Hoffman Books

I have just read and enjoyed Michael Hoffman's "The Coat That Covers Him and Other Stories." It was a long but worthwhile read written in a unique style. Six shorter stories set the mood for the main story. An artful combination of plots drive these stories with subjects ranging from a man who believes that he is a murderer and is approached by a young girl
looking to sell her body to him followed by a man who loses his key thus creating an unexpected chain of events that you'd never imagine. (The ideas are so witty and complex that I am allowing myself a run on sentence with this one!)

The main story, however, is about Sidney Levin. Sid is a well
traveled man involved in a love triangle between his wife Natalie and his Japanese girlfriend Keiko. He lost Keiko as she married another man named Jon many years before. After Jon dies, he pounces on the opportunity to rekindle that flame with Keiko. However, he willingly submits to the advances of Keiko's teenage daughter Mariko and she is impregnated.She moves in
with her Uncle and Sid seems to settle for Natalie...but the story does not really end there...

These stories will engage various senses as you read, comprehend and "digest" the material. It is written in a poetic form that grants the stories and the characters an added sense of tangibility as some of the emotions, reactions and responses are experienced by all of us in some small way. Hoffman's travels to Japan and Canada serve as a common
theme as the characters always seem to end up or exist in one of those locations or the other, with Japan being the predominant location.

Add "The Coat That Covers Him and Other Stories." to your Summer reading list! If you're looking for an engaging read that can be accomplished in a day or even a week - you will find it in the pages of this book.

Tyrone V. Banks

Michael Hoffman is an excellent, dramatic, fluent, insightful and literate writer. He is also a world traveler, and he sets his scenes interestingly in many worldwide cities. It looks as if he has finally settled in Japan where he makes a living writing and interpreting Japanese for English newspapers. He is a trained, professional writer. I have found that many authors so trained attempt too much literacy and become showoffs-all to the detriment of the story. Hoffman is minimal in this aspect but he does assume that all readers understand French. The Japanese is translated but the French is not. Happily, they are short phrases that can be glossed over.

The book starts out with six short stories. They are enigmatic and difficult to understand (weird, bizarre, Kafkaesque) but the beautiful language overcomes this. It is poetic in style. I don't understand, however, why these short stories were put in the book. The later novel is the title showpiece. At the very least they should have been put at the end.

The novel is about a mixed up guy, Sidney Levin. He flounders throughout in a semi-insane mode. He's married to Natalie in America with whom he had a son, who eventually commits suicide for lack of Sid's attention and the revelation to him of Sid's awful behavior. However, Sid feels his heart is with Keiko in Japan. He lost her many years before to his friend and rival, Jon. Jon dies and Sid renews his romance his romance with Keiko. He's a bad father anyway so it doesn't give him much pause.

The story then goes back and forth between Natalie and Keiko because Sid can't decide which one is better for him.
Keiko's teenage daughter, Mariko, is overly imaginative. She thinks in a previous life she was Charlotte Corday, Marat's murderer. She is provocative with Sidney and it appears early on she wants Sid's semen. Screwed up guy that he is, Sid engages in an affair with her. Unfortunately, IMHO, it would have been nice to have some sex descriptions.

Mariko becomes pregnant and the scene shifts to Montreal where Sid's brother, Leonard, lives. Brian, Jon's brother, lives there too. The story somewhat bogs down after that. Brian platonically, as Mariko's "uncle", boards her and her child for four years, during which time Mariko and her daughter (Charlotte) are banished from Sid's presence, as he lives his life with Natalie. There is a reunion and the story ends.

All in all, it is a good but long read. IMHO, it could have been chopped, and it is a little too descriptive with a tangled and lengthy storyline. I happen to be "story driven", and am biased against overly done character driven stories. Hoffman's use of language and dialogue, however, are worth it.

If you liked "The Hobbit", and "The Lord of the Rings", you'll love this rousing adventure. Magic and miracles abound. These 3 books, comprising one electrifying tale, are tough to put down until the very end.

This is a good read. I had to order the other two books to find out what happens to the characters. This is a nail-biter. In the tradition of "Lord of the Rings" with its own unique personality.

This group of stories take place somewhere between fantasy and reality.

A man goes away to school and eventually becomes a history professor, losing touch with his younger brother. One day, he opens the newspaper and sees a picture of little brother, fronting a popular rock music band. Overnight, the older brother's life is turned upside down, as he goes from being an average college professor to brother of a famous rock star. A westerner living in Japan, accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl, watches as his innocence slowly disappears.

A woman and her fiance are eating in an [trendy] restaurant. Suddenly, she notices an older gentleman a few tables away and screams. The fiance takes her home immediately, and after a good night's sleep, it's as if the incident in the restaurant never happened. A couple of times, the woman says "I won't hurt you," for seemingly no reason at all. The object of her emotional reaction, an actor, appeared in a film a few years previously. It's about a man who befriends a little girl, takes her shopping for a doll, then drugs her, undresses her and photographs her, but otherwise doesn't harm her.

A police officer in present-day Bangkok, Thailand, after reuniting a lost boy with his frantic parents, tells of how his own son, a schizophrenic, committed suicide. Perhaps those who hear voices in their heads are the sane ones, and the rest of us, who can't hear them, are insane.

These stories are really good. Hoffman has done a fine job throughout. They are easy to read, with real people as characters and are highly recommended.

The Empty Cafe is a collection of short stories by a writer I (and probably you) had never heard of - Michael Hoffman. The first impression you get as you read is how musical and flowing the prose is. The second is of being in a strange place without being able to put your finger on where exactly the strangeness lies - everything is familiar, and at the same time not. I would have to - and I plan to - read the book again before I try to explain how the author achieves this effect - if in fact this is an effect he has sought to achieve. A family touring Bangkok suddenly loses their son - has he vanished down a manhole, or what? A staid, up and coming professor opens the paper one Sunday to find his much younger brother transformed into a grotesque, wildly popular rock star. A foreigner living in Japan is accused of assaulting a young girl. The accusation is false. So why is he (as he seems to be) guilty? A cafe waitress has had every experience there is to have except one: she hasn't seduced her kid brother, and she seems to want to. Where does the author think he's taking us?
The final story in the collection is a novella entitled Solitude. It is a murder story, but no detective could ever possibly solve it. I came across this book by chance, and found myself getting into it as I idly skimmed. I haven't decided yet if it is profound or pseudo-profound. I'm still thinking about it.

In this illuminating and inevitably controversial book, Dr. Hoffman, who conducted numerous interviews and visited many of the places where homosexuals congregate, probes, in the depth and style of Oscar Lewis and other masters of the genre, this occult subculture which is hidden from the view of most Americans yet includes millions of their closest friends and relatives. Here are the gay bars, the "orgy rooms" and private cubicles of the gay baths, the private house parties, the homosexual menage or gay marriage, and the rest rooms, the parks, and the streets where homosexuals arrange their liaisons. Here, too, are the "queens," the "twinkies," the aging homosexuals, and the "part-time" homosexuals who are often husbands and fathers in their straight lives.

This book was written in 1968, and does have interesting things to tell us about sexual mores and behaviors both at that point in time and even now, almost 40 years later. I do think it's important to read books like this and compare how much has changed in our society, in our attitudes toward homosexuality, in the awareness and heightened visibility of the queer population, and various behaviors that people engage in. American society alone has seen the issues and feelings and opinions regarding homosexuality become the subject of fierce debate, Supreme Court decisions, congressional discussion, unwilling health care revolution, fodder for jokes and sitcoms and popular TV shows.... So, when you read this, be aware of historical context.

For a mere 160 dollars, I'll never be excited by anything, ever again. Perhaps later in life, when it really becomes important for me to build my own vacuum cleaner, McGyver style, this will be a cherished memory of mine.

After all, buy a man a vacuum cleaner, his carpets will be clean for six or seven years. Teach a man to build a vacuum cleaner from really expensive, specially ordered components, his carpets will be clean for life.

I found the handbook a great reference to all types of vacuum systems. I especially liked information regarding building materials used in vacuum systems.

I'd recommend this book to anyone having basic vacuum knowledge and would like to see different alternatives / ways in creating vacuum.

I am just 15 years old. This book is the ultimate guide for anyone who wants to become stress free and healthy. It explores vegetarianism and other awsome ways to enhance your health. You will not be disapointed after reading this.

I was a little disappointed with this book. A fascinating people, however Dr. Hoffman's descriptions lacked depth, and did not go into the Hunzakut's lifestyle in any detail. A tale of the Hoffman's travels to Hunza was interesting, but not necessarily relevant to the title of the book; neither is Dr. Hoffman's own personal views on the human diet. However it is an interesting read, I am now looking for a book that can look at the Hunza people and their life habits in more detail.

This cookbook has a lot of options. Especially if you're looking for recipes incorporating practically any kind of fruit, there are so many recipes to choose from. There's also a whole chapter on vanilla. I found the best recipes for strawberry ice cream and orange sherbet in this cookbook, after being unsuccessful elsewhere. There are also many healthy options, with many recipes for frozen yogurt and sorbets. If you're looking to expand your repertoire beyond the recipes that came with your ice cream maker, this is a good choice.

This book has many good recipes but the proportions are off sometimes. What should be 2 quarts sometimes ends up becoming 1.

This is such an elegant suspense thriller full of superbly crafted characters - none of them lack real presence, each one of them - even the minor characters - have a distinct and appealing personality. There are, of course, extravagant events and circumstances. And there is also strangeness in having the King and the Prime Minister as prominent characters too. But how did Hoffmann come up with the idea of an elderly female sleuth so early in the history of mystery stories? And then there is that perceptive observation of human nature in all its bizarreness. The more I read of Hoffmann the more I am in admiration:

recommended other reading:
ETA Hoffmann: Tomcat Murr - this is also a mystery but of an altogether more substantial character - far more fanciful
EA Poe: Mystery Stories - more early investigative and psychological thrillers

E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776-1822) was an early exponent of stories imbued with a supernatural twist. His career encompassed several significant endeavors, from music and painting to practicing law. While working in the Prussian civil service, Hoffmann continued to work as a musical instructor. Eventually, he left the service to pursue his first love, working as a music critic, director, and conductor (he changed one of his names to Amadeus in tribute to the famous composer). When Hoffmann realized he would never create great works of music he turned to writing. Within a short time, his short stories gained much attention, eventually influencing later writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, Franz Kafka, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Tchaikovsky's 'The Nutcracker' is based on one of Hoffmann's stories.

This Hoffmann story issued by Hesperus Press, entitled 'Mademoiselle de Scuderi,' does not contain an overtly supernatural theme. Instead, the reader finds within these pages a cracking good murder mystery set in Paris during the reign of Louis XIV. A knock at the door of the Scuderi residence in the middle of the night serves as the impetus for an investigation into a series of murders occurring within the city limits. The murders involve some of the wealthiest people of the time, and the king himself is eager to find out who is responsible for the crimes. Moreover, the murderer is stealing jewelry from the victims, jewelry made by one of the top craftsmen in the country named Rene Cardillac. This jeweler is one odd duck, a man who possesses a fierce jealously about all of the ornaments he creates. As more and more people fall victim to the unknown killer (or killers), Louis creates a special commission called the `chambre ardente' to investigate this blatant crime spree. Will the people responsible be brought to justice or will the killings continue unabated? What will happen if an innocent man is unjustly accused of the crime?

Enter Mlle. de Scuderi, an aging woman who moves in the top circles of Parisian society. The aforementioned knock on her door brings her into the center of the intrigue. This good lady who writes novels and poetry that even the king enjoys immensely finds herself approached by Olivier Brusson, an apprentice to Cardillac who has a strange story to tell. For Brusson, Mlle. de Scuderi is the only hope he has if he wishes to remain among the living. What seems to be a simple case of murder and greed soon blossoms into a tragic love story that will require the assistance of none other than Louis XIV if it is to survive.

The foreword to this version of the story, written by Gilbert Adair, argues that Hoffmann's little tale of murder constitutes the first detective story in western literature, predating Edgar Allan Poe's `The Murders in the Rue Morgue' by many years. The problem with this claim involves the role of Mlle. de Scuderi. Adair attempts to invest this figure with shrewd deductive powers, even comparing her with Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Regrettably, the story does not bear this argument out. Mlle. de Scuderi does little in the way of concrete investigation. Rather, people come to her in order to relate events because of the influence she carries with Louis. More than once she is not even sure who is guilty or innocent. In short, it would seem that Poe's reputation is safe.

Since the story is only eighty-two pages long, further divulgence of plot points or characters will probably ruin the story. If you have any interest in reading Hoffmann's work, buy a collection of his stories so you get more bang for your buck.

This atlas is what you would expect from a star atlas. It lays out everything nicley and has some outstanding pictures to go along with it.

It is hard to please every one with a single star atlas, and indeed a variety of useful versions are out there in the market (e.g Uranometria, Star Atlas 2000, Norton's, Starry Night, Sky
Tools etc.). This release is unique in several ways. The atlas consists mainly of actual widefield photographic images of the heavens, with a transparent overlay denoting objects of interest and constellations lines. This approach is similar to Serge Brunier/Akira Fuji's The Great Atlas of the Stars.

Things I like about this book? 1. objects include several more interesting NGC objects instead of the typical Messier tour. 2. Atlas covers the southern skies, a treatment rarely seen in Northern Hemisphere publications and very valuable 3. Sectors of the maps are logical and not overly crowded. 4. The maps will give you a unique persepective of the night skies that are hard to get with any other atlas. 5. Photos are realistic and do not suffer from perspective distortion common in wide field photos. 6. Quality of the book is very good. Firefly, the publisher, has done a great job.
What do I not like? 1. Photos are good but in my opinion defintely not as good as Akira's (although I thought Akira's was a tad underexposed for that particular class of visual atlas). The Milky Way region in particular appears to be a little too overexposed to be aesthetically pleasing or useful. A little creative photoshopping might be the ticket. The author should have opted to take photos with at least a 6cmx4.5cm medium format camera instead of a 35mm camera for better image quality. Akira uses a large format camera and the difference in quality and resolution clearly shows. 2. Accompanying 1 page facing text is too cursory to give each map sector the full justice, hence relegating the atlas to more as a nice visual planning supplement or for coffee table enjoyment. An advanced hobbyist would probably prefer tables of notable galaxies, double stars, etc. for each map sector.

All in all, this book is unique and definitely worth having in one's collection. I recommend it.

"Parables: Stories Jesus Told" features text adapted by Mary Hoffman and art by Jackie Morris. This children's book presents several of the classic parables of Jesus of Nazareth. The retold stories include the parables of the good Samaritan, the sower, the prodigal son, the unforgiving servant, and more.

The stories are retold with effective simplicity. Morris' artwork is truly wonderful; her warm, rich tones bring to life the Middle East of Jesus' era. Her human faces are full of emotion, and she is also masterful at illustrating sheep, a wheatfield, flatbreads, and other elements.

The only bad thing about this book are the preachy, hit-you-over-the-head afterwords that follow each retold parable. These stories are some of the world's great literature, and should be allowed to speak for themselves; for a children's book, they only need the accompaniment of great artwork.

This is a beautifully written and illustrated book. I love reading it to my children, who love to listen to it. I hope Mary Hoffman will write another, as her prose is so well understood by my kids. Just wonderful!