'HAIKU', by Andrew Vachss

I've been an ardent fan of Andrew Vachss ever since I picked up my first copy of his 'Burke' books.  I was hooked from the beginning, and remained a devotee of his writing up to and including his final offering in that long running series.  I find that often, after a writer creates such an engaging cast of characters as Vachss did with the 'Burke' series, and then moves on to new literary territory, it's a disappointment.  Many readers feel a sense of abandonment from the voice they were so accustomed to, and miss that familiar feel of place and circumstances that truly gifted writers paint with their craft.  Consequently, I was a little apprehensive when I picked up Vachss' latest book, HAIKU, having been disappointed by favorite authors in the past when they changed horses.  However, within just the first few chapters of HAIKU, it was clear that Vachss has once again captured the truth and grit of life lived by the forgotten, in the dark shadows of a world that many falsely believe is merely a place of fiction.

In HAIKU, Vachss brings readers into the lives of a band of homeless men who have built their family on a foundation of choice; not blood.  Theirs is a brotherhood where devotion to having each other's backs is a matter of honor; not a question ever needed to be asked.  As in Vachss' previous books, the characters are wonderfully complex, and wear the dark diversity of their demons on their sleeves, not hiding behind masks of excuses and blame.  They own their self-inflicted wounds, and band together in a daily struggle for survival on the streets, and their quest for personal redemption.

Initially, the group thinks they've found a perfect opportunity to make some serious money when one of them sees a woman get out of a white Rolls Royce and dump something into the river, which they believe might be the murdered body of her pimp.  They begin planning to put together a blackmail scheme and start their search for the mysterious white Rolls Royce.  However, their white Rolls Royce becomes a quest to save a brother whose life hangs by the threads of his already tortured mind.  Each of the group finds himself having to face the dark reality of their own personal demons even more deeply, and as they fight to save their brother from tragedy, they also wage personal battles to save themselves.  Some find a more secure toehold to salvation in this world, and some realize their reward can only be found beyond this life, and embark on that journey to find peace.

Vachss embraces the dark truth of the reality of life in places many don't want to look, or even admit exists.  He writes of the bare-bones honesty and commitment of men who band together in the world of homelessness and mental illness, and who survive by their own code of justice in a place where conventional justice has abandoned their kind.  It would be tragic to call Vachss' writing merely crime fiction, because it is so much more.

For readers that are already fans of Andrew Vachss, HAIKU is another installment of his wonderful ability of using the fiction genre to shine light into the deep shadows of the life of the often forgotten.  For thsoe who have never read any of Vachss' work before, HAIKU will definitely bring you into the fold of the devoted.