Customer Reviews

The Boys Across The Street

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This novel, written by a now dead gay porn star about a gay porn star, might initially strike one as being puerile, but I found it to be a rather well-written character sketch with chauvinism as its theme: hedonistic chauvinism on the one hand as portrayed through the protagonist Rick, and religious chauvinism as portrayed by the Hassidic Jewish boys Rick is so enamoured by.

Rick is intrigued by the adolescent boys attending a Hassidic-run school across the street from his apartment. His initial interest is purely juvenile and tied to his fantasy of bedding one of the boys. But the story is carried by the conflict portrayed by two opposing hegemonies that are separated by a city street.

One the one side is the world as portrayed by Rick, a gay porn actor whose insatiable appetite for reading is contrasted by his profligate and pecuniary lifestyle. His personal perspective on life is that it is utterly meaningless and devoid of any real sense of right and wrong: everything is relative in Rick's world, nothing is sacred.

Across the street is the world of Hassidic Jews whose world is guided by a belief in a divine order that holds only the Jews can claim divine guidance and protection and that ultimately the course of events will lead to the Jews being rescued by their god.

What ensues is Rick's butting philosophical heads with the school boys with each being just as intransigent in their position as the other: a sort of literary meeting of two immoveable forces. Rick tries to show the boys how meaningless their beliefs are, yet the boys refuse to budge. And the boys try to impress upon Rick how his dressing up like them is offensive and his reading of their holy texts belittles their belief, but he is so caught up in proving that he is right and they are wrong that he is bewildered when he experiences retaliation.

There are moments when he and some of the boys genuinely connect, even bond. But the connection is precarious because of the overriding belief of one makes no room for the other's belief.

Did Sandford intentionally create a characterization of how today the Religious Right and Gay community appear incapable of communicating meaningfully because each holds on to its own selfish hegemony? Whether he did is unimportant. But as an allegory of this conflict, Sandford's story is quite good.

This extraordinary book--more autobiography than fiction--is an original blending of the sacred and profane. Rick Sandford's only novel, published posthumously, reminds us that original voices in literature are far and few between nowadays. Some may find it grotesque and sacreligious, others deeply devout, but no one who risks reading it will come away unaffected.

Rick Sanford (aka Ben Barker, a 1970's gay adult film star), tells the somewhat autobiographical tale of a man in his early 40's who questions the confusing moral judgments of the world around him. The story's narrator, Rick, is an out of work actor, living from unemployment check to unemployment check, and seemingly morally bankrupt, at least in the eyes of the people around him. An avowed homosexual, atheist, and non-Jewish, Rick becomes fascinated with the boys whom attend the Hassidic school across from where he lives. His fascination turns to fixation when he begins to dress like the boys in their traditional Jewish garb. His reasons for doing such are suspect, as he changes his response nearly every time he's asked. His behaviour, though, attracts the attention of the boys in the school and a few of the instructors as well. They aren't sure if they're being ridiculed by a foolish man or complimented by Rick's devotion to learning all there is to learn about the Hassidic Jews. The boys in turn become fascinated with Rick and his immoral lifestyle, for which he refuses to apologize...in fact, he revels in it before them, claiming to have slept with at least 2,000 men in his lifetime. He shares pictures of naked men with the boys, and other facets of his life...and one is never quite sure if he is seducing the boys, or merely without inhibitions about who he is. The sexual tension and seemingly inevitable seduction which lurks on the near horizon provides the drama around which the story unfolds. No issue is left unchallenged, and a dividing line the width of the street between the school and Rick's front steps seems to be the battle line drawn in the lives of these characters.

Told in a very simplistic manner, Sanford is able to convey the growing tension in these relationships meaningfully and satisfactorily. When the heat is turned up and violence boils over, causing an even deeper chasm to divide the factions, you are pulled ever deeper into the morals of each side and wonder which will win out, religious belief or the moral decay which Rick seems to signify. A taut little story, as informative as it is entertaining.

I picked this book up because it combined two unusual subjects, a very out gay man and a chassidic group of boys. At first I thought it would be kind of stupid, what in the world could these two parts of the world have to say to each other, let alone to me, who belongs to neither. I was surprised to be unable to put the book down, laughing at the way these two worlds meshed, touched by the bravery and honesty of Rick who never pretends to be anything other than who he is, including following all sorts of zany impulses which he doesn't understand, but still follows, even when they make him a marked target. Yet somehow he trusts that these impulses are worthwhile and indeed they lead to his having brief moments as well as longer conversations of deep connection with people so different than he is. Everyone he speaks to is drawn to his candor, and in fact the young boys are starving for Rick's brand of honesty, for the facts of life being spoken and lived, and for the way he simply questions and challenges the platitudes that are served up to these boys as education. I came away from this book unable to stop thinking about Rick's bravery, humor, belief on himself, and now I have to buy it for several friends, because it stays with you long after you stop reading it.

I'm rather surprised that this book didn't get higher ratings. I honestly think my only problem with this book at all was a bit of repetition at some points. Otherwise, I really liked the style and the whole thing itself.

While the plot itself wasn't a very obvious one, it was still entertaining. I, personally, usually despise books that seem to go no where and have no real storyline, but this one was different. Even though it wasn't some grand adventure as some may have hoped, it was still witty, amusing, and most of all: alluring. Everytime I picked this book up, I did NOT want to put it down unless I absolutely had to. It was addicting, and quite the easy read. I never really wanted to stop, and was a bit upset when it ended.

I was also impressed that this book didn't focus around AIDS and HIV as many typical homosexual-based books do. It was refreshing to read about someone who wasn't constantly drawn into himself for deep musings or wishing his life was different.

This book was, to put it in simple terms, awesome. It was different, witty, amusing, and realistic. I loved it, and I'm surprised that not many others did. I'd recommend this book to anyone who isn't looking to strain their mind, and just wants a nice, relaxing read, and maybe a few laughs.

The protagonist in this facile novel is a gay man named Rick who lives across the street from a Chassidic boys' school. The plot is all about his obsession with these young men and their devotion to their religion-- as well as the sexual attractiveness at least of some of them. He goes so far as to study their religion and dress like them. These boys are fascinated with him as well, his sexuality, his avowed atheism, his promiscuity.

While this novel is certainly a easy read, it is ultimately sad and is a perfect argument for just how futile are discussions about religion with someone who already knows all the answers, i.e., most religious fundamentalists of all kinds, whether they be Christian, Jew or Moslem. These young men are convinced that they are God's chosen people and that homosexuality is a sickness, a disease, a criminal act. There's not much room for air in that boarded-up building.

In the blurb on the dust jacket of this novel, someone calls this book a "semiautobiographical novel," whatever that means. The protatonist has the same name as the author, and like him has been a porn star, has never driven a car and has a passion for reading. At least Mr. Sandford calls this work a novel, thereby avoiding the quicksand an increasing number of writers, many of them gay, find themselves in, intent on writing what I would call fictional memoirs where the names and events have been changed to protect the people involved and to suit the "memoirist."

It is also sad that THE BOYS ACROSS THE STREET has to be Mr. Sandford's only novel as he died of AIDS in 1995.

This excellent, entertaining and troubling book can be read from several different perspectives, depending on the readers' presumptions and prejudices. Sandford explores the possible fireworks when a group of Lubavitch Chassidic Yeshiva students and a Hedonist,(VERY Hedonistic), Homosexual Atheist interact and even discover friendship, among other things. Along with the expected discussions of sex between the Hedonist Rick and the Yeshiva students, there is also, interestingly, discussion of the meaning of Death. Rick often tells the boys he wishes he was never born; "So, you wish you were dead?", the boys ask..."No", replies Rick, "I wish I was never born; there's a difference". The boys fail to see the difference...and so do I. That aside, one of the fascinating angles of this book is the extreme lifestyles of Rick and the Ultra-Orthodox Chassid. In between these extremes of religious and hedonistic fanaticism fall most of the rest of us...and this book may cause you to feel grateful for that...

A former gay porn star named Rick is living across the street from a Jewish boys' school, and begins a dialogue with some of the boys. Rick, an atheist, is drawn to their religion and the boys are drawn to Rick's honesty in the face of their condemnation of homosexuality. He confronts his own prejudices while the two separate worlds collide, resulting in a deeper understanding of his own life. Sandford's irreverent and zealous style lends the story its captivating voice, and leaves the audience with much to ponder. I found the book quite funny in parts, and also fascinating in its presentation of tidbits about Judaica.

I really liked this book. Not sure if I would say that I enjoyed it, that's different. Nonetheless it is compelling in a quiet kind of way. The interactions between the author/narrator and the boys is very intense ... so may issues of religion and sex and death. I guess the drawback is that it sometimes reminded me of those "profound" all-night conversations I had when I first started school. In retrospect, they remain interesting but hardly profound. Still ... worth a read.

In this, Rick Sanford's posthumous publication (he died in 1995), the moral challenge for Rick, the book's protagonist, is to become immersed in the education of a religion that shuns everything he believes in. He's a gay porn star, he's an atheist, and his credo is "Life is meaningless." Enlisting the help of several Jewish schoolboys who happen to pass by his chair one day, Rick asks questions of their faith, and they, in turn, inquire about his lifestyle. The interaction always ends up turning into a comparison between his explicit sex chat and their stalwart faith in God. The boys, mostly in their early teens, end up motionless with blank looks on their faces.Sanford's possible intent of creating a meaningful social study based on the conflicting viewpoints of religion and sexuality is lost early on, when the porn star mentality of character and author alike takes center stage and dominates every page. Although Sanford gets credit for his compelling religion-vs.-homosexuality subject matter, he never ends up taking either side seriously enough for us to want to know more. The result is flagrant, flashy fiction with nary an ember of significance and no conscience--which, based upon these demerits alone, is sure to attract a healthy audience.