Rating: 
Summary: Emotional!
Review: I heard the story via audio tapes. I log lots of miles in a week so I listen to books I can't find time to read. This story had me sitting in parking lots and getting honked at lights that had changed to green while I sat there listening. It brought out nearly every emotion I have. At one point I was sitting in morning rush hour weeping. The story is wonderful. Makes me want to take Armistead aka. Gabriel and give him a great big hug!The audio tape version is read by Armistead himself, felt like it brought me closer to the author. Certainly a must read.
Rating:
Summary: An exhilarating read...
Review: When I bought The Night Listener yesterday I didn't really know what to expect having never read any of Mr. Maupin's books before. Having finished the novel I must say that there are several things that I enjoyed, particularly the uncertainty of where the plot was headed. If you are looking for an elegantly written novel that explores the familiar themes of love and trust but leaves most of the familiar cliches behind then read The Night Listener.
Rating: 
Summary: maudlin maupin
Review: I was looking forward to Maupin's new book enough to shell out the $$ for the hardcover instead of waiting for the paperback. Big mistake. Read his earlier works and go to the library for this one. Two stars because l. i finished it 2. rare flashes of his usual wit and observations.
Rating: 
Summary: Wish there were a 0 star rating
Review: Just Awful. I listened to the audio book version, narrated by the author. Maupin's jumped on the memoir bandwagon, along with David Leavitt, Mike Albo, David Sedaris, and Alann Gurganus, all of whom have great recent books in which the main character is clearly the author. Maupin's just a beginner compared to the guys listed above. The badness of this book stems partly from the story (a middle-aged fussy queen writer (Maupin) living out his fantasies about a relationship with a 13 year old boy. Listen to this: Maupin (Gabriel Noon in the book) calls the boy "son", and the boy calls Maupin "Dad". Endless obscenity-filled dialogue between the boy and Maupin. PITIFUL! ) Compounding the badness in the audio version is Maupin's reading the story in his soft, Carolinian, "queenie" voice, which makes most of the dialogue between non-gay men characters sound downright absurd. Why he chose to read it himself is hard to understand. The worst (and most disappointing) thing about this book is the sheer amateurishness of Maupin's writing. While there's nothing wrong with simple writing, this infantile mess is no more craftful than an 8th grader's essay on a trip to the mall. Save your time, and skip this book.END
Rating:
Summary: Angst and self discover along with a great story!
Review: This novel by Amistead Maupin is one of those books that I just couldn't put down. It's written as if it were an autobiography and it draws the reader in to a story which becomes more complex as it moves along. It's about Gabriel Noone, a successful writer in his fifties, whose late-night radio stories have brought him a wide audience. He's in the midst of a breakup with his younger longtime companion and is grappling with its realities, when a publisher sends him a manuscript written by 13-year old boy, Pete Lomax, now dying of AIDS, who has been horribly abused. Gradually, a telephone relationship develops between the narrator and the boy who helps the aging writer gain insights into his own life. The plot thickens, however, when some troubling questions arise about who the boy actually is and Gabriel Noone is set on a whirlwind trip of discovery which leads him from San Francisco to the heartland of Wisconsin and then to his own boyhood home in Charleston, South Carolina. The reader is gently brought to understand the man and his way of life completely, sharing his discoveries and his angst along the way. There's fine writing here, an intriguing story and a conclusion that will leave you thinking for a long time. Recommended. As an afterthought, I must mention that the graphic design of the hardcover edition is one of the most original I have ever seen.
Rating:
Summary: disappointing...found myself skipping to the end...
Review: Since I have read all his other books, I was greatly disappointed in this one.. Started off great and I couldn't wait to the next time I had a chance to read some more and then it went flat... confusion about the truth of the boy's identy..really lost a great chance to deal with the boys story. Hope the next one is better..I certainly will wait for the paperback and not buy the hardcopy.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Stop Reading This Page Turner
Review: Without giving away plot points let me just say that this book kept me riveted almost from the first chapter. In addition to Maupins great narrative style he throws in just enough mystery to keep you hooked. I read the book in three days. I enjoyed the characters and I related to them all on a certain level. To me a "good" film or book is one where you wind up caring deeply about the characters and the outcome of their story. This book suceeds at that on every level.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Quite There
Review: Maupin's latest work is a jewel of a story. The characters are likeable and quirky. The protagonist is perhaps as close as many fans will get to meeting Maupin face-to-face. Plot lines are interwoven like a bit of fine lace. We even catch glimpses of "Tales of the City" in characters whom intersect with Gabriel Noone's life. However, the feeling persists, throughout the novel, that something dreadful will happen. Surprisingly, this sense of dread is not lifted when terrible events do unfold. It's as if the worst happens, but it turns out to be not so bad, a kind of slap in the face after reading oneself into emotional turmoil. And this time, Maupin's penchant for unexpected twists is unappreciated. The ending is a cheat, a cheap trick. Perhaps judgement should be reserved, lest there is a sequel in the works which would resolve this novel's unsatisfying denouement. However, it is clear that many diehard fans will not be so eagerly awaiting the next book.
Rating:
Summary: don't expect much
Review: I really enjoyed the Tales of the City series by Maupin as well as Maybe the Moon. The Night Listener starts out intriguing and definitely has potential, unfortunately Maupin bails out with an ending that feels like a rip off and ties things up a bit too neatly. Reading this book was like watching a movie with a complicated plot that takes you on an adventure and then abruptly ends without resolution with the character waking up from a dream (think "Wisdom" or "Boxing Helena") then this shouldn't bother you. Just don't get your hopes up and think that it's the caliber of Tales or Maybe the Moon. . .I'm still puzzled by all the gushing critics, it just isn't that great.
Rating:
Summary: Maupin is a master of his craft
Review: A few weeks ago I tuned in to Bernard Pivot's Bouillon de Culture on France 2 and found Armistead Maupin as part of a round table discussion of reading and writing with five of the more important figures on the current French literary scene. I was delighted, not just to see the person responsible for Tales of the City, but also because Maupin's observations were a good deal more intelligent than what the others had to say. So, those of you who saw Maupin on Rosie O'Donnel, eat your hearts out. Anyway, I bought and read Maupin's The Night Listener and here are a few comments. Since there is still such a long way to go toward tolerance and acceptance, it is a pity this superb novel uses a gay vehicle to develop its themes, which I take to be love, trust, and faith. These are universal themes but some potential readers might be turned off by the story's gayness. Be this as it might, how do I love a particular person when my other, sometimes baser needs are attracting me elsewhere? How can I identify the basis of my love and distinguish it from my own psychological and social needs? How can I maintain my trust in the essential decency of those around me in the face of doubts about their motivations and agendas? How can I keep faith in the underlying benignity of reality despite its frequent cruelty and unremitting ambiguity? These issues are tests of our humanity and working through them is what is involved in human redemption. These are also the major themes, I believe, of this novel. When he starts on the new antiHiv cocktail, Jess gets a new lease on life that he celebrates by installing a gold ring in his nose, taking up with some leather-fools and terminating his ten-year love affair with Gabriel. Gabriel is the celebrity narrator and is significantly older than Jess, a radio story teller who lives for his craft and lives well because, like Maupin, he has mastered his craft. Pete is fourteen with a long history of psysical and sexual abuse by his father and his father's friends while his mom gets it all on video tape back there in (wouldn't you know it) Wisconsin. He is rescued, adopted and reincorporated into human life by an altruistic psychiatrist, but is dying of AIDS, apparently a grisly gift from one of dad's friends. A book Pete has written is close to publication and Gabriel is asked to write a blurb. Thus begin the daily phone calls in the course of which Pete and Gabriel develop something resembling love between father and son. But Jess sows the seeds of doubt by pointing out the similarity between Pete's telephonic voice and that of the psychiatrist. From that point on the story shifts to a shimmering mode of uncertainty about what is going on, which is not resolved even in the book's final paragraphs. Underlying the anecdotal material we have an exhilirating tension between doubt and faith, trust and the need for clear proof, love and indifference. Of course things are revealed and disclosed as the story moves forward -- but not everything. This entire work is a totally satisfying exploration of the need to "know" in order to believe, the need for proof of a person's worth (or even of their existence) in order to love. All in all, this is a most excellent piece of work.
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