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    The Ha-Ha: A Novel
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    The Ha-Ha: A Novel
    Unavailable
    The Ha-Ha: A Novel
    Audiobook (abridged)5 hours

    The Ha-Ha: A Novel

    Written by Dave King

    Narrated by Terry Kinney

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Howard Kapostash has not spoken in 30 years. Ever since a severe blow to the head during his days in the Army, words unravel in his mouth and letters on the page make no sense at all. Because of his extremely limited communication abilities, a small repertory of gestures and simple sounds, most people think he is disturbed. No one understands that Howard is still the same man he was before enlisting, still awed by the beauty of a landscape, still pining for his high school sweetheart, Sylvia.Now Sylvia is a single mom with troubles of her own, and she needs Howard's help. She is being hauled into a drug rehab program and she asks Howard to care for her 9-year-old son, Ryan. The presence of this nervous, resourceful boy in Howard's life transforms him utterly. With a child's happiness at stake, communication takes on a fresh urgency, and the routine that Howard has evolved over the years, designed specifically to minimize the agony of human contact, suddenly feels restrictive and even dangerous. Forced out of his groove, Howard finds unexpected delights (in baseball, in work, in meals with his housemates). His home comes alive with the joys, sorrows, and love of a real family. But these changes also open Howard to the risks of loss and to the rage he has spent a lifetime suppressing.Written with a luminous simplicity and grace, The Ha-Ha follows Howard down his difficult path to a new life. It is a deeply moving and unforgettable story about the cost of war and the infinite worth of human connection.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHachette Audio
    Release dateApr 1, 2005
    ISBN9781594831928
    Unavailable
    The Ha-Ha: A Novel
    Author

    Dave King

    Dave King is a contributing editor at Writer's Digest. He also works as an independent editor in his home in rural Ashfield, Massachusetts.

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    Reviews for The Ha-Ha

    4/5

    350 ratings26 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This story explored the themes of family and communication. Howard Kapostash is a wounded Vietnam veteran whose injury has left him unable to read, write or speak, but who is, as the card he's always reluctant to give people points out, "of normal intelligence." After Howard agrees to look after his ex-girlfriend's son, Ryan, while she is in rehab, Ryan's presence profoundly alters the lives of Howard and his three housemates. This was a very touching story and had me crying in a few places, but with a hopefully yet realistic ending.
    • 4/5
      Gosh I loved this book! It was well written, unique and thoughtful.This is a character driven novel by a first time novelist. The main character, Howard, suffered a traumatic head injury 16 days into his tour in Vietnam and hasn't spoken since. King does a tremendous job having a character who doesn't speak say so much and I really felt the frustrations and moments of sadness that would come from dealing with people who can't or won't try to understand you. The relationships are fraught and tender and so very compelling. I think this novel is a little gem and think it was mostly overlooked when released in 2006.
    • 3/5
      I must say I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. As I was telling Jill the other day, I can't seem to get interested in books with main male characters. Who knows why. But Even though I couldn't relate to Howie, the mute handicapped war veteran who is taking care of a 9 year old, I found myself being taken in by the story. At the end I was ready to throw the book across the room, but I found that I didn't have to.
    • 3/5
      The Ha-Ha by Dave King is a moving novel about loneliness and the struggle to belong. Howard was inflicted with a brain injury during the Vietnam War. He left behind his high school sweetheart Sylvia, whose love he was unable to forget.When Sylvia enters rehab for drug addiction, she asks Howard to care for her son, Ryan. In the span of two months, Ryan changes the way that Howard views himself and the people around him.The Ha-Ha encourages its reader to appreciate the simple things in life. Wrestling with various difficult themes, The Ha-Ha at times verges on the sentimentality of a made-for-tv movie. Although the characters are often flat and predictable, the reader is nevertheless engrossed with their stories. Although The Ha-Ha lacks the depth and complexity I often look for as a reader, I found myself affected by Howard’s struggles with his disability, and was rooting for him as he came to terms with his new outlook on life after Ryan entered his dreary existence.
    • 4/5
      I really wanted to like this book more because I liked the characters of Howard and Ryan a lot. For me, it was a little bit on the depressing side because it was pretty obvious what was going to happen early on. A well written story but for me, it was missing something that I cannot describe or maybe it was just the sadness lurking in the background throughout the entire book that leads me to give only 3.5 stars.
    • 5/5
      Very well written first novel about an ex-Vietnam vet with major injuries who has to care for a moody 9-year old black kid. Characters are engaging and memorable and different enough not to appear together except randomly.
    • 4/5
      Although the title might lead one to think that it's funny, this book was described to me as "depressing." In fact, the title refers to a type of hidden retaining wall, rather than laughter. Either way, though, I wouldn't describe the book depressing myself, aside from the steep slide downward toward the end.Rather, I'd say this book is astonishingly hopeful. Our main character has overcome a great deal of adversity, and managed to make a life for himself despite an injury that has left him unable to speak or to read easily. He has overcome addiction and the death of parents. He has made a life for himself, and achieved an equilibrium largely characterized by his detachment from the people around him.But when his high school sweetheart asks him to take in her 9-year-old son, Ryan, while she goes to rehab, he finds that they are able to form a bond. But perhaps this emotional reawakening is not all that Howard thinks it will be. Inevitably, though, Ryan must return to his mother, and Howard finds his newly constructed world unraveling.This is the depressing part of the book, which perhaps is more drawn out than it needed to be. Again, Howard must struggle, but this time, instead of finding solace in solitude, Howard is able to turn to the relationships he formed through Ryan and find comfort in companionship.
    • 4/5
      A quite different central character. Dark, humorus, sad and frustrating. I do think the reader would have been served better to have a bit more closure.
    • 4/5
      I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. The story and the characters were so very real. Whenever I picked it up, I was immediately immersed in the context of the story. The emotions, from love to anger to jealousy to hate, were all vivid and convincing. I found myself feeling for Howard long after I put it down.
    • 4/5
      This book was written in the unique pespective of a main character who is unable to communicate but has average intelligence. Howard lost his speech in a war accident. Now he is being asked to raise Ryan, his former ex girlfriend's son. The book centers around Howard and his perceptions of the people around him. I enjoyed this book but it wasn't the best book. Toward the end, I got bored and started to skip around. But overall, nice read.
    • 5/5
      A wonderfully touching story. The pain of someone who could only communicate by gestures and the pain of not being fully understood was palpable. The weave of the story is natural and understandable. Highly recommend.
    • 4/5
      At first, I felt caught up in the gimmick: a Vietnam Veteran with a head injury who can't talk (that syndrome of "Rain Man", where the impaired status is the main thing). But I got past that, as the story caught me up. The book made me think of the best of Richard Russo (who blurbed it): ordinary folks trying to make the best of a hard life. In the end, the main character pulls out a bit of redemption, which felt right.
    • 4/5
      Howard's life was blown to hell and gone in Vietnam 16 days after arriving in country, when he stepped on a landmine at 18 years old. He's learned to live without the ability to talk, read or write, and he's settled into a routine, but things are thrown off when his ex-girlfriend asks him to watch her 9-year-old son while she goes into rehab. Not overly sentimental in spite of the potential for such.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this book about a disabled Vietnam vet and his relationships.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed the narration of the book. It was a little too short; I wanted it to go on longer and was disappointed when it ended. Loved the relationship between Ryan and everyone at Howard’s house. I was angry at Howard for refusing to attempt any type of communication at all. He was an odd, but good person. I couldn’t figure out if he was related to Ryan or not. Good, short read!
    • 4/5
      Sad, sweet and life affirming! I really enjoyed this book.
    • 5/5
      A character study kind of a book about the gradual transformation of the protagonist. Nicely read and recorded.
    • 3/5
      It definitely takes some effort to get into this book. The end is worth it
    • 4/5
      I loved the story but I wanted more for the mute with regular intelegence. I wanted s something to happen for him to fight to talk or Wright or hand sign, something. The story left me hanging. disappointed.
    • 5/5
      I really loved this book. the perspective from the main character was very interesting and made me feel for him. Although I thought the ending needed more.
    • 3/5
      I like the book but why is there music in between of chaptures?
    • 4/5
      An interesting story about a Vietnam vet who lost the ability to read and speak after getting hit by a landmine in country. Howard's life consists of his job at a convent, the people who board in his large Victorian home, and his high-school sweetheart (the junkie) and her son. When she goes into rehab he takes in her 9 year old son, Ryan, and finds that maybe he isn't as satisfied as he thought. A really neat take on what makes a family a family, and how we all have a choice in our happiness, if we are not afraid to take chances. Kind of drags in places, but all in all a good read.
    • 5/5
      Oh my god, it is a book from the point of view of a man who can't speak. And it is great. And you will learn a new landscaping term that you didn't know before: what is a ha-ha? When you read, you will find out.
    • 2/5
      About a Vietnam vet who can't talk who develops a relationship with his ex-girlfriend's son. Pretty ordinary.
    • 5/5
      LOVE the character, the mute Vietnam vet. The best thing King does is just pile on the problems for poor Howard, until things look beyond hope. Sylvia is so deliciously evil, and Ryan is believable AND loveable even though he is a kid. I haven’t felt so close to a character in a long time.
    • 2/5
      like the concept of this one but found it hard to read