The Ha-Ha
A Novel
by Dave King
List Price: $13.95
Pages: 368
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0316010715
Publisher: Little, Brown
Howard Kapostash has not spoken in thirty years. The small repertory of gestures and simple sounds that he uses to communicate lead most people to assume he is disturbed, and no one understands that Howard is still the same man he was before a wartime injury.
But when he agrees to help an old girlfriend by opening his home to her nine-year-old son, the presence of this nervous, resourceful boy in his life transforms Howard utterly. He is afforded a rare glimpse of life outside his shell-with all its exuberant joys and crushing sorrows.
top of the page
1. Why do you think the novel is called The Ha-Ha? Given the definition of a ha-ha --- a kind of trick of the eye that conceals a break in the landscape --- how do you think this relates to Howard’s condition, or to the story as a whole?
2. How is the reader’s experience of Howard Kapostash different from the way the other characters experience him? Is the first-person voice used differently in this novel from how it’s used in other books?
3. Consider other novels that attempt to capture human consciousness --- for example, William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury. How do you think the problem is handled differently in The Ha-Ha?
4. What’s your impression of Sylvia? If the novel has a villain, she’s probably it, but how would the story be different if it were told from her perspective? Do you think Dave King has been fair in his portrayal of the female characters?
5. As readers, we learn about Howard’s rehabilitation only toward the end of the book (at the beginning of Part III). How does this affect the way you understand Howard’s character? Would you have liked to know his history right up front? What is gained by the author’s withholding of this information?
6. How is the idea of family important to The Ha-Ha? What kinds of families appear in the course of the novel? Do you think the novel gives an accurate portrayal of the state of the American family today?
7. The Chicago Tribune described The Ha-Ha as a “novel that fits the definition of a true war story,” despite the brevity of the passages that actually describe war. Do you agree? What do you think is the definition of a true war story?
8. Do you see Timothy as a symbolic character or simply a plot element? If he’s a symbol, what does he represent? With regard to the plot, how do you reconcile Howard’s role in Timothy’s fate?
9. What do you think happens after the book ends? Discuss the various characters’ chances for happiness. Have they improved since the beginning of the novel?
top of the page
"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."
—Anna Quindlen, Book-of-the-Month Club judge
"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."
—Richard Russo, author of Empire Falls
"The Ha-Ha is a merry, serious inquiry into how love is given and accepted by memorable string characters for whom you will find yourself cheering. Cheers too for Dave King's accomplished debut."
—Frederick Busch, author of The Night Inspector
"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."
—Nicholas Christopher, author of A Trip to the Stars
