House of Sand and Fog [Unabridged]

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Summary: house of sand and fog...
Review: I bought two copies of this book. Gave one to my book buddy - and we read it together in the parks of Melbourne. Boy, did it fire up discussion. Have a listen.

I really did enjoy this book. This book tells a story from two sides of the same coin. It really does interest the reader in this sense. Its amazing how a simple house can be viewed so differently, and the fight for the house is something that really gets your veins pumping, blood moving, heart thumping. This is no understatement. At times I found myself shouting at the pages - telling which character what to do, and what not to do. At other times I found myself turing the page before I'd finished the previous one. I just wanted to know what was going to happen. Its a really good book. Sorry I don't tell you too much about the story line, but a lot of these reviews basically give away everything - there really is no point to reading the book if that happens. So, if you like excitement, and a twist at the end, then give it a go...

Let your mind and heart get involved.

Rating:
Summary: Close to Perfection
Review: It is difficult to find a book that has a great story, and is both well written and engrossing. But look no further than House of Sand and Fog, written by Andre Dubus III. This is a gripping novel of two people whose lives become intertwined because of a simple event. The first character is Massoud Amir Behrani, a previously prosperous colonel in the Iranian air force. Under rule of the Shah, he was very wealthy, but after the revolution, his family had to flee the country. He works two jobs to try to keep up the façade of remaining wealth. He desperately wants the comfortable life he once led. The other character is Kathy Nicolo, a feeble housekeeper who has lost her own house after a business tax was erroneously billed to her house. She has frivolously wasted her life and her house is about all she has left. She meets Lester Burdon, a married police officer who feels bad about the eviction. Mr. Behrani and Kathy are two very different people, who both happen to want the same house. Their contrast helps their interactions be full of interesting substance. Behrani is a very hardworking immigrant. He is very honorable, and complex. Kathy Nicolo is very simple. She cleans houses, just getting by. She has very little; she has wasted away her life. She has a failed marriage, alcohol and drug abuse to show for herself. The reader can plainly see her feelings of despair: "For a long time my mother would call every Sunday afternoon to catch up on things, but really to see how we were. The first few Sundays after Nick left, I answered the phone and heard her voice, I had to hold my hand to my mouth sometimes to keep from crying." (Dubus 44) Here, it is obvious that Kathy's life is just a mess.

When Mr. Behrani hears about a property auction, he goes in hopes of purchasing a house at a very low price for resale on the open market. He spends the rest of his family's money on the house and they soon move in. Little do they realize that the house was actually wrongly seized from Kathy Nicolo. Mr. Behrani is excited about the potential of the house. He is hoping to regain his family's societal position. Kathy Nicolo's petty life is turned upside down when she is forced out of her house - one of the only thing's she has managed to hold on to. She is determined to reclaim her house - which is now inhabited by the Behranis, whom she views as devious people who have stolen her house away from her (we see otherwise through the eyes of Mr. Behrani): "no one wants any trouble here at all. Except you. You don't seem to want to do the right thing, which is to sell this house back at the price you paid so it can be returned to the real owner." (162). Kathy does not seem to want to see any other side but her own. Meanwhile, her relationship with Lester Burdon escalates. Les befriends Kathy, and takes her side. He also tries to help her the best he can, but ends up deeply entangled in her fight. When he gets matched up with Kathy, he is doomed to fail horribly. Kathy is the device that dismantles any hope for a peaceful and just resolution. She does not realize she is doing this, however, and the outcome is definitely not even close to what she could have imagined.

The book's climactic ending does not allow for the ability to put the book down. The complex and various emotions that this wonderfully assembled ending puts the reader through vary from fear, to hope, to hopelessness, to anxiety, impatience, anger, and sadness. The tragic yet enthralling conclusion to this perfectly flowing novel is simply perfect. The stunning events that come to light cannot easily be forgotten. It is so moving that the reader will find himself thinking about it for months. These are all qualities I look for in a novel, and I believe they should exist in all works of literature.

Personally, I enjoyed this expertly written piece of literature very much because of the riveting qualities it possesses. The style in which it is written is excellent. The point of view switches from character to character, making the book more objective than if it was all from one side. You see many parts of events transpire through the eyes of both main characters. This lets the reader choose sides. Also this style of writing with this particular story causes the reader to think about who is right. The only thing I dislike is the incredible deviation of character Lester goes through. He is a police officer. I do not think he would be so rash and reckless in his behavior. Although I think that, I do not see any other way the wonderful ending could have occurred had his rationality not degenerated. So I am still very impressed with the excellence of this book.

This book is an updated version of a Greek tragedy. It is closely related to this type of story, and the full potential of this novel can only be achieved if the reader has an understanding in this area. Many structural and qualitative comparisons can be made. The author has done a marvelous job of modeling this book after a Greek tragedy. This, along with entertainment, and several meaningful lessons were the purpose of this story. Dubus III definitely has the expertise to craft such a novel, this being his third. He has also won several literary awards. This is a must-read for anyone looking for something full of action and suspense.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: This book kept me interested from the very beginning. If you are in a book club, there is alot to discuss with this book. The characters are all interesting, definitely read this book.

Rating:
Summary: House of Sand and Fog.
Review: House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III, shows the way one house can change the lives of three people. The three main characters, Kathy, Lester, and Colonel Behrani, lives are totally changed. It was a wonderful book but more for an older audience. I would recommend this book to people over my age and only a few years younger.
The book consists of an Arab family who buys a nice little house and plans to sell it for a profit in Corona. However the house is already preowned and inhabited by Kathy who is a cleaning lady who was once an alcoholic and drug attic. A young man named Lester and some other men evicts her. Lester, who already has a family and Kathy fall in love while they are trying to get the house back. Kathy has many encounters with the family that should have never happened that makes it so she might not be able to get her house back as easily.
Some of the main points are that Colonel Behrani bought a bungalow for cheap money thinking nothing would happen. However Kathy still lived there and had rightfully owned it from her father. The Behrani family owns the house and has no idea of Kathy's problem. Lester, who is the officer who evicted Kathy, falls in love with her. He tries to help her win the battle over the house. Kathy is trying to over come many problems including drugs, alcohol, and her husband leaving her and talking to her family. They all finally encounter each other in a horrible meeting. The ending has and unbelievable twist to it that you would not believe.
I thought that the book was wonderful! I loved the way everything fit in to each other. It was very descriptive book but not too much. I really liked the way it went back and forth from characters but it all intertwined. Andre is a great author and has a great style of writing. He must have known what it was like to have all this happen to him with the ways he described it.
I think that the book was wonderful and I would totally recommend it to any one who was my age or older. I would not recommend it too much younger people because there is a great deal of sexuality, alcohol, and violence. It was a bit risky but it was truly wonderful. It was great and I truly enjoyed it considering it was a summer reading book.

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Summary: house of sand and fog review
Review: Review of House of Sand and Fog

House of Sand and Fog, by Andre Dubus III, is a suspenseful and powerful novel. As the crises escalates the author pulls the reader's heart in different directions. This helps the reader gain interest in the novel and want to turn the pages more to see what will happen next.
Problems arise in the novel when a young woman, Kathy Niccolo, has her home mistakenly taken by the government. Her home becomes sold at an auction to Colonel Behrani who hopes to re-sell the home and make a large profit. Each character fights to live in the home that legally both has right to live in.
As each character fights for their home they also are faced with separate problems. Kathy Niccolo falls in love with the married police officer with children that took away her home. Where as Colonel Behrani feels as if his family is slowly slipping away. With the much unstability of the characters lives each believe the house will help them keep their sanity.
The author clearly wrote the story to keep the reader interested and in suspense through out the novel. The novel also shows that Andre researched and educated himself about the settings of the novel to give very clear descriptions. This helped the reader picture exactly how each scene was.
House of Sand and Fog in my opinion was an excellent novel. The author Andre took something as simple as a home and turned it into a never-ending crisis. I would definitely recommend this book for a mature audience due to some violent and sexual scenes depicted in the book. This is definitely one of my favorite books and I'm sure will be enjoyed by many others.

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Summary: (...)
Review: The House of Sand and Fog is a flawed masterpiece.

There is a Part 2 to the book and this is where the story drags in places. Part 1 is from the view point of Kathy Nicolo, an American-born woman and recovering cocaine addict. Part 1 is also from the view point of Moussad Behrani, an Iranian-born immigrant and would-be real estate tycoon. Part 1 flows like liquid and is a page-turner. You really get into the hearts of all the characters presented to you. You realize how human and simple or complex they are.

Part 2 flows but there are some dams to manauver around. In Part 2 you get the 3rd person, omniscient perspective of Lester, Kathy's lover. I found this disconserting at first and some of the writing extraneous which of course made the story drag a bit. This is minor and should not stop anyone from reading the book.

I think because I'm a woman, I identified with Kathy the most. The way her addiction is portrayed and her subsequent alcohol use is right on. If you have an addictive personality or addictions, you need to replace them with healthy addictions, not another chemical to ingest. This woman grew up with a non-supportive family. Her father is deceased. Her mom and brother treat her like a loser instead of trying to be loving, helpful or positive.

I was very much hoping for a happy (Hollywood) ending. I 1/2 got one. Without giving anything away, I believe what happened to Kathy is the absolute best thing that could have happened.

Please give this book a try. Go to the libary and take it out for free. Don't give up on it, even if it drags. The ending is worth it.

Rating:
Summary: The twists got me through to the end, but then nothing....
Review: For the first 3/4 of the book I could not have put it down if I wanted to, just to see what would happen next. I could even forgive the obvious error in details. But then I found myself skipping through pages of past history detail and/or dreams that did not seem to have any relevance to the plot. I know California police officers and deputies, including FTO's. I think the author had a good hold on just what an officer/deputy does think and do in emotional situations, but then decided to "leave the main highway" of rationality to make a good read. Towards the end I kept hoping that Les would come back around to his obvious good sense of rationality, and he did have many chances to do so but never did - maybe an attempt to prolong the "action" part of the book. I felt this book was trying to portray that rational people do some stupid things sometimes for emotionally-tied reasons, but I also hoped that in the end it would show that these people do end up doing the right thing after having gone off the deep end. Unfortunately this book left me flat - I read the last page and said "What? Is that IT?! How stuipd....."

Rating:
Summary: Choose something else!
Review: I read lots of books and can normally find something I like in each, even if they weren't so great. This book was just a waste of my time. From beginning to end, I was just in disbelief at how ridiculous the story was. I apologize to the author, because I am sure he has written other books that were better but this one just wasn't anything special.

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Summary: A LITERARY TOUR DE FORCE...
Review: This book is simply a masterpiece. It is an exceptionally well written and brilliantly told story of two people whose destinies become intertwined through a simple twist of fate. It is the story of what happens to them and to those who love them, when their respective worlds collide in a climactic and tragic ending.

It is the story of Colonel Behrani, a formerly wealthy Iranian, who had thrived under the regime of the Shah, only to have lost everything during his country's revolution. Now, he and his family find themselves undergoing the immigrant experience in America, working to maintain appearances among their fellow exiles, and finding the going hard. Working long hours at menial jobs, Colonel Behrani longs to be a master of the universe again.

It is also the story of Kathy Nicolo, a woman with some serious issues. She is a sad and pathetic bottom feeder, who has lost nearly everything in life, including the one thing that has kept her somewhat anchored: the house she inherited from her father. She is a loser and innocuous bumbler who has totally squandered her life. When she loses that which she holds most dear, her house, and is summarily evicted from it, she meets Sheriff Lester Burden, a married man with children, who is smitten by her. His obsession with her would lead him down a path from which there would be no return.

When Colonel Behrani's quest for the American Dream finds him with an opportunity to buy a house at a bargain basement price at a county auction, he plunks down the remainder of his family's life savings. At the time, he knows nothing of the circumstances of the county's possession of that house, Kathy's house. He and his family move in. Colonel Behrani's head is filled with dreams of selling the house at a large profit, becoming a real estate speculator, and leading his family back to its former glory and place in society. He truly believes that America is the land of opportunity. He still believes in the American Dream.

Kathy, on the other hand, has done nothing with the opportunities afforded her. She has simply squandered them by marrying the wrong men, boozing, and drugging herself into oblivion. Living a marginal existence by cleaning houses and proving herself to be an untrustworthy and totally amoral person with little regard for others, her life is the antithesis of the American Dream. Still, she has this house, and when she loses it due to a bureacratic error, the bottom totally falls out of her life. For now, she truly has nothing. Like a dog with a bone, she refuses to let the issue go and will stop at nothing to get her house back from the Behranis, whom she views as greedy usurpers. Her view of the situation is supported by Sheriff Lester Burdon, who becomes embroiled in Kathy's struggle and takes it to a level that not even Kathy could have anticipated.

As the author takes the reader to the book's climactic ending, the reader will not be able to put down this beautifully crafted, literary tour de force. The author evokes a distinct mood in his narrative of the Behrani family through a clever use of language and sentence structure that seems to match the syncopation of their first language, giving it a rich, three dimensional flavor. The language of Colonel Behrani has a rich infusion of the cultural milieu out of which he arose. It is a wonderful literary contrivance used to great effect by a very talented and gifted writer.

When the author writes about Kathy, the language and sentence structure of the narrative is simpler, looser, baser, reflective of the individual around whom the author is trying to create a mood. Again he succeeds, as Kathy is a very primal character, unlike Colonel Behrani, who is more introspective. She is someone who ruins almost everything that she touches without meaning to do so. She is a person totally lacking in self-control. When she meets Sheriff Lester Burden, a tightly wound, conflicted man, very much in control of himself, his passion for her causes him to begin to lose his self-control. He begins a downward spiral that ends in a personal meltdown. The character of Kathy is somewhat pitiable, as she is the catalyst around whom the tragic events unfold. They unfold, however, in a way that she never intended.

This modern day Greek tragedy, with its layers of moral and cultural complexities, is a spellbinding and suspenseful page turner, crafted by an enormously talented author who is able to construct a rich and powerful novel of the first order. It is simply a great book. Bravo!

Rating:
Summary: Engrossing...a great read
Review: This was one of the few books that I've read lately that I absolutely couldn't put down. Despite some implausible plot turns, I was mesmerized by Andre Dubus' writing all the way through. Despite Kathy's obvious character flaws I found myself rooting for her to get back the house that SHE owned and deserved. I found the Behranis to be despicable, money-hungry and caught up only with outside appearances. Yes, they had a right to the house, but Mr. Behrani seemed to have no conscience whatsoever, and couldn't have cared less how his actions affected others (also shown by his involvement with the Shah of Iran). While not a particularly pleasant read, I'd recommend this one all the way. (And is "Corona" really PACIFICA????)