House of Sand and Fog [Unabridged]

Rating:
Summary: Great Entertainment
Review: I thought this book was very entertaining. I was so engrossed that I couldn't put the book down when I got near the end.

I agree that it may have gone a bit dramatic near the end, but it was a great study in the misunderstandings that take place between people and the paradigms that we all carve out for ourselves.

All in all, though, it was a good story and doesn't deserve the harsh criticisms that I read in here.

Rating:
Summary: A good story gone bad and unreadable
Review: I agree with the reviewer who advised reading only Part I. The first part is gripping,well written and believable. Part II goes off into some strange action-adventure, machismo and totally irrational universe. None of what happens at the end of the book seems in keeping with the characters Dubus has created in Part I. I basically closed the book and skimmed the last 50 pages. It was so unbelievable and frankly, stupid, that I could not get through those last chapters.

Rating:
Summary: What a great read!
Review: I read about 3 or 4 books a month and this one is going on my top 10 list for 2000. The writing was superb, the story was gripping, and the underlying theme of cultural disconnection was fascinating and enlightening. I thought about this book long after I finished reading it.

Rating:
Summary: I don't like these people
Review: A story about unlikable people is tough going. I've read the other negative reviews and they all put it more eloquently than I can - these characters just aren't likable so who cares what happens to them?

Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: I am a voracious reader, and this is easily the most compelling, beautifully written novel I've read this year. Pitch-perfect depictions of two desperate people whose colliding paths leave you in a position to just close your eyes and wait for impact. Suspenseful, poetic, grim, and deeply satisfying. What a writer!

Rating:
Summary: intriguing spin on classic tragedy
Review: This book reminded me of Patrick McCabe's The Dead School, same relentless pace and pervading sense of doom. I never gave up hope that the characters would resolve the situation, and that kept me interested and helped me appreciate the ending. It was a pleasure to not have a happy-ish ending tacked on when the tragic wheel is set in motion. Characters are complex and human. This book was interesting to read and think about later.

Rating:
Summary: Reality check
Review: This book is ideal for taking on an airplane. It reads quickly, demands little attention, and concludes with very little to ponder. The first section is well written and promises some interesting insights into immigrant culture, but then the novel deteriorates into a largely unbelievable plot that is suitable for a movie of the week (which is probably why this was even written, and which explains the disturbingly pornographic sex that appears at predetermined intervals) The reality check is that I at first told a Persian American woman at work how much she might enjoy the book. By the time I finished it I prayed she would not recall the conversation. The ending so badly stereotypes people as to be embarassing. Overall, however, it will make the time on the plane pass.

Rating:
Summary: Cheap read
Review: First of all, the author writes from two perspectives he knows little about, a drug addict woman and and Iranian immigrant. The depiction of Iranian culture was a complete stereotype and often inaccurate. The transliteration of Farsi phrases would have been tedious for those not familiar with the language. Kathy, the female protagonist, is a cookie-cutter character from a cheap Hollywood flick and is hardly convincing. My second problem with the book is the overly-descriptive and far too frequent sex scenes. These scenes could have been done tastefully, instead, are disracting to the plot. Rather than constructing what could have been a fine peice of literature, the author has put together a cheap read.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This was a great book. The only problem was thatI felt anxious the whole time I was reading the book. I couldn't wait to find out what happened to the characters. The author did a great job of making the reader empathize with the two main characters. I really did not want to empathize with the male character whose male chauvanist views of society were simply a matter of his cultural upbringing, yet I did anyway. How did the author get me to do that?.....Great writing.

Rating:
Summary: Wheww
Review: Wheww - what a marvelously written novel. Mr. Dubus III is an immense talent. The novel is both visual and poetic, the characters are written with depth and understanding. The way the plot moves through the character's lives, which, like the sea, ebb and flow is a more than a slice of life. That is what made the book so wonderful to me - the realism of the characters, and the way their lives intertwine, leading each to his fate. I am more than impressed - I am breathless. Mr. Dubus III captures his character's souls. Anybody who loves the written word, and who has been aching for a wonderful new novel should read this book.