Vachss takes a break from Burke (Another Life, 2008, etc.) to spin an unlikely tale of redemption through renunciation. Abandoned by his prostitute mother to a better life in a monastery, Ho joined the Sun Emperor's Army at 13. After Japan's defeat, his growing fame as a sensei led him to America, where his arrogance caused a favorite martial-arts student's death. Now he wanders the streets with a ragged band of outcasts, "fishing" for handouts during the day and sleeping in coffin-sized dugouts carved into the base of the Hudson River's Pier Nine. Ranger, a shell-shocked veteran who naturally thinks Ho is Vietnamese, gives him his street name, short for Ho Chi Minh. Michael, a compulsive gambler, lives in hope of finding the "mortal lock," a sure thing that will restore his fortune. Lamont, an ex-con poet whose brief fame ended with a crash, knows there's no sure thing, only a fickle public's whims. What Target knows is anyone's guess. Speaking only in rhymes ("Bunny! Sunny! Honey! Funny!"), he desperately seeks company, though he refuses to be left alone with any one other person. Brewster, the most domesticated of the tribe, provides their mission: to move and preserve the vast collection of vintage detective fiction he's stashed in a derelict building slated for demolition. If he can't save Brewster's lifeline to sanity, Ho knows his own life, and his internal haiku, will lack a respectful ending. Covers much of the same felonious ground as Burke's adventures, but with less violence and more compassion.
From the author of the acclaimed Burke series: a searing novel that follows a band of homeless outcasts on a journey to recover what each has lost.
Ho was a revered sensei, but when his dismissive arrogance caused the death of a beloved student, he renounced not only his possessions but also his role as a master, and now roams the streets in search of a way to atone. Drawn by his presence, a group forms around him: Michael, an addicted gambler who has lost everything, including himself; Ranger, a Vietnam veteran with a tenuous grip on reality; Lamont, a once-fearless street-gang warlord turned hopeless alcoholic; Target, a relentless "clanger" who speaks only by echoing the sounds of others; and Brewster, an obsessive collector of hardboiled paperbacks he stashes in an abandoned building even vermin avoid.
Late one night, Michael spots a woman in a white Rolls-Royce throwing something into the river. Convinced that the woman is a perfect blackmail target, he attempts to recruit the others to search for her. But news that Brewster's library is slated for demolition turns this halfhearted effort into a serious mission to find the ultimate problem-solver: money, and with it a new home for Brewster's precious collection.
Each frantic knock opens another barred door as the building's destruction draws nearer. And the answers to each man's questions trigger shocking explosions that hit you with all the visceral power we have come to expect from this fierce and dynamic writer.
From the author of the acclaimed Burke series: a searing novel that follows a band of homeless outcasts on a journey to recover what each has lost.
Ho was a revered sensei, but when his dismissive arrogance caused the death of a beloved student, he renounced not only his possessions but also his role as a master, and now roams the streets in search of a way to atone. Drawn by his presence, a group forms around him: Michael, an addicted gambler who has lost everything, including himself; Ranger, a Vietnam veteran with a tenuous grip on reality; Lamont, a once-fearless street-gang warlord turned hopeless alcoholic; Target, a relentless "clanger" who speaks only by echoing the sounds of others; and Brewster, an obsessive collector of hardboiled paperbacks he stashes in an abandoned building even vermin avoid.
Late one night, Michael spots a woman in a white Rolls-Royce throwing something into the river. Convinced that the woman is a perfect blackmail target, he attempts to recruit the others to search for her. But news that Brewster's library is slated for demolition turns this halfhearted effort into a serious mission to find the ultimate problem-solver: money, and with it a new home for Brewster's precious collection.
Each frantic knock opens another barred door as the building's destruction draws nearer. And the answers to each man's questions trigger shocking explosions that hit you with all the visceral power we have come to expect from this fierce and dynamic writer.
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940172646935 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Brilliance Audio |
| Publication date: | 11/03/2009 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
Videos
