The Ha-Ha

I felt like I was right in the middle of the story. As for why 4 stars and not 5? I can't say, other than I'm just stingy that way. Dec 20, Latarsha rated it liked it. The only issue I had with this book was I couldn't believe that a man who can't speak and can't write but understands what is being said around him did not learn how to read lips or sign language. Something about this character willfully relying on others to understand and interpret the world around him rang false. Why be so independent yet so unwilling to engage the world around you?

I understand he's broken by what happened to him and still in mourning for a life that he thought was his, but t The only issue I had with this book was I couldn't believe that a man who can't speak and can't write but understands what is being said around him did not learn how to read lips or sign language. I understand he's broken by what happened to him and still in mourning for a life that he thought was his, but that was the one thing that struck me as false.

Otherwise, it was a good debut with a solid - albeit slightly petulant -- ending. Jun 06, Kiessa rated it really liked it. I read somewhere that this was one of the best books of I could see how some would think so. Smooth and full of life, this novel is a delightfully satisfying, believable and well written work of art that reminds me of Lori Lansens' writing. The characters are flawed and quirky, but are so well developed and evolving that they are likeable despite their failings.

I would not have chosen this book by the title itself or the back cover summary, so I was glad to have come upon this book on a I read somewhere that this was one of the best books of I would not have chosen this book by the title itself or the back cover summary, so I was glad to have come upon this book on a must-read list.

Mar 14, Marilyn rated it really liked it. A story that could turn to "depressing" really fast, never did that.

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I felt it was uplifting most of the time, and when it got sad the first time I have cried over a novel in a long long time you cry for the people who can't begin to understand what this man is experiencing. Through it all Howard is acutely aware of his shortcomings and deals with them in expected ways, even when he loses it! Jun 14, Tamsen rated it really liked it.

This book is written from the perspective of a mute. Howie can't talk due to an injury sustained in Vietnam, and his brain's malfunctioning doesn't allow him to write or read either. Reading is a silent activity, but this is a book that made me feel even more silent. Contemplating Howie's life and reading about his struggles to communicate was even better than the plot to me. Aug 23, Elise rated it really liked it. A very moving book with a completely new sort of protagonist.

An interesting read to do right after putting down "Matterhorn. Excellent writing about a boy from a man without children, also, which is impressive. Jul 11, Chana Baichman rated it it was amazing. The best book I have read in a long time, you will fall in love with these characters. I missed them and could not stop thinking about them after I had finished reading.

Just of bunch of unusual people thrown together by life.

You must read this! Mar 07, Charlotte rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: I loved this book. The ones I love I can never think of anything specific to say about them. I loved the voice and the characters and the ending and the boy in it also. Apr 25, Michelle Varrin rated it it was amazing. A book for everyone. Beautifully written, funny, lovely, made life better for having read it.

Jul 22, Dav rated it it was amazing. Ha-Ha is a boundary wall concealed in a ditch so it doesn't spoil the view British. Howard Kapostash was wounded in Vietnam. His speech is severely impaired. He can't refuse his lost love's request. As a "father figure" his emotional wounds soon begin to mend. They can be a little dim, forgetting to wash the underside of a stack of plates. When he drives up close to the edge of the ha-ha, an abrut edge, it inadvertently scares Ryan, who jumps off the mower.

The Ha-Ha: all you wanted to know but were afraid to ask

It also cost Howard his job. Scaring the boy was one thing, but Howard was told repeatedly by his employer, 'Use the push mower near the edge, not the rider. Now he's lost his job. It's all just too much. Laurel, his asian friend who helps out with paperwork, shows her love and he likes her too. Howard is a disagreeable, but likeable character. An excellent story by Dave King. Aug 17, Dsolove rated it it was amazing Shelves: This book reminds me why I read fiction!

This is great fiction as it shares a life that none of us could have imagined, yet all of us can learn from. Dave King has written a marvelously insightful first person account of the tragedy of a war injury that totally changed the course of a young man's life. This is not a minor injury - Howard can no longer talk, read or write - yet he manages with a unique assembly of housemates, and in-spite of his ex-girlfriend and her son. The ex-girlfriend consta This book reminds me why I read fiction!

The ex-girlfriend constantly disappoints after dumping her son at Howard's while she goes off to in-patient drug treatment. Neither the son, age 9, or Howard is prepared for their being thrown together. There is great sorrow and bad choices in this book, yet somehow everyone bungles along to a hopeful conclusion. The son, Ryan, is definitely not Howard's child and he has a chip on his shoulder from being the only child of a single mother who is battling addiction. He is a complex bundle of anger and insecurity who is one of the best, and ultimately likeable, child characters in recent memory.

Everyone in this book is very real. They rarely behave as expected. Even the nuns who employ Howard to do yard work at the convent display their human frailties. Howard has been living with this disability for over 30 years since the Vietnam war. As unlikely as everything else in this book, he has employed a Vietnamese-American with a Texas accent to manage the things he can't in exchange for a room in his house while she pursues her soup business. She is my nominee for sainthood as she also adjusts to a child in the house she is not emotionally interested in yet instinctively understands better than everyone else while Howard and the two twenty-something housemates slowly get a clue to Ryan's needs.

This is a must-read.

Oct 27, Lane rated it really liked it. I was under pressure to find a book for a trip and I picked this up at a used bookstore. Really had my doubts, but was surprised to find that I really enjoyed it. The author did a wonderful job of showing how love for a child can become a truly powerful force, and also how it can develop without one's permission. I really felt for Howard as he struggled with his condition and I was rooting for him throughout the story. I'm in the Vietnam generation and know and know of many people, mostly guys, I was under pressure to find a book for a trip and I picked this up at a used bookstore.

I'm in the Vietnam generation and know and know of many people, mostly guys, whose lives were negatively affected by that disastrous war My brother-in-law died from complications from Agent Orange. That the boy was caught in the middle seems horribly typical in our society, and from our lofty distance as readers we could see so many times when the adults behaved worse than children again, probably pretty typical.

I liked the book enough that I'm considering suggesting it for my book club. The nun's explanation didn't do it for me and this was the most aggravating aspect of the book for me. It started ok, the main character Howard, a wounded Vietnam veteran whose head injury has left him unable to read, write or speak, was interesting. Howard is "of normal intelligence" as it says on the card he gives people.

He lives in his parents house and one of his housemates, Laurel, helps him with paperwork and bills. Howard mows the lawn at a local convent to provide him with enough income to get by so he is doing fine considering his injuries. Things change when Howard agrees to look after It started ok, the main character Howard, a wounded Vietnam veteran whose head injury has left him unable to read, write or speak, was interesting.

Things change when Howard agrees to look after his ex-girlfriend's 9-year old son, Ryan, while she is in rehab. Taking care of Ryan forces Howard to find a new way to communicate with people, having to do things he never had to do before. Towards the end Howard really started to irritate me, I couldn't understand why he never had learned sign language for instans.

I did finish the book but I wasn't really that interested how it would end. Oct 06, Chana rated it did not like it. A most unpleasant book. The premise is that a brain damaged war vet; can't speak, read, write or sign but is of normal intelligence; is asked by his old high school sweetheart if he can watch her nine year old son while she is in drug rehab. I wondered how it got that name — haaahaaaa………arms pinwheeling madly…. Thanks for clearing that up! November 29, at 2: Eventually I found a definition of them in some regency related material I read.

When at Burghley this summer I finally connected the definition with seeing one just a few feet from where I was standing. I took pictures so I could convey the concept back home here in the US. The ha-ha is such a simple concept, but one that requires many words to effect a simple explanation: November 29, at 5: Ben Eastaugh and Chris Sternal-Johnson.

Garden features: What Are Ha-has? - The English Garden

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Key Concepts in the Six Novels. May, Lou and Cass: This was investigated by the environmental health department, who agreed that the area should have been lit up in some way to avoid this kind of accident. This was followed by radical changes to the signposting and lighting around the ha-ha to let visitors know of its presence. Emergency repairs to the ha-ha wall at Sunbury Park in Spelthorne took place in , after the council realised that they would be liable for any injury or death caused by the ha-ha wall. Surrounding vegetation was removed two years before the works opened up the ha-ha to the public.

However environmental services were made aware that the ha-ha was in a state of disrepair, and without appropriate warning signs. Initial attempts to obtain funding from the heritage lottery fund were abandoned, after it was realised that the repairs needed to be immediate and awaiting funding would delay the project, potentially exposing the council to legal and liability claims for any injuries.

1. Cas décole en GRH : Construire et exploiter une grille dévaluation (Management - Ressources humaines) (French Edition).
2. Garden features: What Are Ha-has?.
3. SANCTIFICATION - All The Bible Teaches About.
4. Gracie Wants to Know.
5. The Case for Character Education: A Developmental Approach.

In the Ha-Ha wall in Dalzell estate was urgently repaired after it became unsafe after the stonework collapsed. The council's Environmental Services Committee were concerned about potential liability and personal injury claims and enlisted the help of volunteers and staff from a local charity to repair the ha-ha wall within the estate.

The repair project received funding from the environmental key fund and the heritage lottery fund via the Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For other uses, see Haha.

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The ha-ha provided an invisible barrier Some account of English deer parks: Retrieved 24 November University of Virginia Press , Rotunda, , p. Online edition accessed 14 Aug Scottish Vernacular buildings Working Group. Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Australia's places of confinement, National Trust of Australia.

Retrieved 14 October Site and Urban Design for Security, , page ". Department Security, Federal Emergency Agency. Retrieved 24 December Retrieved from " https: