Zen and Sex

Martin is a 24 year old guy who falls in love with a 38 year old woman. He has to grow so fast emotionally that he feels like he just got hit by a speeding bus.Not only is Frances fourteen years Martin's senior, but she's all about putting Zen into relationship, which involves every guy's worst nightmare: talking about your feelings, being conscious of your thoughts and above all, unabashed, honest communication at all times. Martin has no idea what he is getting himself into and the sharp learning curve that's required of him especially when he's in the mood for sex and she wants Zen."This is a short book but contains multitudes. The hero, Martin, is in despair about his ability to maintain a long-term relationship. After a number of failed match-making attempts he finally falls into a relationship with an older woman. At first leery, he realises that the age-gap doesn't matter and goes headlong into the relationship. The book examines what happens when two real people try to negotiate a relationship where each is uncertain about themselves and their feelings. Dermot Davis writes Martin from the first-person perspective, and this gives him the opportunity to delve the depths and scale the heights of Martin's roller-coaster. He writes affectionately and - it seems to me - accurately about the mental contortions that 'real' people go through as they work on their relationships. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's experienced failure and success in their romantic life. You'll recognise your feelings and the feelings of other people as they're acted out. You'll experience the frustration of dealing with a partner who seems to change his or her mind about how he or she feels. And you'll laugh copiously at Martin's attempts to find a way of having a real relationship with a real woman without giving up any essential parts of his own persona." - Keith Dixon, author