Sure of You

Sure of You (1989) is the sixth book in the Tales of the City series by San Francisco novelist Armistead Maupin.

The beloved characters are all twelve years older than their first appearances in 1976 in Tales. The story takes place in 1988 around the eve of the Presidential Election, three years after the previous book Significant Others. The book was written as the end to the Tales series and is the antithesis of the first book.

Theme

The 1970s are long gone, taking with them the fun and farce of youth. It's the height of the 1980s and things are much more serious. Sure of You shines a cold blue neon onto our formerly free spirits and is often criticised by readers for the resulting clarity and darkness. At the centre of the story is the need for surety in our loved ones and their inability to provide it. Abandonment occurs frequently throughout the novel.

Plot

Anna Madrigal's "logical" children have fledged from 28 Barbary Lane and she rattles around with her new brood until a Greek holiday and a romance whisk her away.

Her daughter Mona Ramsey, now a Lady, wanders back in from the cold and briefly warms her toes in the sands of Lesbos.

Michael (not often referred to as Mouse any more) Tolliver is settled with his lover Thack in their own house in Noe Valley. Having tested positive for HIV, he is coming to terms with his anticipated short time left.

Brian Hawkins has given up his tomcat ways to settle down as 'house husband' and chief caretaker of adopted daughter, Shawna (aka Puppy). With Michael, he is co-owner of Plant Parenthood, a gardening nursery.

Then there's Mary Ann Singleton. Ambitious and even more beautiful, she is now a TV talk show host famous in the San Francisco area. She is offered a once-in-a-lifetime job as the host of a nationally syndicated show - in New York!

Mary Ann, who started the whole series and introduced us to the beauty and excitement of the Tales world, tears the band apart. The ingenue, naif, everyperson who wriggled into our affections by also mispronouncing Beauchamp, "BoShomp", and noticing the sprinklers on the ceiling, calls the party over and breaks our hearts.

Writing

Though the first five books in the series were originally serialized in the San Francisco Chronicle or the San Francisco Examiner, Sure of You was written solely as a novel.