Michael Hoffman (5)

This is a Goodreads Giveaway...3.8 Stars. I was really excited to read this and for the most part it was an interesting read. I wanted to love this book though - and I only loved some sections of it. I did find it difficult to follow because there seemed to be an issue with the organisation and flow of the essays...and some essays just seemed self-indulgent to me. I would like to read other work by this author though as I think maybe the book comes across as disjointed because the essays show more were not meant to be put together in the same volume? show less

Set in present-day Canada, somewhere near Toronto, this is the story of Len Fishman. In his mid-40s, he has returned home after 25 years of aimless wandering, mostly in Africa. He lives with his mother, in the house in which he grew up, sleeping on a couch in what used to be his room.

Len discovers that Saul, his father, was an amateur philosopher who, perhaps, was not totally faithful to Len’s mother. Saul is now a patient at a local geriatric center, suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease. show more Along the way, Len runs into Ron Bloom, his old high school English teacher, now running for a seat on the municipal council. Ron arranges a mini-class reunion with Len’s classmates who have stayed in the area. Ron gets elected, and becomes an advocate for the youth of the town. His stay on the council is short; he is forced to resign because of an inappropriate relationship with a student that happened 30 years ago.

Why does Len stay in town? Is it to resume his discipleship with Mr. Bloom, who encouraged him to become an English teacher (how he earned money while living overseas)? Is it to recover his past via a girl he had a crush on in grade five? Saul, his father, doesn’t recognize him anymore, and wouldn’t miss him if he left.

This is another of those "quiet" stories that, by the end, turns into a really good story. It could take place almost anywhere, and be about any family. show less