Haiku [Paperback]

Vachss is a master of the dark side of humanity, with an affinity for society's underbelly, whether writing about crimes against the helpless or documenting the lives of the disenfranchised. In Haiku, a master sensei is set upon atonement for the crime of "humble arrogance" and its consequences, abandoning a lucrative career in the United States, forging a new identity among the homeless, the invisible. Ho- as he is called by the eccentric individuals who gravitate to him as though to a magnetized field- has become a listener, the hubris of his past life no longer acceptable. Yet these men are drawn to Ho, Michael, Lamont, Ranger, Target and Brewster, because he helps them to remain calm in a dangerous environment. Each man carries his own burden, speaks his own language and seeks to survive below the city's radar.

When the emotional security of one of them is threatened, this odd band of brothers gathers to seek a solution, Ho their putative guide. It is in their exchanges that Vachss reveals his profound understanding of human nature and the various ways men can be broken, yet survive. This is a group that has formed for safety and has become attached, one to another however they might, a family of individuals. As Ho progresses on his journey and the others toward some resolution of their life directions, the city is laid bare, the traps laid for the helpless, the dangers of the streets, existence without identity. Each character is explored, strengths and weaknesses, the nobility of their cause and the violence that occurs as the plan goes forward. This is a view of a world most are unaware of, the subterranean levels of subsistence that exist in every city. Vachss leaves his reader with much to ponder, his work always moving and provocative, a mirror of the world that reflects the invisible, at least for a moment before they fade once more into the night. Luan Gaines/2009.

Some of the people who have commented on this book clearly don't get it. If you were expecting a re-hash of the Burke novels, you don't really know Vachss. He's a real writer. In other words, he's not just pounding out pulp novels simply to keep the publishers and the people who want another Burke story happy or to keep his wallet fat. He's constantly perfecting his art, and evolving as both a warrior against child abuse and as a writer. Even at this stage in his career, he's not simply resting on his laurels. I loved the Burke novels, but Burke's story, if it believably follows the natural course of the characters' lives, has run its course. Haiku represents not just a new voice, but a new level of Vachss's writing. And, after reading it, I am highly charged by it.

The voice Vachss speaks through in Ho is very different from Burke's, but it is equally well-crafted, authentic, gripping, and believable. This story is as exciting, entertaining, gripping, frightening, and deep as anything that Vachss has ever written. But it is also, in some ways, more powerful -- at least to me. I say that because of the personal connection I made with this book on the first page. The main character is a warrior. Honor is everything to him. But as the book progresses, he also reveals himself to be an amazing therapist, seeking to fulfill his need to live, and ultimately die, honorably by helping others to empower themselves against their overwhelming demons and discover lives worth living. And the "supporting" characters that Ho is helping to transform in their own journeys are each as unique, engaging, well-formed, and fascinating as Ho. As a former Army Ranger and a child therapist, such a book comes with high expectations and hopes. Haiku has met them in spades.

This is an immensely inspiring book to me, and renews my love of writing not just as entertainment, but as teaching, and as spiritual food. It inspires me to become both a better therapist and live up to the warrior ideal. And I believe it is exactly Vachss's mission to express the spiritual connection between those concepts in this story. Ho is the perfect voice for this message, as his life story is the living embodiment of that message. Burke transmitting this message would have rung false. Burke is neither a warrior nor a therapist. He's a criminal.

In Haiku, Vachss continues to demonstrate his mastery of the art of writing, his dedication to telling truths that most people never see (but need to), and his knowledge of that about which he writes. As with all true masters, Vachss never stops striving for perfection. Look forward to his next one.

Andrew Vachss has done it again. He has captured life on the streets - - the homeless, the dispossessed, the mentally ill - - and has made these disenfranchised people the true heroes of the world. Vachss's vision is a unique one, with a theme that is pervasive throughout his books. He reframes miscreants into heroes and shows real evil where one least expects to find it - - in the ordinary citizen parading as Mr. Good or Mr. Show-off. It is those that we turn away from or that we find invisible or repulsive that Mr. Vachss turns into the super-heroes or saviors of the day. He writes about a cultural underground that many of us have never been privy to, and underground that has its own codes of morality and rule of law, where cities exist in tunnels underneath slums and cultures form based on an unspoken law belonging only to the dispossessed.

HAIKU, Vachss's newest book, fits nicely into his thematic repertoire. Here we find Ho (a nickname short for HO CHI MINH), the leader of a group of homeless me. Ho was once a famous and wealthy marshal arts teacher and dispenser of wisdom. He found himself becoming too grandiose, giving vacuous advice to others and his ego taking over for what should have been a life of humility and learning from others. Because of this, he is responsible for the death of Chica, a young woman who he is mentoring. At first, he is consumed by what he thinks is shame and guilt but later realizes is self-pity. "That same night, I walked away. From the dojo, from my living quarters behind it, from my life." Penniless and alone, Ho makes his way among the tenements and slums of the city, building a secret living area of tunnels below the ground. "The priests had taught us that each man has a personal haiku, a haiku that must emerge from within A master of haiku might be commissioned to produce thousands in his lifetime. But only one could truly express his own spirit." Ho walks alone among others searching for his one true haiku which can bring hime back to his true self.

Accompanying Ho on his journey is Michael, once a rising star in the world of stocks and trading. Michael became consumed with gambling and lost everything including his money, his family, and his job. He is still a gambler a heart as the book opens, not having learned from what his addiction has already wrought. Then there is Lamont, once the leader of a gang. While in jail he taught himself to read, got a GED, and finished college by correspondence. Some people in the literati set noticed him and helped him get a book of poetry published. When he gets out of jail, he enjoys being the center of attention, attending parties and salons. "But then I snapped that I wasn't a star; I was an exhibit in a traveling circus. A petting zoo. "Literary circle" my ass. I was never one of them - - I was just the entertainment. They held me that high up just for the fun of stepping away and watching me crash." Lamont's character reminded me of a protege of Normal Mailer's and Mailer's book about him. Target is also part of this entourage. Mentally ill, he only speaks in rhyme, called clanging. His 'sentences' are always four rhyming words such as 'knife, life, wife, strife.' His clanging may have some covert meaning if one listens closely enough. Brewster, a schizophrenic, and the fourth member of the group has a library of noir mysteries which he stores on the top floor of an abandoned building. "Brewster's every word isw some sort of reenactment of the books to which he is addicted." Then there is Ranger, a Vietnam Vet with post-traumatic stress disorder who straddles both worlds - the world of a soldier in Vietnam and the world of a man living on the streets.

The group is looking for some way to make money. Initially, Michael sees a woman get out of a white Rolls Royce and dump something into the river. He tries to convince the group that blackmailing her might be the way to go because what she threw into the river is likely a body. This is where the plot falls apart a bit because this aspect of the books is dropped midway and is not returned to in a cohesive manner.

We find out that Brewster's building is scheduled for demolition and the group tries to find a way to save Brewster's library. They know that without his library, Brewster will not a reason to live. Together, they come up with a plan to salvage Brewster's books by moving them to another location.

This novel's underlying theme is about what truly makes a good and honest man. Vachss sees honesty, loyalty, commitment and connection in places that other won't look, taking for granted that it can't exist among the homeless, the mentally ill and the disenfranchised. For Vachss, that is where these qualities are most likely to be found. Lamont asks, in this book, "Are the only truly honest people on this earth those others regard as insane?" For Vachss, the answer is probably 'yes'.

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