Mixed Pickles - the Book log 2012

The first book of the New Year, an Andrew Vacchs novel (is Vacchs my "turn of the year" author? Cetainly 2009 kicked of with a slew of his work).

Vacchs may have finished with his series character last year, but this novel gives the impression of having been plotted as a Burke vehicle. There is the wise, troubled "leader" and the family of misfits, this time a gathering of homeless who learn valuable life lessons, as does the reluctant head of the family. Ho is a retired sensei with a raft of memories of people he has let down, intent on defeating his own demons. If you have never read a Vacchs before, this one is not going to convert you. Plots peter out, people utter gnomically, nothing much really happens. If you have read Vacchs before, it will remind you of one of the more melancholy Burke novels, but without the graphic details. It's not a thriller, not a "caper", just "a novel". An interesting departure, but not an entirely satisfying one.