Thoughts on THE AX

I first read THE AX just after it came out in 1997. I heard an interview with Donald Westlake on NPR, and the premise intrigued me: a man who loses his job to industry-wide offshoring sets out to serially eliminate the remaining competition for the handful of jobs that remain. That's right. The hero of THE AX is a serial killer.

I re-read THE AX in 2011 and was absolutely floored. It was one of the very best books I read last year.

The plotting is intricate, and Westlake girds the book with strong technique. For example, he shifts verb tense in the book so he doesn't have to lay out the story in a straight line. That allows him to start just before the first killing and fill in backstory along the way, letting you know where you are by what tense he's writing in. A nice touch.

The characterization is what sells the unusual story. Burke Devore, serial killer, is troubled, somewhat psychotic, but mostly angry. This could be just a tale of misplaced revenge, but Westlake does two interesting things. He makes Devore see his victims and individuals, with their habits and histories, makes him hate some and regret killing others. He struggles with volition and execution of his plans. It's not easy, but he presses on, alternating between desperation and determination. Then, Devore hones his anger into a force that actually saves his family an unforeseen nightmare. I'll not reveal it, but it is striking how genuine Devore seems and how easily the reader is drawn in, despite his monstrosity.

The story has new immediacy after several years of weak employment prospects in this country. The pent up rage Devore feels for the faceless corporate manipulators who cost him his job is akin to what many feel for similar corporate manipulators who wrecked banks, loans and jobs in 2008 and 2009. And many real-life situations beg the same question Devore faces: how far will you go to hold on to what you have?