Reviews for Jake Fades: A Novel of Impermanence

The average rating for Jake Fades: A Novel of Impermanence based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-04-27 00:00:00 Bob James There aren't a lot of good realistic novels about Zen practice. There are "zenoirs," my nickname for autobiographies by Zen practitioners, but not many novels and no really good ones. The challenge for a Zen novel, of course, is to make Zen practice clear to the uninitiated reader. The author has to do this without intruding too much on the story. So Guy gives us Hank, a narrator who is a long-time Zen student, telling the story as if to someone new or unfamiliar to practice, explaining things as he goes. For the most part, the device works, and we are able to focus on the characters and their interactions without getting bogged down in long passages about Zen philosophy. The portrait of Cambridge, Massachusetts -- where most of this novel takes place - is very accurate and makes a nice treat for any reader who has lived there. The central character, Jake the American Zen master, is very well done, a living presence evoked with very little work, like a good Zen ink painting that creates a moving figure with just a few lines. Narrator Hank could have used less explanation, too. Interspersed with the dialogue (the book is dominated by dialogue) are unnecessary comments by Hank. We get it, Hank. You already told us. The book moves along sweetly and wistfully, right up to its inevitable and inescapable conclusion, and then hits us in the face with a final final revelation about Jake that feels a bit contrived and useless, especially considering the novel's major theme. It wasn't necessary. It was already enough.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-06-20 00:00:00 Paolo Belfiore I was hoping for a good novel. I would have settled for an ok one. This was neither. The plot is pretty simple. It's a little obvious, as well: what happens when Buddhist meditation teacher ages and approaches death. If it had just been that, it might have been ok. What I did not like about the book was the women characters. They are always described by appearance: "dumpy" or big breasted. The main male character could probably be described as dumpy, but he's not. None of the women are close to enlightenment, let alone awareness. The men are the teachers. The female character Jess seems to be rather a male fantasy--a really young attractive woman who is wild to have sex with an older man for no apparent reason--except maybe 100 bucks. I found her actions to really test the edges of belief. The narrator is the dharma heir of the dying teacher. He tries to control his relationship with Jess by refusing to have sex with her. He is so noble for not lapsing and having sex. But she continues to be a temptation only because of her body and pretty much nothing else. The male characters have at least have 2 dimensiones--the women only one. It's also homophobic. It is sadly obvious to me the author doesn't know much about half the human race. Makes me wonder if he knows anything about men either. What could he really know about dharma?