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Amos Lassen wrote on 04/21/2011:

I became a Wayne Hoffman fan after reading his novel “Hard” and have been anxiously awaiting another book from him. Finally we have one and it is one of the most beautiful books that I have ever read (and I read a lot). Hoffman manages to combine my two favorite topics—Judaism and gay life—in the most sublime of ways and written in glorious prose. I began the book on a Friday morning and did not leave my chair until I finished it Friday evening (with the exception of a few moments in which I shot Hoffman an email to let him know how much I was enjoying his book).

The theme of the faces of love that he uses is not new and could easily fall into melodrama or cliché but it goes nowhere near either. We start off meeting Benji Steiner, a twenty-something year old gay Jewish male who feels that his destiny might not hold love for him and he is indeed skeptical about meeting his soul mate. Then something very strange happens that changes his life forever. Steiner has am office at the same mall as Rabbi Jacob Zuckerman has his Jewish book store. The heat of the summer causes the Rabbi to tire easily and he uses the couch in Steiner’s office for rest. As he comes to the office, a camaraderie develops between the two and through this each man gains new understanding about “love and faith and honesty and belonging.”

Coming from an Orthodox Jewish family myself, I could easily relate to the novel—so much so that it was eerie at times. I was raised with the Yiddish idea of “bashert”—that there is an ideal mate for everyone and we will know when we find him or her. Like Steiner I was distrustful that it would ever happen, unlike Steiner it never did (or hasn’t yet). Rabbi Zuckerman had his “bashert” in his wife Sophie who died. The Rabbi had a hard time dealing with the feelings of loneliness and grief. Benji Steiner realizes this and the two men build a beautiful friendship from which both men profit.

What is so interesting is that the Jewish religion has so many mysteries and is so beautiful that many do not realize what they have missed until after it is gone. In many cases, American Jews have become so assimilated that the religion becomes a twice a year affair. Being Jewish is not just a religion, for me, at least. It is a way of life that I have always adhered to and have always been proud of. Couple that with being and I can either have the best or worst of two worlds, depending on how you look at it. I think I have the best (or did until I came to Arkansas where both lifestyles are somewhat foreign). Reading about Benji Stein brought back so many memories that I actually thought that I might have been reading about myself.

One knows he is alive when he faces truth and both Stein and the rabbi reach that point together. As they move toward that. We see hope fate brings two very different people together and how we are both united and divided by religion. We also see that sometimes the prejudices we hold can disappear with learning about or from another person.

Benji Stein felt alienated from others because of his religion yet it also allowed him to feel connected to others. Interestingly enough I am writing this review during Passover, 2011 and Passover is the perfect example of what Benji experiences. The beautiful thing about the holiday is that when I sit down to Seder everywhere in the world Jews are doing exactly the same thing. On the other hand I am separated from the larger society because of the rules that Passover imposes upon me. Growing up in New Orleans, Louisiana in an Orthodox family, this was never an issue because of the large Jewish population there. Then I moved to Israel and lived there for many years and there was no problem However, in Arkansas, Jews are anomalies and those of us who keep our religion are looked at in very strange ways. So Passover becomes both a celebration and a burden—much the same way Benji felt about his religion. Like Benji, I found my place in both the Jewish community and the larger gentile society and I have no trouble now but it was not always so easy. We also see in the book the importance of Jewish holidays for maintaining Jewish identity and using Passover yet again, even the most assimilated Jews remember who they are at that time of year.

There is a great deal to think about here and the issues that are raised are the same issues that many of us face and I do not mean just gay Jews and religious Jews. This is a story that happens to be Jewish but it just as well could have been any religion. It is about resolving differences and making peace with them. The interaction between the rabbi and Benji are very similar to the interactions gay men have with their fathers when they are ready to disclose their sexuality.

The character of Benji’s aunt Irene also adds a whole new element to the plot as do other characters and soon we have all kinds of interactions going on. Most of us are intelligent enough to know that we tend to fear what we do not know. As people get to know each other, walls come down and understanding follows just as with the characters in this novel.

The book is so rich with ideas and I could continue writing about it for hours. However I am stopping here with the hope that you will pick up a copy when the book is released in September. You are on for a special treat and some of the most beautiful writing around.