I loved this book when I first read a library copy 25 years ago, and had been looking to own a copy ever since.

I'm delighted that it's finally back in print

I read this when I was 13, in the eighth grade. It wasn't a very enjoyable or riveting story, although I did not reach a point where I simply wanted to drop it. It's about a young teen guy with an eccentric friend named Homer Fink, and they meet a girl their age. The plot involves which one she will choose as her boyfriend. Though Homer was a relatively odd guy, I don't recall any real humor from the story. It was the first work I read that examined romance at a contemporary (my own age) level, and was valuable from that perspective. It made the point that, at that age, one does not genuinely know what love means, regardless of how much a crush you have on someone. To appreciate this book, it has to hit you at the right time in life. It might be constructive for junior high school teachers to read it, and broach the subject of real romance -- affection between two young people -- with their students.

It feals as if Homer Fink is everybody you know and more. (He might also teach some of the greek gods)

I ENJOYED THIS SHORT STORY. AS I WAS ABLE TO RELATE TO MY CHILDHOOD AS MY FATHER WAS A JEWISH CHARACTER SIMALAR IN A WAY TO THE CENTRAL CHARACTER IN THIS BOOK. WOULD LIKE TO DROP A NOTE TO THE AUTHO. HOW DO I DO THIS?

Sidney Offit is a writer's writer. In this elegant memoir of his father the bookie, Offit has evoked the sense and sensibility of his Baltimore childhood and his father's shady dealings with a fresh and often surprising grace. It's a great read for the details and texture of time and place, but it's also a truly fine piece of writing. A very under-appreciated book by a writer who really should have written something great by now, and perhaps he still will.