The Ha-Ha by Dave King
Review by Jed Geiman
Beyond the striking title and wonderful jacket (design by Carol Hayes), the element which first struck my interest in this book was its unusual protagonist, a simple man by the name of Howard Kopastosh. Howard is a Vietnam War veteran who suffers from a brain injury which has rendered him unable to speak. He lives a stoic, day-to-day existence in a large Victorian house he's inherited from his parents, along with a younger Asian woman named Laurel and two dopey 20-something guys he calls Nit and Nat.
Howard finds his life and his behaviors shifted around after a flaky ex-girlfriend (for whom he still pines) drops off her 9-yeard-old boy for him to look after. The relationship they create and the changes Howard undergoes as a result are the fodder for this fiction.
From a context that could become heart-wrenching or treacle, Dave King has crafted a subtle story that creates profoundly beautiful moments from very human situations. Given the extremity of Howard's condition, a lesser author might have taken him too far, but King manages to make him likable despite his flaws.
I've found that in the most memorable novels, there's a particular point where I realize that the author really knows what he or she is doing. It's sort of an "a-ha!" moment, where story and character bond and the novel's import or elegance is revealed. I don't want to give away where that moment occurs in this novel (for me), but it's beautiful writing that gives us the reasoning for the book's title and also gets to the heart of who Howard is and what he has lost as a result of his injury. Suffice to say, moments like that are what make reading pleasurable for me.
"The Ha-ha" is essentially a story about growing up, told from the perspective of an unusual and rewarding character. I highly recommend it.
January 18th, 2006 at 3:56 pm
Nice review. I look forward to the next posting. Hopefully before June.