Rating: 
Summary: Maupin has another winner
Review: Gabrielle Noone, the reader and writer of Noone at Night on NPR, is in a tailspin after his partner of ten years, Jess, moves into a separate apartment to have some "space." The fact that men in leather populate Jess' space does nothing to ease Gabrielle's misery. Gabrielle is in this despondent place in his life when a publisher sends him the galley to the memoirs of 13-year-old Peter Lomax, a survivor of horrible sexual abuse. Peter is HIV-positiv. Gabrielle is quickly drawn in by the manuscript and makes contact with Peter through the publisher. He finds that Peter has been set on the road to recovery by a psychologist who encouraged Peter to write his memoirs, and, according to Peter, his recovery was aided by listening to Noone at Noon. Set aside a day to read because this is one of the author's finest book to date, and begs to be read in a single sitting.
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Summary: His finest book
Review: I have been a big fan of all of Mr. Maupin's earlier novels but his latest book is probably his finest to date. The "Tales of the City" books and "Maybe The Moon" were all good stories. "The Night Listener" is not only a good story but also rich in real, wonderful characters. You truly care about these people and you want to find out what will happen to them. There are unexpected twists and turns to the mystery at the center of the plot, but ultimately the solution of the puzzle is not the most important element of the story. By the end of the book you will not be sure what is real and what is invented, what is autobiograhical and what is fictional, what is real-life and what is a story. This is one of those wonderful books you just can't put down. A good story, a good mystery, great characters, lots of heart.
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Summary: LIKE ROSIE O'DONNELL I WAS UP ALL NIGHT!!
Review: I think this is the best book of 2000. I saw Mr. Maupin on The Rosie O'Donnell Show and she said she was up all night with it and couldn't put it down! Well that was the same for me. As a mom of 2 it took some doing but I loved all the characters and felt the loss and pain on each page. Also the love the audio version. This was the first book of Mr. Maupin's I have read but I have ordered all 6 of the Tales novels (at Rosie's suggestion) and can't wait to start them too. YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!
Rating: 
Summary: Maupin Delivers...Eventually
Review: The first mistake that a Maupin fan can make going into "The Night Listener" is to think it is going to be like the "Tales" series or even "Maybe The Moon." "Tales" is over 20 years ago and Maupin's last novel "Moon" is nearing a decade old. Maupin is cleary in a different stage in life (and who would not be after all those years) and that is reflected in the tone and style of this book. While "Tales" could be eaten up voraciously like a bag of potato chips, "The Night Listener" is more like sitting down for a meal.But to continue you that analogy, initially I was not sure how much I was liking this meal. The characters were not very likeable (unlike "Tales" where the characters really were "old friends" over time) and Maupin's approach to gay characters/issues was much more direct (heavy handed at times) than before. Likewise, the speedy escalation of the "father-son" relationship that develops between the main character (Gabriel Noone), and the young writer(Pete Lomax) was a bit offputting. But Maupin tends not to disappoint and about halfway through the book he throws us one of his characteristic curve-balls that certainly kept me flipping pages much more quickly through the remainder of the book (and another doozy of a twist at the end). Also, for "Tales" fans there is a nice surprise connection revealed as well. Unlike other Maupin works, I found myself thinking more about things a book club might discuss (the character/pure plot-driven "Tales" series would never make the cut for a book club selection). Who is "The Night Listener?" Many characters take on that role. The blur between fact-and-fiction (from what I know of his "personal" life Maupin is very much a twin of Gabriel) and furthermore fantasy-vs-reality. Some readers will be frustrated with the lack of resolution (we never do know the "truth"), but life itself never gives us all of the answers. So after some initial concerns, "The Night Listener" delivered. One hopes that Gabriel Noone's writer's block is just a figment of Maupin's imagination and that we don't have to wait too long for his next novel.
Rating: 
Summary: About what you'd expect
Review: Yes, it's a page turner. And a guilty pleasure. If you liked "The Magician's Tale," you'll like this too. But don't expect anything especially profound. Maupin passes up the opportunity to reflect on the culture of voyeurism and Kinderfeindlichkeit that provides his story's context and makes his story "work." San Francisco quirkiness is also conspicuously absent; gay protagonists might as well be proud citizens of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful, Haunting Tale
Review: This is truly a many-faceted gem. In the 1980s I spent seven years working with a phone crisis line, and I became aware of callers who gave different names but had voices similar enough for us to question how many people we were talking to. As in this book, opinions differed. Mr. Maupin is right in showing that it is what WE bring to these situations as well as the truly factual aspects which are SO important and revealing. This story will haunt you, especially about what you are expected or expect yourself to take "on faith". I agree with the reviewer who lamented the fact that he's not more prolific with his novels.
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Summary: One of the finest reads I've had in years....
Review: An amazingly good read. Period. Oddly, I felt throughout the entire thing, that Maupin must have been stalking me, before writing Gabriel's character. It's almost a long-lost twin, albeit 20 years older. At one point near the end, I found myself in the uncomfortable position if sitting on a plane while reading it, tears running down my face. Call me emotional, I guess...Bottom line, this is not to be missed!
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing
Review: I had little idea of what this book was about, and I think that made it work well for me. The premise (a boy and an author chat on the phone and build a beautiful friendship) seems nauseating, but it goes beyond that it becomes a) a mystery and b) more about the author's mid-life crisis as a whole, which I liked. I started this book on a Greyhound bus and didn't put it down until I arrived at my destination, at which point I read it until I was finished. This is a prime example of someone who can mine his personal life for fictional details and make it work on a fictional level, not just a "read for titillation purposes" level.
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Summary: Wonderfully odd tales from the same city
Review: The best way to read this book is to know nothing about it beforehand. Maupin has crafted a creepily odd and seductive psychological mystery that needs to tap into your sense of innocence and surprise; it is what you must bring to the read. At more than one point I was caught up with the "Wow!" of the plot. Maupin manages to mix the inventive and the autobiographical in a way that lends resonance to both elements, and if his emotional nakedness does not unsettle you, the strangeness of the story will pull you in.
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Summary: Echoes of Paul Monette
Review: Maupin is a national treasure as an author. I have delighted in reading Maupin's Tales of the City books and Maybe The Moon -- and I wasn't disappointed by this latest work. And I doubt that his readers will be disappointed. Odd though that so few reviewers (none that I have read) have noticed that the subplot involving the young boy with aids in this book is so similar to the real life story of the boy Paul Monette befriended toward the end of his life. In real life all the media were quite skeptical of the boy's story as Paul stood behind the story. Sound familiar? I'd love to ask Maupin about it. That said, I'd like to think of this subplot as an homage to Paul and his friend. My only regret? That Maupin doesn't write novels all that frequently. He is an amazing talent. Read Maupin. He is a serious writer who deserves our attention.
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