Customer Reviews

Strega

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Strega, my first Andrew Vachss novel has definitely not been my last. One of the most intriguing and philosophically stimulating authors I've read; a rare find in this genre. Vachss delivers poignant insights into our modern society & human interaction. These insights are woven into an exciting story of good (sort of) vs evil (the vilest), populated with characters more bizarre than even Hiassen creates. There are only few authors about whom you can say 'I'd read anything he/she wrote'- Vachss is one of these.

It is film noir on paper. It IS New York Haiku. It is a delight.

The opening scene of "Strega," in which Burke stallks a stalker, is as effective as anything he's written. The climax is so good, the rest of the book is almost a letdown. But never fear, beyond the opening Vachss sends Burke in pursuit of the subject closest to his heart, a child being sexually abused. You know that Burke is going to find and confront those responsible. How he gets there, with the help of the "witch" Strega, is well worth the price of admission. This is one of Burke's best adventures.

When I first read this book, I immediately read it again. It is about a private detective, ex-con who goes where the law cannot and seeks what citizens either cannot stomach or like to ignore. It is a crash course into the hard, sick industry of child-molesters and child abusers. The P.I. Burke is a few degrees above totally criminal, but righteous enough to seek justice. The story entertained but also opened my eyes to a world of just plain evil.

"Strega" is Andrew Vachss' second novel starring Burke, the hard-boiled, in-your-face, ex-con detective, who still isn't sure on which side of the law he prefers to operate. Abandoned at birth, father and mother unknown, Burke has no real first name. "Baby boy" is the name on his birth certificate. The novel is set 1980s NYC, before Mayor Guiliani came to office and cleaned up the mean streets - or tried to. "Strega" is also the first Andrew Vachss book I have read. I must say, I am very impressed by his writing style and storyline. Most of the Burke series deals with hunting down and prosecuting child molesters, as does this novel. Mr. Vachss has selected a noble cause, and deals professionally and knowledgeably with the topic. The author is a lawyer, specializing in prosecuting child abuse cases, so he certainly has the expertise to be an advocate. He openly admits that he writes about the abuse of children because he wants to raise people's awareness of what's going on, and he'll reach a wider audience with fiction.

P. I. Burke is the narrator. And the narrative, at times, goes off on a tangent, like Burke's thought processes. The PI is a careful guy. He always returns to make his point. I think this occasional stream of consciousness is extremely effective and enhances the detective's persona. Vachss still manages to maintain a tight writing style throughout. Everything and everyone comes under Burke's cynical, seen-it-all scrutiny. I have never learned more about the underworld and life behind bars than in this novel. I find the descriptions of the seamier side of life, the one "citizens" rarely observe, to be fascinating. Burke's expert eye takes in details of life on the street that I never would. "The streets were quiet, but if you look close, you could see things. Two guys standing against the wall of a darkened gas station - the wool caps on their heads would turn into ski masks when they pulled them down, hands in their pockets. A lonely prostitute in a fake-fur coat with a white mini-skirt underneath, looking to turn one last trick before she called it a night. A van with blacked-out windows driving by slowly, watching the woman while the two men in the shadows watched the van. In New York, the vultures work close to the ground."

Vachss populates his world with a colorful assortment of characters: Max the Silent, a mute Mongolian version of Conan the Barbarian with creative ways of communicating; Pansy, a vicious Neapolitan mastiff, just like the kind that came over the Alps with Hannibal; the Mole, a pasty-faced genius who lives in a bunker beneath a high-tech junkyard; the Prophet, a scam artist who has done too much time behind walls to care; Mama Wong, group doyenne and Chinese restaurateur, "keeps her prices high and the ambience foul to discourage yuppies." She cares for the gang and holds Burke's stash; Michelle, a gorgeous transvestite who needs to "break out;" and Immaculata , Max's Vietnamese love interest, a child therapist. I should add here that our hero drives a souped-up Plymouth, another important character. It usually looks like it's been painted with rust. That's the fresh coat of primer it almost always sports - "the Mole makes sure to change the car's color after it is used on a job."

Julio, a big-shot mob figure and acquaintance of Burke's, strong-arms the PI to take a new case. Julio's close family friend, Gina, is an Italian princess with lots of charisma. She is desperate to recover an obscene photograph of a little boy. The child, Scotty, is her six-year old daughter's playmate. Gina calls herself "Strega," ("a witch-bit*h you could lust after or run from. You could be in the middle of a desert and her shadow would make you cold."), is not above manipulation or anything else that will assist her in getting her way.

The search for the Polaroid picture will take Burke and his band of men to the dark side, to a world they never wanted to know, filled with the anguish and pain of children.

Realistic - some of the toughest prose I've read - amazingly lifelike characters - riveting! What more can I say??
JANA

While later on in this series he takes an unfortunate turn into action novel territory (from which he's slowly recovering), this is probably the best book in the whole series. If you're looking for the hardest noir out there, this is the farthest you'll get before having to raid the small presses. This comes after "Flood" in the chronology, although I don't think it's necessary to read that novel first (although it too is quite good.) "Strega" is not a wonder of the English language, but it is razor sharp in terms of characterization and visualization. Vachss doesn't think much of himself as a writer, but here he shows he has chops. His spare descriptions are vivid. It should be noted, however, this book is not for the weak of stomach. It's not gory so much as...you see more of the evil side of humanity in this book than you ever want to in real life, let me put it that way. Not a beach read, but an excellent book.

This book certainly has all the noir atmosphere and gritty authenticity that Vachss is known for, but in other respects it's not all that strong. The plot here is very thin; for all its brevity, the book is bulked up to a certain extent with a lot of peripheral stories and vignettes, which, while often fascinating in themselves, feel a little too much like filler. This feeling is reinforced by the extensive description of actions toward an end: getting in the car, driving up the West Side Highway, going and getting the dog...

Other elements contribute to this sense of flaccidity. The character of Strega is not really sufficiently developed, and her psychology is not very convincing. Vachss's secondary characters - the Mole, Max the Silent, Michelle - are always fun, but they tend to border on parody; and while I always enjoy them in themselves - especially Max - Vachss flirts with the risk of undermining his credibility with their over-the-top portrayal.

The net result is a lack of the tension that is what a book like this is supposed to be about. There's really very little suspense, and while I will continue to follow the series for at least another book or two, I'll be hoping for a bit more of a payoff.

A couple years ago, I read Flood, the first book in Andrew Vachss's series of Burke novels. It was a good novel, albeit rather grim. I always figured I'd read another in the series, but it kind of fell off the radar for a while until recently. With Strega, the second book in the series, I am back to Burke and this time I think I'll stick with him for a while.

Burke is an unlicensed private eye working the mean city streets. Although he has something of a moral code, he is also a scammer and petty crook who's done time and could easily be doing it again. In Burke's world, there are the citizens (the "regular" folk who are law-abiding) and the street-wise, who exist on the fringes. Burke is clearly in this second class as are most of his acquaintances.

In Strega, Burke is drafted by the title character to obtain a photograph. This Polaroid of her young nephew documents an act of pedophilia; she feels that if she can destroy the photo in front of the boy that he will begin to recover from the trauma. For Burke, this is a needle in a haystack sort of case, but he takes it on, motivated primarily by the promise of big money (and some not-so-subtle threats). His search will take him into the seedy world of child pornography.

The supporting characters in the Burke books are both a strong point and a weakness. On the one hand, they make the story more interesting; on the other hand, they are generally so off-beat that they can take away from the gritty realism: we have Max the deaf-mute killer giant, the Prof who constantly speaks in rhyme, Mama Wong the restaurant owner who is almost a stereotype and Michelle the transvestite prostitute with a heart of gold. Yes, they are entertaining, but they're on the brink of being silly which is not an adjective that fits well with this story (fortunately that line is never really crossed).

The only other real flaw with this book is that it takes a while (nearly 100 pages) for the plot to really go anywhere. Fortunately, there is enough going on outside the main story to keep the reader intrigued. Strega is a nice, tough-guy mystery that is a good, fast read. If you like your crime stories, hard-boiled, this should satisfy your appetite.

Set in New York City in the 8o's, in this hard-boiled plot about Child Pornography, we get a good sense of the realism behind the criminal mind and behavior as well as a realistic graphic depiction of the darker side of New York City.

I guess my big problem with the main character Burke is that he is such a self-righteous goodie two-shoes as are his dysfunctioanl band of cohorts cut from the pages of Doc Savage and Smiley's People. His heart of gold meshed with his criminal background doesn't seem to cut real for me.

The ending too, was a bit dissappointing and not completely shocking since there are plenty of precursors to let you know there is something wrong with Strega. I think alot more could have been done with it.

As a mystery writer with my debut novel in its initial release, I've always considered STREGA as Andrew Vachss's best book. This novel is the most noirish of the Burke novels. It is well written and dark. Burke's world is a tough place, and one has to be tough to endure. The plot is strong and takes some surprising turns. The characters fit their purposes perfectly. If you can only read one book by Andrew H. Vachss, make it STREGA.

Mr. Vachss has practically written a manual to monsterdom with Strega. As it stands, Strega is a small chapter in true horror--- not just fictional crime. Although laced with his short, sometimes crude sentencing, it punches hard and leaves you wondering if Mr. Vachss could possibly be Burke, the main, and eerie character himself. Max, the silent giant, gives you chills as he snaps bones, then slips between the shadows like a shark. The Mole, a eccentric junkyard whiz. Every character has been well thought out--- again, leaving you to wonder... Strega leaves you scared.., fearing who that sweet old lady across the street really is... Why does she stay up all night, and what are those sounds? Strega.., definately brings out a horrific feeling, but it's one that everybody should be aware. Vachss is willing to do what most won't.., make a stand against the truest of all evil. He did amazingly well with Strega.