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Significant Others (novel)
Encyclopedia
Significant Others is a 1987
novel by Armistead Maupin
, the fifth book in the Tales of the City
series. It originally was serialized in the San Francisco Examiner.
area north of San Francisco. Here, successful businessmen from around the globe gather at Bohemian Grove
for a three-week encampment of male bonding, while downriver from them events at Wimminwood, a lesbian
music and arts festival, threaten the relationship of DeDe Halcyon-Day and D'orothea Wilson.
Returning characters include Mary Ann Singleton, who is having difficulty balancing her commitment to her career as a local talk show hostess with her obligations as a wife to Brian and mother to Shawna, the child of her friend Connie, who entrusted the girl's care to Mary Ann on her deathbed; Michael Tolliver, the romantic gay
man who has tested HIV-positive and is taking AZT
to combat the threat to his immune system; and Anna Madrigal, the transgender
ed landlady who mothers her tenants at 28 Barbary Lane on Russian Hill
and is fighting to preserve the historic wooden steps of the lane.
New characters include Thack Sweeney, who meets Michael during a tour of Alcatraz and Wren Douglas, a plus-size model
whose best-selling self-help book offers hope to overweight women. There is also a focus on a previously minor character, Roger "Booter" Manigault, DeDe's stepfather and a member of the Bohemian Club
, who accidentally stumbles into Wimminwood and is held captive by one of its more militant organizers. Brian's college-aged nephew Jed also makes an appearance as a young Reaganite more interested in getting into Harvard Law and making money than having fun.
1987 in literature
The year 1987 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Tom Wolfe was paid $5 million for the film rights to his novel, The Bonfire of the Vanities, the most ever earned by an author, at the time.-Fiction:...
novel by Armistead Maupin
Armistead Maupin
Armistead Jones Maupin, Jr. is an American writer, best known for his Tales of the City series of novels, based in San Francisco.-Early life:...
, the fifth book in the Tales of the City
Tales of the City
Tales of the City refers to a series of eight novels written by American author Armistead Maupin. The stories from Tales were originally serialized prior to their novelization, with the first four titles appearing as regular installments in the San Francisco Chronicle, while the fifth appeared in...
series. It originally was serialized in the San Francisco Examiner.
Plot Summary
It is now 1985 and much of the action is set in the Russian RiverRussian River (California)
The Russian River, a southward-flowing river, drains of Sonoma and Mendocino counties in Northern California. With an annual average discharge of approximately , it is the second largest river flowing through the nine county Greater San Francisco Bay Area with a mainstem 110 miles ...
area north of San Francisco. Here, successful businessmen from around the globe gather at Bohemian Grove
Bohemian Grove
Bohemian Grove is a campground located at 20601 Bohemian Avenue, in Monte Rio, California, belonging to a private San Francisco-based men's art club known as the Bohemian Club...
for a three-week encampment of male bonding, while downriver from them events at Wimminwood, a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
music and arts festival, threaten the relationship of DeDe Halcyon-Day and D'orothea Wilson.
Returning characters include Mary Ann Singleton, who is having difficulty balancing her commitment to her career as a local talk show hostess with her obligations as a wife to Brian and mother to Shawna, the child of her friend Connie, who entrusted the girl's care to Mary Ann on her deathbed; Michael Tolliver, the romantic gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
man who has tested HIV-positive and is taking AZT
Zidovudine
Zidovudine or azidothymidine is a nucleoside analog reverse-transcriptase inhibitor , a type of antiretroviral drug used for the treatment of HIV/AIDS. It is an analog of thymidine....
to combat the threat to his immune system; and Anna Madrigal, the transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
ed landlady who mothers her tenants at 28 Barbary Lane on Russian Hill
Russian Hill, San Francisco, California
Russian Hill is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California, in the United States. It is one of San Francisco's 44 hills, and one of its original "Seven Hills."-Location:...
and is fighting to preserve the historic wooden steps of the lane.
New characters include Thack Sweeney, who meets Michael during a tour of Alcatraz and Wren Douglas, a plus-size model
Plus-size model
Plus-size model is a term applied to a person who is engaged primarily in modeling plus-size clothing. Plus-size models also engaged in work that is not strictly related to selling large-sized clothing, e.g., stock photography and advertising photography for cosmetics, household and pharmaceutical...
whose best-selling self-help book offers hope to overweight women. There is also a focus on a previously minor character, Roger "Booter" Manigault, DeDe's stepfather and a member of the Bohemian Club
Bohemian Club
The Bohemian Club is a private men's club in San Francisco, California, United States.Its clubhouse is located at 624 Taylor Street in San Francisco...
, who accidentally stumbles into Wimminwood and is held captive by one of its more militant organizers. Brian's college-aged nephew Jed also makes an appearance as a young Reaganite more interested in getting into Harvard Law and making money than having fun.