long ago. Just as bad, the central story is embarrassingly unrealistic and emotionally false. No spoilers here -- everything here you can get off the back cover of the book -- but the book revolves around Gabriel's relationship with Pete Lomax, a thirteen-year-old suffering from AIDS, the result of grotesque sexual abuse from and engineered by his parents. Pete writes a memoir of his experiences -- the boy has become wise far beyond his years, and his memoir is apparently a masterpiece of prose. The idea, however, that Pete becomes a kind of sage (who counsels Gabriel through his heartbreak) and an extremely mature writer rather than a desperately and emotionally disturbed adolescent after the kind of horrific and constant abuse that Maupin describes is almost repugnant. Worse, the relationship between Gabriel and Pete is utterly unbelievable and creepy in a way that Maupin does not intend. After a few telephone calls, Pete starts to call Gabriel "Dad" and Gabriel starts to call Pete "son," and they begin to pretend over the phone that Gabriel is holding and cuddling Pete. The idea that this surrogate father-son relationship would occur so quickly -- and that Pete would have the trust, desire, or ability even to propose it after what he had been subjected to -- is preposterous, and the overtones of these scenes can make a reader extremely uncomfortable. (And I say this as a gay man myself.) The book is written in the most colorless and workmanlike prose. The ambiguities left unresolved at the end of the book seemed to me to be more a product of the fact that Maupin really couldn't think of a way to resolve the book, rather than of any profound insight about the nature of story-telling and truth. I also have no idea what "twists and turns" reviewers and readers are referring to in this book -- the only "mystery" or twist is something that the reader should have suspected all along, given how implausible the whole story is. If you haven't read any of "Tales of the City," read those books -- they are truly wonderful. Don't waste your time with this.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Excellent! Engaging characters that I felt I knew. Delicious little twists that he is known for and characters so knowable I longed to be in their world, if only in a corner. Or maybe I am and I just don't realize it.
Rating: 
Summary: Art Imitates Life or Life Imitates Art?
Review: I am not, admittedly, an ardent Armistead Maupin or "Tales of the City" fanatic. However, this book landed on my lap and I found it quite intriguing as it begs the question, is art imitating life or is life imitating art? Anyone familiar with the literary scence, particularly the one in S.F., will immediately recognize the protagonist (Gabriel Noone)as Maupin. It is the veil around the antagonist that is fascinating. Is Pete Lomax, the teenage wunderkind, the real life J.T. LeRoy of "Sarah" and "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things" fame? Did Maupin model his characters after a real-life experience, or did the characters come to life after J.T. LeRoy met with sucess? I want to know and if you do too, read this book. "Night Listener" is written in Maupin's straightforward prose, and as usual, there is a subplot orbiting in the background. I found the plot line very appealing, and having had teenage foster sons myself, I can state that Maupin delivers questions about boundaries, teenagers, and parenting with amazing authenticity. Readers must engage in some challenging and morally complex questions after encountering the characters in each of the plots, and this aspect of the novel should not be overlooked. Anyone with proximity to long-term gay relationships will recognize the struggle of Gabriel and his ex-partner, and Gabreil and his father, as visceral. There are several plot tie-ins that work very effectively and unpredictably. The tone is consistent and the entire story seems to transpire in a delightful vespertine aura. The very (redundancy intentional)last chapter is a bit troublesome, as it makes me think this was a story within a story. If this is true, it should have been introduced in the exposition; if not, then it seems a bit unsound. In any event, it doesn't ruin the rest of the book and I highly recommend this entertaining and unique title. Very well done.
Rating: 
Summary: Bravo. Nothing has been this much fun in years!
Review: I think this book is a masterpiece. This is a deeply intimate novel. Maupin did not shy away from the most painful of experiences. In fact, he went into and through them to the other side and, for that reason, it is amazingly uplifting book. After I read The Night Listener, I phoned my ex-wife just to tell I love her. He tackles the relationship of the "exes" Jess and Gabriel beautifully. The characters are complex and the gripping mystery reminded me of "The Others" and "The Sixth Sense." Talk about meticulously construction. There is so much going on here. When I finished it immediately bought the audio version so I could spot the clues he left along the way. This is my first Maupin book but not my last!
Rating: 
Summary: Armistead - sort out your issues b4 you write another book
Review: The actual plot of this book (the phonecalls, the discovery, the mystery)
would have made a great short story...
...but Armistead, who is quite obviously dealing with a lot of personal issues (with regards to her REAL boyfriend leaving him) lets all his angst spill over into the book - the whole thing comes across as really needy and whiney.
Sorry.
I have enjoyed all of his stuff except this - I've got nothing against soul-baring, but not when it's as mundane and "Me Me Me" as this.
I would buy another of his books though - I have fond memories of his earlier stuff - I just hope he's worked thru all his issues by then.
Rating:
Summary: Welcome Back, Mr. Maupin!
Review: Althought "The Night Listener" is not Armmistead Maupin's best work, it is still an enetertaining novel. Maybe I am biased because I am so happy to see and read a new Maupin novel. (The nod to "Tales of the City" in this book was a nice welcomed touch) The entire time I read this novel I couldn't see or think of anyone else but Armistead as Gabriel Noone. My problems with the novel are legit-the novel gives a few twists but not enough turns as a successful mystery. I recommend to all readers to read the beginning of the novel again when you finsih to get a true sense of the circular motion of the book. All and all Armistead never fails to grab the reader with with his words that can capture a feeling, a mood or atmposphere-brillantly!
Rating:
Summary: MAUPIN FINDS HIS DARK SIDE
Review: It's a cliche to say that there are books 'you just can't put down' - it sounds like the kind of 'blurb' the main protangonist of The Night Listener is called upon to contribute to the book that sets the chain of events in this story into motion; but in this case I stand by the cliche. When I got to the final page, the midnight oil had been well and truly burned and I felt as though I'd finished 10 rounds in a ring with Tyson. And so here I am, emotionally bruised and battered by probably the most uplifting and at the same time depressing piece of literature I have ever read. It would be so easy to ruin the plot for other readers - but I won't; suffice to say Jess' conversation with Gabriel halfway through the book, after his phonecall to Wysong left me feeling chilled and clammy at the same time. Tonight, after work I'm going to read the last few pages of this masterpiece again - hopefully this time without crying. But don't let the prospect of tears put you off. The Night Listener is definetely a journey and one I was honoured to make with the turn of each page.
Rating:
Summary: an interesting novel that almost drowns in melodrama..
Review: . The Night Listener starts off on rather shakey grounds. Its leading character is a very thinly disguised Armistead Maupin, who really portrays himself as a very insecure individual. He suffers from writer's block, a failed relationship with his partner, a troubled relationship with his father, etc. He cries a lot, but his soft center turns rock solid when confronted with anyone who is anything but 100% gay accepting (..forget about pity for those in the closet). I really don't know why Maupin chose to write about such a character. Maupin's best work, Maybe the Moon, succeeds due to the wonderfully unique characters he derived from his imaginiation. Our Maupin-like character's life is further complicated when he develops a relationship, via phone, with a sexually-abused thirteen year old AIDS sufferer. Bizarrely, the relationship turns rapidly to a father-son 'thing'. At this juncture the book was becoming a complete tearjerker, despite Maupin's fine flair for prose and copious amounts of funny witticisms. However the last half of the book is as good as the first half is, well, not so good. Interesting questions are raised about the thirteen year old boy that I found to be compelling and completely unexpected. Sorry, no spoilers here. But rest assured that the reader is rewarded in the end after plodding through the beginning.
Rating:
Summary: SURPRISES IN EVERY CHAPTER
Review: This is the first book of Armistead Maupin's that I've read and it is a beauty! A friend loaned it to me and, although I was very busy with other business stuff, I started reading and could not put it down until I finished 10 hours later. It is that compelling. If you want specific plot points, there are lots of reviews here that tell them, but I advise against trying to find out too much about this book before you jump into it. The story revolves around Gabriel Noone a famous novelist and radio personality, as famous as...well, as famous as Armistead Maupin. He is a very complex "hero:" strong, talented, charming, generous and yet very psychologically needy, unable to see that his faults could be as damning as those that he finds in his friends and family. All of the characters, even the ones who appear only briefly, are fully drawn and fascinating, from the author's boyfriend, Jess, searching for his own identity after leaving his Love of ten years, to the author's bookkeeper Anna: smart and funny, charming and terribly devoted to her boss whom she thinks could be going off the deep end. We also meet Noone's Southern racist father whom Maupin makes much more complex than just an easy target for liberals and his stepmother, Darlie, who is an ex-schoolmate of Noone's and only one year apart from him in age. The two major characters besides Noone, who tells the story, are a terminally ill 13 year old boy, Pete, and his adoptive mother, Donna. How they figure into Noone's life and how they change his life is what makes the novel so very moving. They are strangers to him and yet make him re-think each and every one of his major relationships. There are surprises, literally, in every chapter--strange twists that one could not possibly see coming: the style of the novel, itself, changes from a kind of roman a clef to a gothic thriller worthy of a Stephen King and back again. Early in the book, an editor/acquaintance of Noone's describes Pete's writing with "He'd use a ten-dollar word when a ten-cent one would do." Unfortunately, I find this to be true of Maupin. There were many times in this otherwise first rate novel that I'd have preferred not to be manipulated with "ten-dollar words." Also, although I understand the shock on the very last page, it left me unsatisfied. All in all, though, this is a wonderful book which deserves as wide an audience as possible. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Rating:
Summary: I'm Listening
Review: The Night Listener entranced me with the first chapter. This is easily Armistead Maupin's most compelling book since Further Tales of the City. Somewhat an autobiographical account of a time in Armistead's life, it perhaps explains partly why he's been less than prolific as of late. If this book is a sign of what he's capable of, I do hope we see more books arrive in the near future from Armistead.
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