AmosL
08-24-2006, 10:54 PM
STRANGE BEDFELLOWS--
"HARD" by Wayne Hoffman
AMOS LASSEN and Literary Pride
Hoffman, Wayne. "Hard". Carroll and Graf, 2006
Every so often a gay novel comes along that knocks you almost mute. When I closed the covers of "Hard" by Wayne Hoffman, I felt like I had just ended a close friendship. The novel is described as " an exploration of a world where sex is a matter of life and death and politics make the strangest bedfellows". That sentence should be enough to make you want to spend a couple of days or more reading it. The book is fresh and very "today". It is sexy, to an understatement and it is all man. (That doesn't mean that ladies won't like it but it is hard hitting and really knocks the reader out).
Our protagonist is Moe Pearlman, a man famed for his ability to give the finest head in New York City (that is some reputation). When he finds that his sex life is in danger because the mayor has decided to close all of the bath houses, sex clubs and adult theaters, he realizes that he must act. To make things even more mysterious, the mayor is doing so with the cooperation of Frank, the publisher of the only gay newspaper in town. Frank, who was once the purveyor of open sex, made his fortune because of it. Suddenly he changes his tune when his longtime partner dies because of AIDS. He takes on the role of the crusading knight for moral correctness and finds himself at odds with Moe. Frank's actions cause the rise of a gay community which is a microcosm of society at large. As the community emerges, it does so without reference to age, gender or any of the other factors that tend to polarize us. This community brings to the fore all the major issues which face gays in America today--HIV and AIDS, racism, feminism, sex, politics and class as well as the generation gap. Hoffman, in turn, peers into the group and derives the effect that personal experience has on politics and thereby influences identification--with oneself and with others. This in itself is no easy feat. And Hoffman, at times, takes a psychological approach to his characters by delving into their minds and innermost thoughts by exploring their motivation and the catalysts in their lives some 25 years into the most serious crisis ever to affect our lives, the AIDS epidemic.
Here s a look at the New York gay scene that was darefully and carefully written about by Andrew Holleran and Larry Kramer. But this is also a look at the same scene AAA (After the advent of AIDS). It is not a pretty scene; it is disturbing to say the least. This is something we should know about and Hoffman is our narrator. Here is the story of how we live today, how AIDS and bigotry has taken its toll on us. From the back rooms of gay bars to the news rooms of the media, from free unabandoned sexual escapades to the offices of City Hall this is the story of sex not being just sex but a matter of "life or death" and how politicians attempt to control our lives. I am not sure that some of this book is not as close to porn as a book can get or whether it is a political treatise. It is one hand very very serious, on the other hand it is racy and wild. Above everything else, it is highly erotic.
Wayne Hoffman delivers his story in clear, crisp prose. This together with a swift moving plot and the author's mastery as a story teller is a book not to be missed by any member of any gay community. It is a must read--it is the story of who we are, who we were and who we will be. "Hard" is our story and we need to embrace it.
"HARD" by Wayne Hoffman
AMOS LASSEN and Literary Pride
Hoffman, Wayne. "Hard". Carroll and Graf, 2006
Every so often a gay novel comes along that knocks you almost mute. When I closed the covers of "Hard" by Wayne Hoffman, I felt like I had just ended a close friendship. The novel is described as " an exploration of a world where sex is a matter of life and death and politics make the strangest bedfellows". That sentence should be enough to make you want to spend a couple of days or more reading it. The book is fresh and very "today". It is sexy, to an understatement and it is all man. (That doesn't mean that ladies won't like it but it is hard hitting and really knocks the reader out).
Our protagonist is Moe Pearlman, a man famed for his ability to give the finest head in New York City (that is some reputation). When he finds that his sex life is in danger because the mayor has decided to close all of the bath houses, sex clubs and adult theaters, he realizes that he must act. To make things even more mysterious, the mayor is doing so with the cooperation of Frank, the publisher of the only gay newspaper in town. Frank, who was once the purveyor of open sex, made his fortune because of it. Suddenly he changes his tune when his longtime partner dies because of AIDS. He takes on the role of the crusading knight for moral correctness and finds himself at odds with Moe. Frank's actions cause the rise of a gay community which is a microcosm of society at large. As the community emerges, it does so without reference to age, gender or any of the other factors that tend to polarize us. This community brings to the fore all the major issues which face gays in America today--HIV and AIDS, racism, feminism, sex, politics and class as well as the generation gap. Hoffman, in turn, peers into the group and derives the effect that personal experience has on politics and thereby influences identification--with oneself and with others. This in itself is no easy feat. And Hoffman, at times, takes a psychological approach to his characters by delving into their minds and innermost thoughts by exploring their motivation and the catalysts in their lives some 25 years into the most serious crisis ever to affect our lives, the AIDS epidemic.
Here s a look at the New York gay scene that was darefully and carefully written about by Andrew Holleran and Larry Kramer. But this is also a look at the same scene AAA (After the advent of AIDS). It is not a pretty scene; it is disturbing to say the least. This is something we should know about and Hoffman is our narrator. Here is the story of how we live today, how AIDS and bigotry has taken its toll on us. From the back rooms of gay bars to the news rooms of the media, from free unabandoned sexual escapades to the offices of City Hall this is the story of sex not being just sex but a matter of "life or death" and how politicians attempt to control our lives. I am not sure that some of this book is not as close to porn as a book can get or whether it is a political treatise. It is one hand very very serious, on the other hand it is racy and wild. Above everything else, it is highly erotic.
Wayne Hoffman delivers his story in clear, crisp prose. This together with a swift moving plot and the author's mastery as a story teller is a book not to be missed by any member of any gay community. It is a must read--it is the story of who we are, who we were and who we will be. "Hard" is our story and we need to embrace it.