Wayne Hoffman

My friend Charlie thought I would like Sweet Like Sugar by Wayne Hoffman. It was lite quick reading and I was suspicious that without exceptional writing I would get distracted. The story about a gay Jewish man Benji and his friendship with an Orthodox rabbi seemed familiar territory. As I whipped through the novel I began feeling emotionally connected to the religious struggle and spirituality that Benji was tackling. OMG, then came an outburst of tears as the climax and resolution hit me. Hats off to this sweet reading experience.… (más)

Still thinking about this book days after finishing it. Love the way the author captured time and place in this story. And the characters who felt exactly like people you know, with hopes, bruises, and faults, a little grubby but no worse for the wear. I enjoyed the equal portrayal the "bad" guys got, you knew they were awful from their actions, but they were given the same even-handed, straightforward display of their lives as the "good" guys.

I want to say there was no moralizing in this book, but since I'm aware I am very firmly on the side of the good guys here, it might seem like moralizing if you are a real life Frank DeSoto.

My only complaints are that one story line didn't wrap up as I'd hoped and occasionally in the first half I found myself a little confused by the character POV switches (which might be on me, as I'm used to close third and this isn't, though I'm not convinced it works perfectly as omniscient either--it seems to swoop in near close third then rise back out to omni again).

Looking forward to the sequel and other books by this author.… (más)

When an elderly Rabbi comes into his office to lie down on his couch to recover from the heat, little does Benji realise how much his life is about to change. Benji is in his late twenties, a lapsed Jew but still staunchly proud of his heritage, what does he have to do with this octogenarian Orthodox Rabbi? Initially nothing passes between Benji and the Rabbi, but as the Rabbi's visits become a regular part of Benji's day, and even after the heat passes and the Rabbi no longer needs the use of his couch, Benji maintains contact, offering the Rabbi help where needed.

The two men become good friends despite their differences, but will this relationship survive when Benji reveals to the Rabbi that he is gay?

The first thing that struck me before I had finished page one was that how well written this is, and very soon the story had me drawn in too. It is a rewarding read showing how age need not be a factor in friendship, and that giving reaps its own rewards, as over the course of the novel Benji finds the one thing that has so far eluded him.… (más)

This book is fantastic.

I was not sure how this book would be able to hold my interest. I was not even sure if it could. Too often books have been written as excellent but I could not even get through the first few chapters. Unlike this book. I finished reading this book within two days.

Such a good writing to focus on the friendship between a young gay guy with an old rabbi, who turned out to be as much homophobic as often expected. Somehow, their fondness of each other made them reassess their lives. I was a little turned off by Benji's habit of finding faults with whoever he was dating. I thought the friendship with the old rabbi was because he missed his own grandfather. This was not stated so. However, the old rabbi did somehow helped him to get more comfortable with his religion and hence easier to settle down with his Bashert.

I did not really care for the flashbacks. They did not help the story to be stronger. In fact, I was more eager to skip the flashbacks and to get on with the ongoing story. Still, the flashbacks did not really make the whole book to be that slow.

I love the characters in the book. The rabbi cracked me up when he talked about the kids at his door for Halloween. Good bonding story, with inserted humor, though mild.… (más)