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DavidRM · 10-13-2010, 05:17 PM

I just finished "Haiku" by Andrew Vachss.

Here is my review (also posted on my blog):

I read my first book by Andrew Vachss when a friend of my wife's was giving away paperbacks he had read and no longer needed. That was Blossom, one of Vachss's "Burke Series". I was blown away by the raw violence and the gritty, street-level view of American city life. Across 2006 and 2007, I read 5 or 6 of the other books in the Burke series as I saw them at the library. Vachss, along with Neil Gaimin, helped me see the full range of what could be expressed with the written word.

Unfortunately, I was thinking "Burke" when I read Haiku.

There are some similarities: there is the street-level view of an American city, characters with a wide range of dark backgrounds fallen on hard times (or having chosen the street), and compassion and justice for people and situations that the middle and upper classes of America tend to not even see.

I enjoyed reading Haiku. But I'm not sure I really got it. Which could be because I was Braced for Burke, but I think there's more to it than that. Haiku is a much more subtle novel than any of the Burke books I've read. Burke books are about revenge, hard-edged street justice, usually involving robbery, assassination, or both (and more). There is violence in Haiku, but it's not the point. There is even a Burke-like robbing of a wannabe-pimp, but, again, that's not the point. The point, I think, of Haiku is about people finding themselves again (or maybe for the first time).

Vachss isn't at his storytelling best in Haiku, maybe because he was trying to not write just another Burke novel. There are some backstory/flashbacks near the beginning that could have been handled more deftly, I think. And the story itself seems to twist and turn, focusing on this, then that, almost like it's being blown back and forth as the novel continues. Maybe this is more the subtlety that I wasn't prepared for...or maybe not.

In any case, Haiku is a good read. I like Vachss, and I like his view of the world. And it looks like I've got a good dozen or so books of his to catch up on...

-David

10-13-2010, 05:17 PM	#6731
DavidRM Addict Posts: 203 Karma: 1007768 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma Device: Kindle	I just finished "Haiku" by Andrew Vachss. Here is my review (also posted on my blog): I read my first book by Andrew Vachss when a friend of my wife's was giving away paperbacks he had read and no longer needed. That was Blossom, one of Vachss's "Burke Series". I was blown away by the raw violence and the gritty, street-level view of American city life. Across 2006 and 2007, I read 5 or 6 of the other books in the Burke series as I saw them at the library. Vachss, along with Neil Gaimin, helped me see the full range of what could be expressed with the written word. Unfortunately, I was thinking "Burke" when I read Haiku. There are some similarities: there is the street-level view of an American city, characters with a wide range of dark backgrounds fallen on hard times (or having chosen the street), and compassion and justice for people and situations that the middle and upper classes of America tend to not even see. I enjoyed reading Haiku. But I'm not sure I really got it. Which could be because I was Braced for Burke, but I think there's more to it than that. Haiku is a much more subtle novel than any of the Burke books I've read. Burke books are about revenge, hard-edged street justice, usually involving robbery, assassination, or both (and more). There is violence in Haiku, but it's not the point. There is even a Burke-like robbing of a wannabe-pimp, but, again, that's not the point. The point, I think, of Haiku is about people finding themselves again (or maybe for the first time). Vachss isn't at his storytelling best in Haiku, maybe because he was trying to not write just another Burke novel. There are some backstory/flashbacks near the beginning that could have been handled more deftly, I think. And the story itself seems to twist and turn, focusing on this, then that, almost like it's being blown back and forth as the novel continues. Maybe this is more the subtlety that I wasn't prepared for...or maybe not. In any case, Haiku is a good read. I like Vachss, and I like his view of the world. And it looks like I've got a good dozen or so books of his to catch up on... -David