Customer Reviews

Hard: A Novel

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This extraordinary novel arrived on the scene with too little fanfare, and although it comes from a mainstream publisher, it was (and is) relegated to the "Gay fiction" section at Barnes and Noble, wedged in between the beach reads.

"Hard" could be a beach read, it's funny and sexy enough for that. And it lacks the Violet Quill stylistic pretensions of an earlier generation of gay novelists.

But Hoffman's first novel is so much more. Let me backtrack a second and say that I almost never read fiction anymore, especially not gay fiction. One more tortured coming out story and I will explode.

But this novel had me from the first page, and I read it one night. I couldn't put it down until I had finished it, and it must have been 3 or 4 in the morning by then.

While the book is often laugh-out-loud funny, it deals with serious and important themes that are not talked about in our community -- at least not in a productive way. Perhaps a novel was the only way to address them.

I urge you to read this book. Hoffman has captured his generation in these pages.

It's the rare gay-themed novel that trusts its readers to be educated grown-ups, and I'm happy to report that Wayne Hoffman's Hard is part of that small club. This zippy read could ostensibly be dismissed as another potboiler in the tradition of Tales of the City, but it has a subversive undercurrent that elevates it to another level. The likeable characters span the spectrum of comfort with their sexuality, from Moe, "the sweetest mouth in New York," to Frank, the repressed (and repressive) newspaper publisher. As they butt heads over what behavior is acceptable in the age of HIV, the dialogue veritably crackles, and I was swept up by the author's passion on the subject. Whether or not you have an opinion on the government's regulation of gay sex (and hopefully you do), you'll find this a great read. Gay life in late-90s NYC is evoked perfectly, and the sex scenes (of which there are many) are refreshingly trashy. Is it possible to end a review of this book without resorting to the cheap pun, get Hard? I guess not....

Hard is a novel set in the "sex wars" around the subject of HIV prevention in New York City in the 1990s. The book pits Moe Pearlman, a young graduate student and sex-positive activist, against Frank DeSoto, one of the generation who lost almost all of his friends and lovers to HIV before protease inhibitors came along. DeSoto leads a crusade to shut down all of New York's bathhouses, sex clubs and adult theatres, and Moe spearheads a movement to fight back. Having lived through this era, as an HIV activist, though not in New York, it's amazing how Hoffman gets the details right. While Moe is clearly closer to Hoffman's heart, what's amazing is that Hoffman humanizes all sides of an incredibly contentious battle that was a matter of life and death for those who were fighting it, but was invisible to a lot of "mainstream" America at the time. Beyond painting a vivid picture of a fascinating era, Hoffman has created beautifully-rendered portraits of all of the novel's main characters, gay men trying to make their peace with how to have a love life and a sex life with the spectre of AIDS looming large. As a gay man in my midthirties now, I haven't seen many reflections of myself and my peer group in literature, and I'm grateful to Hoffman for capturing the voices of the kind of people I knew in the 90s. Definitely check this out.

nice simple story that illuminates complex concepts about so many different topics that gay men are dealing with right now.

please write a sequel.

Hard basically revolves around Moe, who is not skinny but not on the heavy side. Just a husky bear. Plus, he's also the world's best (at least, in NYC)...uh, how do I say this without offending Amazon.com...oral servicer.

Anyways, Moe is one of those guys who feels that it is his right to have sex anywhere and anytime he feels like it. (Think of Brian from Queer As Folks.) However, his rights are being trampled by Frank DeSoto, a gay reporter who has survived the 80's nightmare, where many of his friends and his lover have died from AIDS. Frank berates the gay community for being lax on HIV/AIDS activism.

Meanwhile, Moe's ex, Gene, moves to NYC from Washington for a travel agency. Gene is HIV-positive. He meets a younger guy, Dustin, who is insanely jealous of Gene & Moe's close friendship. However, when Gene finds out that his viral load is undetectable, he goes sexually wild on Dustin, who seems to be pliant.

Moe's best friend and fellow gradute classmate, Aaron, is also dating. His new love is a young Asian photographer, Kevin. However, Aaron soon discovers that Kevin is a hustler. Will this relationship work out?

Despite Moe's frequent adventures, he meets Max, whom he falls head over toe. However, Moe is disappointed that Max, a survivor of the 80's nightmare, is working with Frank DeSoto. Max and Frank are both working on a play that deals with the younger generation of gays being ignorant and careless in the age of HIV/AIDS.

If you're familiar with Larry Kramer's work, then you'll probably get flashbacks from "Faggots" while reading Hard.

Like the saying, all good things must come to an end. Just who or what comes to an end?

Great book that had me laughing out loud in some parts.

So I have just read the best book since David Sedaris' Dress Your Family.The novel is called Hard by Wayne Hoffman.
It deals with the lives of Bears(gay men type not the animals in the wild)here in New York City.The novel is a book of fiction ,but you can tell some parts are based on real events...having lived through similar experiences myself ,I can attest that only someone who's been there can write like that!
Moe,the main character,has a life that many of us can relate to and has several run-ins that brought back a flood of memories to this reader.His friends all live lives and go through ordeals that every gay man have gone through at some point in our lives!His best friend Gene's love/friendship with Moe is at times both touching and aggrivating but real.Don't we all have at least one friend we rely on for support who was at some point a former lover?Twists and turns abound and you will find yourself laughing and in shock on the same page as you read this exciting novel from first time author Wayne Hoffman.
As someone who reads slowly to catch everything in a book,I was able to read this one easily and comfortably on the subway in a week.HARD is a novel everyone,or at the very least, every gay man should own!

Save your money. It's another stereotypical novel that over exaggerates in an attempt to achieve success. Lacking in creativity and character depth.

Book review

While not bad, if you're looking for a gay novel that has a refreshing theme or unusual characters, this isn't it. It is presented as a book about gay life in the late 1990s, but it sounds more like contemporary than a look back at a particular slice of time.

This is the story of Moe Pearlman, who loves finding men online for hookups, and initially the book is about his political battles with others in the gay community regarding safe sex prevention vs. responsible freedom. Later in the book, however, as Moe gets a newspaper job, the politics fade away.

Moe is entwined with his long-time friend (and ex) Gene Macintosh, whose concerns center primarily (and uninterestingly) on his travel agency job and finding a new man. There's Aaron, a massage therapist, whose relationship with Kevin, a young photog who turns out to be a hustler, is fairly watery. Frank DeSoto is supposed to be the antagonist to Moe, but his constantly-fueled anger at his own gay community and his witch-hunt newspaper antics don't seem authentic. There's Max, a hot guy Moe meets and falls in love with; Dustin, a guy who falls for Gene; Carolyn, Moe's co-worker, and on and on.

Some of these characters only seem to move the story forward mechanically. Fewer characters with more distinct personalities and events would have given this story a lot more punch. These characters seem to thrive only on sex, finding romance, and enjoying Chelsea and Provincetown. Jobs and any other interests pretty much take a backseat, though health is an issue that rises from time to time.

If you're looking to read something erotic, however, this book will suit, because sex oozes from almost every page. Moe is known for his oral skills, and there is plenty of that along with acts of all types throughout the book.

Author Wayne Hoffman has written for prestigious publications, and Carroll & Graf is a wonderful publisher, so perhaps in my expectations I raised the bar a little higher than normal. As I see it, this book is just another easy-reading, steamy gay romance novel.