THE HA-HA

Both tough and sweet, this debut novel concerns a brain-damaged Vietnam vet who loves a coke-head single mother with whom he once had a drug-soaked affair. To this day, though he's clean and sober, he still can't say no to her. So when she's hauled off to rehab, he accepts care of her 9-year-old. Of course, what follows becomes a life-altering experience. Maybe he can barely speak, maybe he sound like an idiot, but he has no trouble articulately telling his story with, thank goodness, a sense of humor. The fine stage and screen actor Terry Kinney gives voice to our hero--a dull one unfortunately. Kinney merely recites the words, getting the phrasing right, but expressing few values and little energy. He comes to life only during the more dramatic dialogue. Y.R. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE/JULY 05]