gone abroad I sit under the tv lights and am interviewed again I am asked questions I give answers I make no attempt to be brilliant. to be truthful I feel bored and I almost never feel bored. “do you?…” they ask. “oh, yeah, well I…” “and what do you think of…” “I don’t think of it much. I don’t think too much…” somehow it ends.
that evening somebody tells me I’m on the news we turn the set on. there I am. I look pissed. I wave people off. I am bored.
how marvelous to be me without trying. it looks on tv as if I knew exactly what I was doing.
fooled them again.
from Dangling In The Tournefortia - 1981 Charles Bukowski
Media Fact Sheet Hard-Boiled Men By: Guy Jacobs IUniverse (2006)
Major Themes:
• Single life in NYC • Interfaith Dating • Sexuality • Breakups/Divorce • Academic Life
Awards:
• 2007 New York Book Festival Award • 2007 Hollywood Book Festival Award • 2006 DIY Book Festival Award
Guy Jacobs and Gilda Carle on CNBC:
Synopsis:
Follow under-sexed, over-analytical university professor Dr. Benjamin Wise, fresh off a horrific break-up, on a journey to reawaken his libido. Set against the backdrop of Asian massage parlors, University hallways and West Village anarchy, Hard-Boiled Men provides an honest and hilarious account of single life in New York City. The book exposes men’s secret thoughts on the nature of love, marriage, and sexuality.
Although Hard-Boiled Men is as likely to infuriate as entertain, Guy Jacobs’ account of promiscuity and debauchery on the road to love speaks to our eternal quest for intimacy, home and finding out just who we are.
Reviews:
“There’s nothing soft about the new novel “Hard-Boiled Men”. Guy Jacobs is a fresh, real and talented new author who has written a solid, humorous tale of a fictional university professor on a journey of single-life in a Big City.” -PageOne Reviews
“Powerful, inspiring and heartfelt. Hard-Boiled Men is The Catcher in the Rye all grown up; there’s a little bit of Ben Wise in every one of us.” -Dr. Paul S. Lieber, Emerson College
“I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who ever dealt with a divorce or a breakup form a person they loved. In his own unique way, Jacobs successfully takes his readers into a funny and sometimes surprising tour of that enigmatic mind of the single man. Hard-Boiled Men reminded me of a modern day Portnoy’s Complaint or a sober Jewish version of Charles Bukowski.” -The Compulsive Reader
Guy Jacob’s character Ben Wise is completely intoxicating, seductive, confused, true to life, addictive, and a character to be identified with. Jacobs is truly a talented writer effortlessly able to keep you riveted and enthralled from cover to cover. This novel is a breath of fresh air to the usual single/dating life account cleverly laced with a healthy dose of humor. Nothing about this novel is ordinary from the characters to the racy love scenes. You will put it down feeling completely entertained and satisfied. -Sherri A. Marchese
Author Bio: Guy Jacobs is a professor in a midsized state university. He has published dozens of academic journal articles and has been featured on national television as an expert in the media field.
Jacobs is an alumnus of New York University where he conducted his graduate studies and is well known for his true to life depiction of Manhattan’s fast pace nature. While Hard-Boiled Men has been argued by some to be somewhat explicit, the novel has won praise for its literary contribution to the new journalism movement. Jacobs’ writing style has been widely influenced by the writings of such authors as Charles Bukowski, Henry Miller, Philip Roth and Jerzy Kosinski.
Media Appearances:
StyleWiz on CNN February 2007 StyleWiz on CNBC February 2007
Website: www.hardboiledmen.com
Contact for Media Inquiries: Sivan Media Group PO Box 800018 Aventura, FL 33280 hardboiledmen@yahoo.com
Book Review Hard-Boiled Men Guy Jacobs From: www.compulsivereader.com
Direct link: http://www.compulsivereader.com/html/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1828
Hard-Boiled Men By: Guy Jacobs IUniverse, 2006 ISBN-10: 0595382444
When I first picked up my borrowed copy of Hard-Boiled Men, I took a long and careful look at those eggs that seemed to roll out of the bright red cover and in to my fingers. There is no doubt that this book is unlike most contemporary novels. First time author, Guy Jacobs does not bother to go into deep character development, foreshadowing, Situational Irony or any other commonly used literary devices. What the author does provide is an extremely straightforward and forthcoming account of the heartache and loneliness that often compliment single life in NYC. But do not mistake this book for a somber one. Hard-Boiled Men is an hilarious read. I could not stop laughing throughout it at.
The first chapter of the book takes place in a midtown Asian massage parlor where Jacobs leaves little to the imagination. Jacobs’ style of writing can be explicit, at times bordering on pornography. But there is so much more. Beyond those few chapters that made me blush, I found Hard-Boiled Men to be a thought provoking novel. Some of the main issues that the novel deals with are intercultural and interfaith relationships, fear of commitment as well as lots of sexuality. But no issue stands more clearly in this book than is Benjamin Wise’s quest to regain his faith in the concept of finding true love and his attempt to let go of his past.
I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who ever dealt with a divorce or a breakup form a person they loved. In his own unique way, Jacobs successfully takes his readers into a funny and sometimes surprising tour of that enigmatic mind of the single man. Hard-Boiled Men reminded me of a modern day Portnoy’s Complaint or a sober Jewish version of Charles Bukowski. I highly recommend this fun and thought-provoking novel.
Hard-Boiled Men By: Guy Jacobs IUniverse, 2006 ISBN-10: 0595382444
When I first picked up my borrowed copy of Hard-Boiled Men, I took a long and careful look at those eggs that seemed to roll out of the bright red cover and in to my fingers. There is no doubt that this book is unlike most contemporary novels. First time author, Guy Jacobs does not bother to go into deep character development, foreshadowing, Situational Irony or any other commonly used literary devices. What the author does provide is an extremely straightforward and forthcoming account of the heartache and loneliness that often compliment single life in NYC. But do not mistake this book for a somber one. Hard-Boiled Men is an hilarious read. I could not stop laughing throughout it at.
The first chapter of the book takes place in a midtown Asian massage parlor where Jacobs leaves little to the imagination. Jacobs’ style of writing can be explicit, at times bordering on pornography. But there is so much more. Beyond those few chapters that made me blush, I found Hard-Boiled Men to be a thought provoking novel. Some of the main issues that the novel deals with are intercultural and interfaith relationships, fear of commitment as well as lots of sexuality. But no issue stands more clearly in this book than is Benjamin Wise’s quest to regain his faith in the concept of finding true love and his attempt to let go of his past.
I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who ever dealt with a divorce or a breakup form a person they loved. In his own unique way, Jacobs successfully takes his readers into a funny and sometimes surprising tour of that enigmatic mind of the single man. Hard-Boiled Men reminded me of a modern day Portnoy’s Complaint or a sober Jewish version of Charles Bukowski. I highly recommend this fun and thought-provoking novel.
Around the corner of 68th and Columbus there was a Christmas tree stand that offered a variety of trees of all shapes and sizes to the people of New York. The many who live alone settle for one of those shorter trees that are easier to carry. Those usually went for $30. They cost $25 to those who knew how to bargain down. Those with families, especially the ones who had children had to go for the large ones. Those were much more expensive. But nothing made Christian people feel more blissfully festive that those glittering lights that shun within the realm of that fresh winter pine. Or at least that was what they always told me.
Regardless of what anyone may say or think, there was something special about the Christmas season for any of us regardless of religion. These days, no one is allowed to refer to it as the Christmas season any longer. You were supposed to say the Holiday season. No one wanted to offend anyone else these days. We were all tipping toeing around one another’s hypocritical toes.
Even though the snowstorm was getting worst with every passing minute, she continued to stand out there in the cruelty of the snow. On the other side of the window, people sat gathered within the confines of that corporate warmth. Sipping on hot chocolates and soy lattes, they had no sympathy for the poor Christmas tree girl who was freezing her tits off for $6.75 an hour. To those who actually took the time to notice her, she appeared like an anomaly, like a white polar bear who ran around the Central Park zoo, like the kind of a person whose disposition made us all feel that much better about our own lives.
It was rather atypical for me to find myself around these parts of the city. I never really understood what the big deal was about the upper west side.
An hour later, as the wind bashed across my face, I thought about it all and smiled away. Holding on to a small Christmas tree under left armpit and her number scribbled on a small note within my right pocket, I felt so alive and thought about just how great it was to be a Jew in Manhattan around this time of the year.
