House of Sand and Fog [Unabridged]

Rating:
Summary: Dubus's writer's craft excels.
Review: Writing a novel from two first person points of view, including, as well, a third person, and daring to be in the personas of a former Iranian colonel and a down-on-her-luck woman, Andre Dubus III defied the literary taboos to create a compelling story that grips you to the end. His unconventional formula to sustain my interest was more than successful. I fought my urge to finish the book because I wanted to savor it for as long as I could. However, the suspense intensified my counter urge to get to the climactic moment to satisfy my burgeoning curiosity. Andre Dubus's eye for detail is remarkable. His use of Iranian vocabulary is well-placed, and the alternating of his two characters' narratives lures you into feeling sympathy for and anger towards both characters. Dubus's writer's craft excels.

Rating:
Summary: response to the guy who didn't read it
Review: the sand refers to california, which you correctly note has a lot more sand than iran. the book is set in san fransisco, which dubus points out is a city filled with sand and fog--two elements which make a nice metaphor for the transiency of the "house/home." you'd know that if you read just the first 30 pages.

Rating:
Summary: depressing but well-written
Review: Although it was a page-turner, and well-written giving the perspectives of a not-quite-reformed alcoholic and the immigrant's point of view, I found the plot a little unrealistic. Maybe becaue I work as an attorney for a county. . . A court could have rescinded the sale, and things would (in real life) have turned out quite differently. However, I did think the perspective of Behrani was quite interesting, every so often we should remember that people of different cultures might think americans quite srange. It was, as the jacket describes, a "shakesperean tragedy."

Rating:
Summary: Dubus should win a Pulitzer for this one!
Review: Just read it! It is literature. It is easy to read. It is writing at its best. It is brilliant, emotional, heartbreaking, infuriating, involving, hell, its everything. Just read it! I couldn't put it down.

Rating:
Summary: In the ruts and muck of humanity
Review: A woman in the habit of carelessness loses her house via county auction and a hardworking immigrant gets a bargain. Hey, can't we work something out? Not really. While Andre Dubus III takes his readers into the minds of Massoud Behrani, Kathy Nicolo and her hopeless lover Lester Burdon, he also sticks us in a rut that's knee-deep in self-deception, selfishness, prejudice. Face your demons, people! (Umph, it doesn't even dawn on them.) If that's the point, a work well done. The story is a downward spiral filled with characters who are always asking, 'why me?' and never looking beyond the muck of sand and fog. Massoud, Kathy and Lester work up a frenzy that gives humanity a black eye. While a few peripheral characters share tiny moments of kindness, their portrayals are left in the dust. The story left me agitated . . . albeit affected by how ugly we can be. -DJO'B

Rating:
Summary: Bitter ending allows for NO closure
Review: Although this book was a page-turner, I found it aggravating. Is Les so naive to think that someone who admits she's an alcoholic, then changes her mind, doesn't need to be watched? And they constantly drank..which led to the brutal conclusion.

There was no way to end this book without someone "losing." Explain Les's motivation? He loves Kathy and is willing to go to jail for her house, when we are constantly reminded how much his children matter to him? And Kathy could have stopped this whole thing if she hadn't lived in a box and opened her mail.

I sympathized most with the Iranian family. He was trying to make the best of a bad situation, and was looking out for his family. That he unwittingly capitalized on someone else's misfortune (which turned out to be a mistake that she could have rectified if she had taken control of her life) is sad, but not his fault. He was then put between a rock & a hard place becuase he couldn't just return the house--he didn't have a job anymore!

And then the ending--what a stupid spiral into oblivion! And that Kathy lived..what a plot contrivance!

Rating:
Summary: A fine, sensitive realist novel
Review: Yes, Dubus III is the son of Andre Dubus, the noted short story writer. But father and son have different, distinct styles. This novel is almost hyper-realist fiction. The characters are explored through extremely detailed descriptions of their thoughts and actions. A little slow at times, it nonetheless works, and the novel is deep and moving. I must, however, comment on our fine friend, Mr. [e-mail], who has posted a one-star review below. He admits that he hasn't even read the book, and is angered by the use of the word "sand" in the title. I have no problem with his critique, but this is no place to review a book for its title--especially if you haven't even read the darn book. Please don't waste our time, sir, and have a little respect for the author.

Rating:
Summary: Lives that stay with you weeks after finishing the book.
Review: The characters in this book stay with you. All of them leading lives they never thought they would be leading. And then all of them crashing together. Each person imperfect and tragic. It is the rare story which causes me to cry. This story did. Not to be a cliche but it is a sadly beautiful story.

Rating:
Summary: i am judging this book by its cover
Review: i have not read this book yet. but there is one interesting thing on its cover, the word "sand". it looks like average american mentality is set to mention this word when it comes to anything iranian. in other words, no matter what the scenario is, this word has to be included in there to signify it iranian. despite your brainwash, iran does not have as much desert as you have been programmed to think it does. as a matter of fact, other than sands of the persian gulf beaches and the caspian sea, there is no other place in iran that is covered by sand. another piece of information for your geography that you did not learn in the high school: all together, iran has less desert than the state of california. the world has changed; it is time to join the planet earth and learn about it.

Rating:
Summary: Honest and compassionate. The characters resonated.
Review: This book is true. Not that it is non-fiction, rather, the situation, the story, and especially the characters, were real. The characters themselves were compelling and compassionate, confused and confusing, honest and liars, intelligent and stupid. In other words, like everyone we know. And Mr. Dubus puts them in a situation that puts these characters at odds and let them run their course towards an ending that was unexpected and pitifully, inevitable. This book was the only book I've read recently that I honestly couldn't put down. It is a honest-to-goodness, masterpiece.