Andrew Vachss: The Virtual Bookstore Appearance

Although most of Andrew Vachss' bookstore appearances are billed as "readings," what usually happens is that Vachss polls the audience to determine if folks would prefer a dialogue to a reading, and the dialogue invariably wins out. However, sometimes a reading has been specifically promised. We recorded one of those rare (and very recent events), and present it here, so you can make your own decision:

Andrew Vachss reads from The Getaway Man.
Recorded live March 10, 2003 at Barnes & Noble, 86th Street in New York City. Audio is in MP3 format.

Thanks to: Mike Maimone, for sound engineering and editing, and providing the recording equipment; Alan Talman for the photos; Frances, Janica, and the staff at Barnes and Noble; James, Shirley, Frank, Vince, David, Jill, and the entire large and enthusiastic audience that showed up that night.

Dialup users please see the technical notes.

Andrew Vachss Question and Answer

Following the reading, Mr. Vachss fielded questions from the audience.
His answers are presented here:
(Click the links to hear Andrew Vachss' answers. All audio is in MP3 format.)

Q: Did you make up Burke, or is he someone you know?
A: Burke was a deliberately created name ...

Q: How long do you think you can continue writing the Burke novels?
A: I thought I was done with the first book ...

Q: Have you ever thought about letting some of the other characters in the Burke novels tell their own stories?
A: I have, but the problem is ...

Q: How come Burke has such bad luck with women?
A: This is people's lives ...

Q: Did you create Max to be your alter ego?
A: Nobody's created as anything ...
    Q: What about the doctor in False Allegations?
    A: I wrote False Allegations, because ...

Q: Is it true that you've written a screenplay of your Batman novel?
A: No, No, No, that's the comingling of two bad rumors ...
    Q: What happened to the screenplays you did write?
    A: Oh they were total disasters ...
    Q: How much casting and creative control do you maintain with your work?
    A: You know what? I never participate in those discussions ...

Q: What crime movie rings true to you?
A: I haven't seen one ...

Q: Do you perform any of the songs you've written?
A: Oh god, no ...

Q: What do you like to read, and who do you like to read?
A: Mostly I read non-fiction ... but I like a lot of writers ...

Q: What changes have you seen in New York City since 9/11?
A: The West Side Highway is gone ...

Q: How do you get your clients?
A: The way my clients come to me is very simple ...
    Q: Do all states have a law guardian system like New York's?
    A: Go to Florida ...

Q: Did the Lisa Steinberg case change anything in child protective services?
A: No! You know it didn't ...
    Q: What is the Incest Exception?
    A: Let me tell you what the law is in your state [New York] ...
    Q: Why haven't there been any changes?
    A: You know why it hasn't changed any? ...
    Q: Why don't politicians care about child protection?
    A: Politicians are like ...
    Q: So what can be done?
    A: If any of you are interested ...
    Q: Are child protection laws really that lax?
    A: You ought to go to the Protect.org website ...

Q: Why hasn't anyone in the hierarcy of the Catholic church been charged for covering up for abusive priests?
A: [the Bishops said] the law does not require us to report ...
    Q: What about the Suffolk County [NY] Grand Jury?
    A: They came back with this report, that said ...

Q: Is there anything unique about the Catholic church that caused its priests to rape children?
A: What distinguished the Catholic church ... was the recycling ...

Technical Notes: The MP3 audio file of Andrew Vachss reading from The Getaway Man is fairly large—aproximately 10 minutes and 10M in size. The MP3 audio files for the Q&A section run from aproximately 30 seconds to 5 minutes in length. Dialup users should download the file(s) to their computers for optimal listening. To download, right-click on a PC or click and hold on a Mac and choose "save target as/save link as" to save the file(s) to your computer.

All audio files and photos © 2003 Andrew Vachss. All rights reserved.

For more information about The Getaway Man, click here.