THE
QUESTIONER is Andrew Vachss's first work of fiction in too long.
But
it turns out to be worth the wait.
A
novelette written in the scalpel-sharp, no-word-wasted prose style
that has become one of the author's trademarks, it introduces a
nameless protagonist known only by the description of what he does.
For a price, he finds out the most deeply hidden truths and secrets –
and he does so not by means of torture or coercion, but rather merely
by talking, asking questions, listening, and responding in ways that
gradually, deftly draws out the information he is seeking. He can't
be fooled or deterred. He senses the truth and, more
importantly, he senses how to manipulate every precise detail of
mood, environment, and his choice of words until what he is seeking
is revealed ... What he then does with that information, who the
Questioner passes it on to, can impact decisions and actions of
global significance.
As
usual in any work by Vachss, the “fiction” is only a veneer, a
device to open readers' eyes about real-world abuses and injustices
that may not be pleasant to face, yet NEED to be.
So
read THE QUESTIONER for the prose and the power of the story. Then
I'd encourage you to do a little homework about some of the things
touched upon in the narrative (ethnic medical experiments, maybe a
little history about the country of Estonia, as a couple of examples)
as added food for thought.
As
a further encouragement, I would also suggest you consider a purchase
of this work via the Amazon Smile program whereby a portion of the
purchase price (at no additional cost to the purchaser) goes toward a
charity of the buyer's choosing. In view of Andrew's life's work in
the area of child protection, a good choice for this would be an
organization he co-founded and is closely associated with: The
Legislative Institute for Child Protection.
You
can learn more about it at this link: Legislative
Institute for Child Protection
To
sign up for the Amazon Smile program, use this link:
https://smile.amazon.com/ch/81-1811456
I
strongly recommend THE QUESTIONER and all of the foregoing.