A Fade of Light

October 3, 2022
A young cartoonist’s career ascent coincides with his stepfather’s struggle with dementia in this moving graphic memoir by syndicated cartoonist Fakes (Break of Day). In the 1990s, high schooler Nate gets his first impression of his mom’s then-boyfriend Ron: a talkative Jim Carrey type, perpetually dialed up to eleven. Driving around Toledo with stereo blasting, drumming on the steering wheel, and waving at complete strangers, Ron and his puppy-dog enthusiasm embarrass the teen, but “life was less dull with Ron around.” A business seminar devotee, Ron bubbles over with outlandish schemes, and his passion pays off in a successful landscaping company. He’s equally zealous about Fakes’s artistic pursuits. But, during Fakes’s late 20s, strange slips appear in the still-young Ron’s memory, the familiar gregarious antics skidding into confused episodes that alarm and alienate neighbors and disrupt work. By the time a doctor diagnoses a rare form of dementia, Fakes fears he’s one of the last people sticking by his stepdad, now a shell of his former self. Rendered in homey illustrations seemingly pulled from the funny pages, Ron’s irremediable decline feels all the more disarming. It’s a heartbreaking but loving portrait, swelling with pathos, that will appeal to family memoir readers who might post cut-out strips of For Better or for Worse on the fridge. Agent: Matt Belford, Tobias Literary Agency

September 1, 2022

Fakes recounts his relationship with his stepfather Ron, a zany, affable guy who comes into his life when Fakes is in adolescence. A relationship that could easily be fraught with teenage tension instead but instead feels full of mutual affection. But as Fakes grows up, stumbling toward his calling as a cartoonist, his stepfather's positivity begins to veer towards delusion. Ron invests in dicey schemes and has bouts of inexplicable belligerency. A diagnosis of bipolar disorder seems to address the problem, but the central tension of the book lies in the reader's knowledge that Ron has a form of frontotemporal dementia that goes undiagnosed through most of his cognitive struggles. Fakes's recounting of his experience with Ron is tender but told at arm's length--he reports their interactions sequentially, refraining from interrogating the greater breadth of Ron's life or personal struggles beyond his own experience with him. Fakes's style as a syndicated newspaper cartoonist is reflected in his art, which is accessible, lighthearted, and somewhat static. VERDICT A capable slice-of-life memoir, this captures the denial, frustration, and despair of observing a loved one's fading away.--Emilia Packard

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2022
In author Fakes' teenage years, his divorced mother starts a new relationship with Ron. Unlike her, Ron is loud and outgoing, and Nate and Ron quickly build their own relationship. They spend lots of time together, and while Ron has his faults, Nate very much enjoys his company. As an adult, Nate notices changes in Ron; he begins having mood swings, he becomes forgetful, he loses interest in the things he loves, and he makes some unfortunate choices. Eventually, Ron is diagnosed with Pick's disease, or frontotemporal dementia. Nate's love for Ron is evident throughout the entire book, even after his behavior makes him more difficult to be around; Nate's guilt at taking a job across the country is palpable. The illustrations are black-and-white, but Fakes' artwork is so emotionally expressive and clear that the lack of color will hardly be noticed. Characters are drawn in a cartoonish style, while the setting has a bit more detail. For another graphic novel about dementia from a third-party perspective, recommend Displacement (2015), by Lucy Knisley.

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