Robert Julian

This review will be shorter than its predecessor because Librarything timed me out while I was working on another task. It happens - no offense, Librarything.

Robert Julian has written a memoir which has the personal feel of Armistead Maupin's "Michael Tolliver Lives". The primary difference is that HIV/AIDS remains in the background instead of having been a recurring theme in the prior novels. Julian can begin fresh and can write a great story about a community of transplants rather than a community of survivors (which is in effect how he depicts San Francisco).

Julian makes Palm Springs sound like a delightful place to live if you're willing to hustle a bit (that's work, not sell your body, if you're the author's age). He's full of newsy bits and gossipy anecdotes and I plan to use "Postcards from Palm Springs" as a guidebook when we go in two weeks so I know where we should go and what clothing-optional locations we should avoid.

My rating? The usual three-and-a-half on a scale of five. Not a great work of literature, yet it was entertaining and worth recommending to readers of this genre of literature. If nothing else, after reading "Postcards from Palm Springs", you feel as if you've just been chatting with one of Armistead Maupin's friends.… (meer)