Customer Reviews

Jake Fades: A Novel of Impermanence

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's appropriate that "Jake Fades" is about people in the Zen world. Zen takes the impossible and makes it into something that looks easy... until you try it. In the same way, David Guy takes the story of aging, illness, and death and writes his novel in such an easygoing, non-mannered way that it looks like anyone could do it... and since I'm a writer, I can tell you -- it isn't that easy! Guy has provided us with a stirring, funny, canny, emotional novel that features characters as real as in any book I've read. Jake is unforgettable, but so are Hank, Jess, Josh, even Madeline. I am a big fan of Buddhist fiction, from Kate Wheeler to Keith Kachtick, and this is another prime example of a story that is steeped in Buddhism, but is a perfect treat for anyone of any religion who likes to read.

The book begins with an interesting premise - an improbable zen master helps a troubled Dad and son to begin to come together again on a short summer vacation in Maine, starts downhill as Dad thereafter decides to move to Maine and become a student of the aforesaid zen master, and then ends with the trite and improbable rediscovery of the zen master's child. Can you guess who just happens to want to study zen...hmmm, right? Every zen cliche is here under one roof. Start with the cute and eccentric but insightful old zen master who, in this incarnation, repairs bicycles. He can talk to the common people! See their real selves! He's funny and compassionatae! He's a wise fool! He can predict the time of his death! I respect the folks who gave this five stars, but in my estimation this is a seriously flawed book that offers little in the way of insight, instruction or entertainment. For all three, spend your money on "Thank You and OK!: An American Zen Failure in Japan" by David Chadwick.

Hank, the narrator of David Guy's Jake Fades, is a fabulously flawed, funny, smart, no-account, aimless seeker who tells us the story of our lives: How do we know that we know what we know? I wish Hank lived in my town. I'd buy him a beer, invite him to dinner, see if I could get him to stick around. Hank's story is enough to make a cynical atheist want to learn to meditate ... Well, almost.

As a beginning Buddhist practitioner, I really appreciated this book. The characters were real (and flawed). There's no high adventure, no chase scenes, no international plots. It's just a little "slice of life" book about a few people and how their lives interact for a short period of time. The characters were accessible and vulnerable and the plot was believable. David Guy managed to work a lot of Buddhist philosophy into the book without being at all preachy and to give an example of how a guy might actually live those principles out and the impact he could have on those around him.

As someone who has suffered immensely because I could not accept the idea of impermanence, Buddhism has been very helpful. I felt like I got to know Jake (the main character in this book) and was able to take some of his wisdom with me, even as he faded.

I have never read any books in the area of zen fiction, so this one was a new experience for me. I could not put the book down and read the whole thing in one setting. I am a Christian guy who feels that so many of the premises delivered in this book should be used in Christian principles. All the characters were inviting, and Jake, the Zen master is a guy anyone who is on a spiritual path would want to know. Sure, the book has some cliches in it, but it was so refreshing to read a book where all the people are seekers of some sort, decent good people who are all searching for the capacity to love. I might even check out " sitting " myself.

The story is fast-paced and well-told, and I enjoyed reading it, especially the revelation at the end. It focuses mostly on zen meditation retreat practices which I'm not familiar with (the only retreats I've attended are all Vipassana).

The misleading part is when the two main characters slip out of the retreat for an alcoholic drink. Drinking alcohol is absolutely forbidden by the Buddha, and is definitely not allowed in any Buddhist practice, whether Zen, Tibetan, Mahayana or Theravada. As long as you call yourself a Buddhist, you should never sip any alcohol (wine, beer, spirits, whatever) whether in normal activities or in a retreat. There is no exception.

The book gives the impression that it is OK to sip some alcohol if it somehow "helps" you to think through a problem or to "relax" your mind. The whole idea of Buddhist practice is not to relax, numb or befuddle the mind, but to stabilise it, so as to gain awareness, clarity and insight into the thought processes and bodily sensations.

Another misleading point is the somewhat lax attitude towards sex.

Overall, the book gives the impression that Americans are obssessed with alcohol and sex, and that regardless of what spiritual practices are adopted in America, they have to accommodate the locals' need for sex and drink.

Sometimes the quiet understated mood of a book makes me think I should put it aside and pick up another. This is such a book but as I moved into the last third I became caught up in the relationship between Jake, his assistant, Hank, and Madeliene, who designs a center in which Jake can be a guru of Buddhism and teach others. Unfortunately, Jake has episodes during which he forgets what he is saying, where he is, where he should go and who is with him. Hank, who has been as rootless as Jake, is the storyteller, Jake's friend, student and, yes, caretaker. Perhaps this is why Jake is determined that Hank will replace him as a teacher of Buddhism when he dies. Jake studied long in Japan and has traveled a great deal. Everyone loves Jake who has an amazing understanding of people and their problems. He loves chocolate donuts, greasy food and talking with just about anyone. This may be the secret of his success as a teacher. Yet to support himself, he has been a bicycle repairman because teaching about Buddhism just doesn't pay much. As the story unfolds one wants to help Hank cope with both Jake and the temperamental Madeliene who refuses to accept that Jake may not be around to teach in the center she designed for him. The depth of the story becomes apparent as one nears the ending which has a surprise twist that makes one smile and say: "I'm glad I read this book."

The story seemed contrived,as did much of the dialog. Although I enjoyed some of the insights about life and impermance, I never could get past the feeling that what I was reading was a novelistic version of a Hollywood screenplay. The characters just felt like stock movie characters, the plot felt like a movie plot -- it was as though Guy really hoped his story will be picked up by some producer and made into a film. Actually, I think it could be made into a fine movie -- a movie better than the book.

Ever had the experience of thirsting desperately for a read, not just *any*read, but a great read and then having that need met?

Such was my experience with David Guy's "Jake Fades."

I'd googled around for the best Buddhist fiction and Guy's novel kept coming up.

When I began reading it, it seemed a little light, a little coy and I was resisting it.

By the next day, I was up till 3 a.m. turning its pages and looking forward to waking up again and reading more.

Given that this slim work is focussed on the relationship between two (casual and completely relateable) Zen meditators, I guess it wasn't altogether odd that my reading experience was something like a "sitting": lots and lots of resistance, followed by deep immersion and a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction (maybe even a little enlightenment) by the end.

The novel is barely 200 pages long and yet in telling his simple story of Jake, this wonderful, frumpy Zen master you wished you could study with, and Jake's relationship with his student, Hank, his heir-apparent who embodies all the flaws and character defects that we all share, Guy weaves an engrossing and engaging tale of human longing and the beauty of how we somehow become more whole, or at least more connected, by sharing that longing.

Maybe the most wonderful thing about this wonderful book is the way that Guy is able to convey so much compassion and spirituality in such an entertaining way. Guy hits all the marks of great fiction (deft, funny dialogue, memorable characters, slam-bang plot twists & "reveals") while telling us a great deal about both Zen and Buddhism (neither of which I'm an expert about).

By the end, you don't want the book to end and, in fact, it doesn't.

It stays with you, like these funny and fallible characters, because it's a reflection of you and me. Jake and Hank are parts of ourselves, like all of the other characters in the book.

And the beauty of the book is that by meeting and seeing them, we are meeting and seeing our selves.

Just finished reading this book yesterday.What a wonderful book!!!!It's the best book that I've read in a while and am still reflecting a lot on the fantastic characters.Can't wait to read other books by this author.