FLOOD
By Andrew Vachss
1985
Vachss, as a writer, is a reincarnation of the a 1950's noir pulp P-I scribbler, but with a twist. His P-I, Burke, has been the subject of 17 books, most recently 'Terminal', also reviewed locally, I believe in the Times.
'Flood' is the first in the series. Floods as a metaphor carry a lot of weight with me. I'm a whitewater kayaker, by sport, and coming of age in Eugene the most dramatic moments of this California boy's NW winter were spent paddling the swollen rivers of the Coastal Range. My favorite book of all time is Eugene native Ken Kesey's 'Sometimes a Great Notion' inspired most likely by that same river. Enjoying the adrenaline rush of Grand Canyon quality whitewater with unavoidable concern for the residents of the 'flooded' homes is as memorable as one's most imprinting sexual encounters.
'Great Notion' was definitely also about sexual politics - and that is the twist that Vachss brings to his P-I books - all 17 of them deal, in some fashion, with childhood victims of sexual abuse seeking revenge. As Bogart would no doubt tell you the risks of dealing with the Femme Fatal are many - but in this case Vachss handles those twists in a manner that is both responsible and emminently entertaining. The simple moral of this story is that carrying a gun in your purse is not necessarily an unfemine thing, but I'll leave the rest to you.
Now, as to that girl who's father wrestled with Kesey in college (and whose logging family father's relationship with her mother may well have been an inspiration) - I wish I had been as good a communicator as Kesey, or Vachss, (now my number two favorite writer), when we had had a chance.
I'll leave the rest on that one to you too.
