Summary and Reviews of The Ha-Ha by Dave King

Media Reviews

Booklist - Deborah Donovan King's compelling, compassionate debut revolves around Howie, who suffered a head injury in Vietnam and now can neither speak nor write.....The reader is drawn into Howie's world and roots for him with every first step he takes.

Kirkus Reviews First novel about a man badly scarred in Vietnam, and scarred by it, who at last begins recovery....King will be a writer to watch.

Library Journal - Jim Coan A plot summary of this vibrant first novel may sound depressing, but King handles the story with honesty, skill, and humor....King writes convincingly from inside Howard, offering entertaining descriptions of the small triumphs and sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic mistakes of a man reaching out to the world from deep inside himself. Recommended for all collections.

Publishers Weekly Like Michael Cunningham's A Home at the End of the World, the novel explores familial bonds arising between people with no blood ties, and if the novel lingers too long on its notes, thematic and otherwise..it does so with poise and heart.

Anna Quindlen, Book-of-the-Month Club judge Jo March, Holden Caulfield, David Copperfield, Alexander Portnoy many of literature's most memorable novels became so because the protagonist was utterly unforgettable and completely human. That's the key to Dave King's first novel entitled The Ha-Ha. Howard stays with you for a long, long time afterward, one of those fictional everymen who teach you about yourself just by showing up. I missed him terribly when the book was done.

 Carolyn Parkhurst In this brave and graceful novel, Dave King vividly connects us to a character whose own connections to the outside world are almost nonexistent. As readers, we get to see inside this man, flawed and funny and complex and tragic as he is, in a way no one around him can, and we are grateful to Dave King for that privilege.

 Frederick Busch, author of The Night Inspector The Ha-Ha is a merry, serious inquiry into how love is given and accepted by a memorable string characters for whom you will find yourself cheering. Cheers too for Dave King's accomplished debut.

 Nicholas Christopher, author of A Trip to the Stars The Ha-Ha is an immense pleasure. Stylish and assured, filled with wit and wisdom, its narrative depth and rich characterizations are all the more impressive when one considers that this is Mr. King's first novel, the beginning of what promises to be a wonderful journey-for him, and us.

 Richard Russo, author of Empire Falls

What earthly business does Dave King have writing a first novel as wonderfully accomplished and achingly full of heart as The Ha-Ha?. That's what the rest of us would like to know.