I read two Andrew Vachss novels in a row, Flood (his first)
and Blue Belle
(the third, I think). I have to say that I enjoyed his band
of friends above anything else in the books. They may have
been put together as artfully as a focus group, but they are
varied, entertaining, eccentric and certainly not
overrepresented in the hb/thriller/mystery genre or any
other. But will I read any more of his? After Flood the
answer was yes. After Blue Belle, I'm not so sure.
Belle is an incredibly irritating "child-woman," always
begging Burke to pinch her, spank her or let her service him
sexually. Plus she says she loves him on about page three. He
turns out to have a soft spot for her, yet is unwilling to
satisfy her sexually. All right, but do they have to keep
rehashing it all the time? Just so we know he's really a pig
and she's an airhead desperate to be rescued? And do we have
to hear about the disgusting state of his roof several times
a book?
I don't find Vachss preaches on the issue of abused children,
but he does paint the worst possible picture. Babies sold for
their organs -- in New York City? Isn't that one of those
legends that has never been substantiated, even in Third
World countries?
Inconsistencies: Silent Max is Tibetan in Flood and Mongolian
in Blue Belle. Burke's living quarters are accessible only
through a window from the fire escape in Flood, but by Blue
Belle there's a working door. Guess it got too tedious
slogging through the rain etc. and scrambling through a
window just to change his shirt.
Absurd: Strapping a grenade with the pin removed into his
hand and going around like that all day, just in case he runs
into a bad guy he might need to blow up. He'd lose his hand
at the same time, but that's OK. The next day he didn't feel
it was necessary anymore.
Karin Montin
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