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Title: Not believable, except in parts
Review: I found this book to be a fun read, but it's not a "masterpiece" or a "triumph." Even by Maupin's "Tale of the City" standards, this is a strangely unsatisfying novel. I thought the storyline itself was confusing and did not really lead much of anywhere. I was fascinated with this book more as a document of Maupin's self-indulgence than as an act of fictional creativity.I would have liked to see a novel that spent more time with Noone's breakup with his long-time lover, Jess. The dynamics of Noone's heartbreak in the context of seeing a lover move from almost certain death to a completely different plane are handled wonderfully, but it would have been preferable to see this story moved to the forefront and the hokey 13-year-old-as-counselor gimmick moved to the background. The novel that Maupin really should have written, unfortunately, is not what we get.
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