The Monk Downstairs

I was beguiled. I was charmed. Within the first chapter, I was so intrigued by the characters that I didn't put the book down until I finished it - about 6 AM the following morning!Tim Farrington is simply the most amazing writer I've come across in a very long time. His style is simple, yet elegant. He uses words as if they were jewels, sprinkling them just right across the pages to make the story sparkle and glow.Please don't mistake this book for a romance novel. It is a story of love, but has none of the trademark purple prose of romance novels. The protagonists are finely-drawn, three-dimensional people. Rebecca, the single mother, is Everywoman - we are her and she could be us. Mike, however, is unique as a character; how many times have you come across an ex-monk?It's the humanity that shines through every page. This is life with a capital L, and you feel so lucky to be an observer into these people and their hopes and problems.I can't say enough good things about The Monk Downstairs. Reading this book has convinced me to buy all of Farrington's works.

Once I started this book, I was hooked. Tim Farrington has a way of bringing his characters to life with a few well-chosen words. Rebecca, the disillusioned divorced mom trying to raise her six-year old daughter; Michael Christopher, the disillusioned monk who has failed at monastic life and is now cooking burgers at Mcdonald's; Phoebe, Rebecca's witty and oh-so-California mother; Rory, her immature, surfer-dude ex-husband, Bob Schofield, the over-eager suitor who just won't give up his hopeless pursuit. Somehow they all become real in this beautiful, sensitive romance. Will they ever work things out? What will it cost them? For beneath the surface of this love story the author is asking a deeper question. What is the meaning of love itself? The love of God or the love of men and women. What is it really? What is its cost? The novel is never preachy, but a deep religious consciousness lies just below the surface. Real love is more than ecstatic emotion, it says; it is faithfulness, constancy, washing dishes, picking up the child from daycare, sitting quietly with the one you love without saying a word, no matter how much it may hurt.You will laugh, you will cry, you will blow your nose a few times. And you will want to read it again. This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. I wish I could give it more than five stars!

This could easily have gotten maudlin: a late-30s single San Francisco mom rents her downstairs apartment to a monk who, due to spiritual distress, has just left the monastery. They fall in love. He's a good kisser. He's nice to her kid. He supports her through the illness of her mother. They stay in love. The end.But it is so wonderfully written - so funny (you will laugh!) and warm - and the author gives such a rich inner life to the characters - that the book transcends its plot. The most remarkable, wonderful feature of Farrington's writing is that every character is complex and multi-dimensional. Mike, the ex-monk, is not just some boilerplate Nice Guy. His internal struggles with living in the "real world" seem completely believable and sympathetic. Rebecca, the mom, is funny and smart, but also quirky. Even characters who occupy no more than a page or two - the judge at a trial, or the receptionist at the graphics firm where Rebecca works, or an eccentric friend of Rebecca's mom - they are all fully developed, interesting, distinct people.How does the author do this? I have never seen such a remarkable ability to put a flesh-and-blood character into just a few lines of text.And funny, did I mention it was funny? Funny and spiritual at the same time...you can't beat that. I really hope everyone gets a chance to read it.

I think this shall be one of my all time favorite books. It speaks to the risk of love versus the acceptance of a safe, yet solitary existence. It speaks to the risk of one exploring and accepting another versus that of one gliding from one superficial entanglement to another, precluding real intimacy. One wants the happy ending... but is it worth all the pain that accompanies the risks?This is a story that grips you immediately. The story is about a single mom who fixes up the in-law apartment of her house so as to increase her income. Funny thing, the person who shows up has no money and no furniture. He is a monk who has recently left the monastery. However unsure, once she sees the interaction between the monk and her six year old daughter, Mary Martha, her decision is affirmed. As the friendship develops, Rebecca waits for the proverbial shoe to drop. She has conceded that she is to remain alone for the rest of her days, but Mike, the monk, captures her imagination providing her a healthy dose of giddiness followed by a pervasive topping of fear of what may be too good to be true. This story captures the emotional risks we all take when we open to love again. It is that fear that rests in the gut. This is also a story that invites the reader to explore his/her own relationship with a "God" whose message isn't always crystal clear. Again, it is about acceptance and risk.Rebecca and Mike are surrounded by a group of wonderful people. These people are not too neurotic, not too "over the top". Their assortment of idiosyncracies are reminders of the real people who surround us: wishing for our happiness, fearing for our hurts. Perhaps my only disappointment is the fact it is cigarettes that provide the initial sensory connection for Rebecca and Mike. So it is not a perfect world after all.