House of Sand and Fog [Unabridged]

Rating:
Summary: Excellent read!
Review: This book is a fascinating look at human nature. On then surface the plot seems basic, but the undercurrent is complex. You could read it over and over and find something new each time. An incredibly well written book.

Rating:
Summary: House of Bland and Slog
Review: Reading House of Sand and Fog was torture -- the worst book I've read in the last year. How bad was it? At one point, trapped on an airplane, I decided to read my Nokia phone manual for relief. For the sake of my book group, I tried to get through, and about 50 of the last 100 pages are riveting (plot driven), but not worth slogging through the rest.

Why was it so bad? A novel that speaks from the point of view of three different characters should be able to maintain authenticity of voice. House of Sand and Fog fails miserably here, like an actor on screen doing a bad Southern accent. It's really jarring because you start to get into a character and then they say something so implausible that you trip over it. For example, and this is just one example of MANY more, no California-born police officer should say that his stomach felt like a dried winesack. If an omniscient voice says that, fine, but you cannot convince me that a late 20th century American ever thinks about winesacks, let alone when he's hungover and very messed up.

The tension of the novel derives from the inability of three characters to see outside of themselves and their situations, ultimately resulting in tragedy. Some reviewers seem to misconstrue this for "culture clash" and think that it offers some deep insight into the nature of multi-cultural America. But that's a farce. That the main character is Persian adds much needed color to the book, but it isn't that critical to the plot, since you can substitute any stereotypes of rich versus poor characters and the same result would occur. Of course, the plot is implausible anyway, but that's a separate issue.

The writing is full of unnecessary details that may be meant to create texture but instead create clutter. Ivy to hide bad architecture? Why should Kathy find a business card stuck inside of her checkbook? Who cares? What happened to words carrying their weight? Where's the editor?

Finally, a large part of the novels problem is that Kathy, a main character, is just dull, and her sections are where Dubus's lame writing really shows through. With no interesting facts about exotic countries to entertain us with, her sections read like the lame fiction in the back of a fashion magazine. I guess you're supposed to feel her pain (she's made bad choices, loved bad men, blah, blah, blah), but I was the one in agony. All I could think of was a story I heard about how Pia Zadora once played Anne Frank on stage and her performance was so bad that when the Gestapo came knocking, an audience member shouted, "She's in the attic." Well, I just wanted Kathy to use the gun and put us all out of our misery.

Rating:
Summary: Ugh! Yuck and Puh! -- yet well-written
Review: This book is indeed a page-turner. It is enthralling and difficult to put down. It is well-written, and the characters are believeable and engrossing. I found myself caring for the characters and rooting for one over the other. The book does draw you in. However, the plot leads us on and on into what is finally a dismal abyss. My problem is not that the final twists of the plot are implausible (which they most certainly are.) My problem is that the entire ending of the book is simply miserable. And really, I should have known. The hallmark of Oprah's books is that they are bleak yet hopeful -- until the end, that is, when her book choices are still bleak but all hope has been unrefuteably obliterated. So, this was a good book. But take heed: there is no happy ending here. Nothing to feel good about. No hope at all. None. So finally, I was left unsatisfied even though it was a good read.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent writing, great story, fascinating characters
Review: Told from dual and opposing perspectives, "The House of Sand and Fog" is intelligent, suspenseful, compelling and thought provoking. Once read, it's impossible to forget these unique and realistic characters, they're like none other in literature. Even the minor ones are memorable.

Both narrators are relatable, well drawn, distinctly different and each flawed in unique ways. The suspense builds when the main characters challenge each others right to "the house". Both have a legitimate claim but it's their personal investments--one reaching for a brass ring and family security, one holding on to the end of the rope-- that force them into a "win at any cost" mentality. This is a great book to discuss with friends since readers inevitably pick sides themselves. As the story develops and the tension escalates your favorite character will probably switch a few times as well.

Rating:
Summary: A Compelling Story
Review: I bought this book at a charity book sale, and did not really think I would enjoy it, but I gave it a chance, and was rewarded. I thought the characters seemed like real people, in the ways they responded to problems and people in their personal lives. I agree with others that the characters do behave irrationally at times, but I see and hear stories about people like these frequently in our world today. These type of people do not know when to back down, and horrible things can happen as a result.

Rating:
Summary: Beware the rave reviews
Review: Throughout House of Sand and Fog there is such fine detail in the telling that the story rings true. And if that were all that a reader needed out of a work of fiction, this book would be a success. But what a loathesome pair are Kathy and her lover, Lester.

Kathy ignores the mail that warns her she's about to lose her house and when she does lose it her idea of taking action is to scream obscenities at the new owners. She is selfish and repugnant and a whiner. How then are we to feel sympathetic toward her? And how are we to feel about the police officer, Lester, who falls in love with her?

The author wants us to sympathize with both Behrani (the man who buys the house at auction) and Kathy, to view each as justified in their claims on the house. Had the author succeeded, the conflict of our dual sympathies would have created a sense of tragedy. But there's no contest here. Behrani has legal right (and dare one say, even moral right) and Kathy is too stupid to accept this. I hoped for something to happen to make me feel sorry for Kathy, but instead the action became unintentionally farcical and I was never able to muster anything other than disgust for her and Lester.

Perhaps this book is worth reading for the insight it gives on Iranian expats but I'm sure there are other, more rewarding reads on the subject.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time on this tripe.
Review: I soooo wish someone had warned me about how awful this book was before I paid money for it. The novel is dull and pointless. It's about two ugly, nasty people and their fight over a home they both feel they own. The characters were unlikeable and not particularly interesting. The novel dragged all the way through. The only reason I kept reading is that I figured there had to be a reward at some point. I thought the author would finally live up to all the dreck written on the book's back cover. But, alas, Mr. Dubus never delivered.

Please don't waste your money, or, more importantly, your time reading this poorly conceived novel.

Rating:
Summary: Author's Techniques
Review: As the story progressed, I disliked all three characters, but I disliked Kathy the most. She had a chance to change her life, but she wallowed in her constant failures. Did you notice the author's technique in maintaining each character's uniqueness? Kathy was written in first person, past tense. Behrani was written in first person, present tense. Lester was written in third person, past tense. I found this to be an interesting device in maintaining the three characters as separate yet integral parts of the story.

Rating:
Summary: a book that proves how stupid people really are
Review: the only thing dumber than this lame story and its author is all you readers and your stupid logic. The house belonged to BEHRANI!! How hard is it to understand that? The house was mistakingly auctioned by the county. Behrani made no mistake what so ever in the transaction and was merely doing what he had to do to survive in this capitalist society. The man had a plan and he (like many of you) wasnt going to backtrack because of a mistake he wasn't responsible for. Kathy could have came up in the situation too by simply suing the county for much more than the house was even worth. Why didnt she? Why didn't the lawyer see this? Why did she just forget about it? Kathy would have been happy with all the money she gained and Behrani would have been left alone and not botheres. But no, ... Kathy had to bring that stupid worthless cop into the situation only to make things worse. The man was in jail for gods sakes and was still thinking about screwin Kathy instead of his sweet, lovin, but kinda boring *boo hoo* wife and kids. That Lester was really an idiot and he didnt deserve being in this story. The Behrani's were the only good decent people in the book. Everyone else...yes everyone else wasn't even worthy of life. To hell with them all. And another thing, how come in times of panic Mr. Bahrani lost his accent?

Rating:
Summary: Powerful!
Review: This was one of the most intense stories I've ever read. The author was able to portray each character and scene so vivdly I really felt that I understood the characters, their motivations, and the foolish and tragic decisions they made over and over again. However, though I tried to remain equally sympathetic to all the characters, ultimately I found it more difficult to feel sorry for Kathy, who ignored several months worth of eviction notices, subsequently lost her home, then feels irrationally entitled to get it back from someone who bought it legally. The parts of the book I enjoyed best were the author's description of life in Iran during the time of the despotic Shah, and the many details about Persian culture. The storyline is a horrifying downward spiral, and the ending is very dark, but the author succeeds in presenting a realistic tale of human foibles, faults, and frailties...and also the existence of human compassion sprinkled throughout(ie.,Mrs. Behrani's kindnesses to Kathy). Although many of us may not know any people quite like the Behranis, Kathy, or Lester, the author clearly gets the message across that they are all part of the spectrum of human possibility, and that, far from being unrealistic, there ARE situations and people like that out there...remember the old adage, "Truth is stranger than fiction".