House of Sand and Fog

Rating:
Summary: I read it cover to cover without stopping!
Review: This was a fabulous book. It starts out a little unengaging, but slowly turns and turns as the characters develop more deeply and becomes one of the most dramatic page turners ever!

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down!
Review: I was riveted to this book from beginning to end. I cared deeply about each character and could picture each one so vividly. I think each of us knows at least one person who is like Kathy, the Colonel, and Les. Dubus develops his characters so that we get to know each one intimately and we "care" deeply about what happens to each one. Terrific writing.

Rating:
Summary: this book is grossly over-rated
Review: Andre Dubus does not write beautifully, plus he has these despicable characters, the character of Kathy in particular, who describes her act of going to the bathroom each morning (and at other times) and disgusting physical attributes of making love. I am not a prude. But I found the periodic asides by this character to be such a turn-off, that I did not want to go on & find out what happened to the much more interesting character, the Iranian colonel.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Unbelievable
Review: I enjoyed the opening pages of this book - the descriptions of life in a Persian household, the paradox of a man who's living in a $3,000/month apartment working as a garbage "soldier". But by the middle of the book I found it bogging down in repetition and lifeless scenes between Lester and Kathy. I thought the writing was weak and the climax simply unbelievable. Sensitive, caring, ethical Lester enjoying poking a gun under the chin of a man who had basically done nothing to him? His repeated thoughts in the car that he wished Esmail didn't have to be involved in this seemed like a thinly veiled attempt to show his compassionate side, even while he held the family hostage under a gun. It just didn't connect for me.

While I found the book hard to put down, I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone else.

Rating:
Summary: Life's a Bummer and Then You Die
Review: What exactly is the message here? Most good works of fiction can be summed up in a single sentence: persistence overcomes adversity; love conquers all; don't let others define who you are. Andre Dubus's message however, seems to be that life's a b---- and then you die. That can be the only lesson Kathy Nicolo, Lester Burden or Amir Behrani learned from their escapade through the House of Sand and Fog. The story was depressing from the first chapter and goes downhill from there. A dash of humor and a bit of hope would help. Unrelenting despair is tiresome.

I had some problems with Dubus's writing. He over describes many scenes, filling in the imagination with intricate minutiae of no importance: how Lester tastes when Kathy kisses him; the tiny capillaries in mom's eyes; what the ladies in jail are wearing. Many times I yelled at the tape, "Who cares? Get to the point!!" Dubus often supplies "authenticating detail" to make the story real, and I enjoyed his accurate descriptions of my neck of the woods -- the San Francisco Bay Area. But a lot of unnecessary detail sometimes bogged the story down.

I found much of the characterization to be unconvincing. Lester Burden, an experienced deputy sheriff and field training officer, makes some unbelievably stupid choices in light of the law, without sufficient motivation to do so. Kathy Nicolo fires her freebie attorney rather than sue to get her house back, again without a believable reason. C'mon Andre, you can do better than that.

Finally, the ending just peters out. I was glad to be rid of it. Dubus shows promise as a writer, but he isn't there yet.

Rating:
Summary: When the fog lifts, or does it?
Review: HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG is a well written novel. The most amazing part is, that the entire book circles around one subject, a house. You would think, how can that be interesting? It is, because of the people who get to live there and their unusual circumstances, ridiculous entanglements resulting from a misspelled address. The characters are believable, even though they act out unbelievable involvements with eachother. Beware: there is no happy ending, and that rises the question: was this a happy house? Or was it a house tumulted by crazy decisions? You'll find out. I admire the author to stay with it and form such a passionfilled narration with one subject: a house in the midst of sand and fog.

Rating:
Summary: Get past the first two pages!
Review: For some reason, it took me a while to get past the first two pages. I have started reading this book about 5 times, before it maintained my interest after the first few pages. I am glad that I did. This is an excellent book, and you will probably find your self siding with each of the main characaters at different times in your reading.

Rating:
Summary: A tragic Must read Page turner!
Review: Please note right off; this book is not for the weak in heart. It is not a skip in the woods happy go lucky book. That being said I will say what it is-it is a triumph in writing. While the point of view shifts you will be intensely involved in what starts as a small dispute over a house, and spirals into a murderous tornado. The backround on the characters is amazing- detailed, and very believable. As I drove around town I believed I ran in to whom looked to be the characters in this book, it seemed so real. I was immeadiately sucked in and couldn't put it down. I have shared this book with many friends and family as well, and while the story is dark, we all agree, it is an incredible ride. I was shocked to find myself even shedding tears at the end---I am not even sure who I was shedding them for. After you read this book, you will know what I mean.

Rating:
Summary: Simply stated, I hated this book
Review: I did not find any of the characters to be sympathetic.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting...sort of.
Review: I found that this book drew me in and was hard to put down. But I've yet to decide if it's something I suggest others read. I felt Dubus did a good job of making us familiar with the two main characters, and you really do feel very sorry for them. They are both SO desperate and made me thankful for how "normal" my life is. I felt myself having very strong feelings about the continuous careless decisions both characters made. However, at times I felt I was reading into a bad soap opera with steamy sex scenes that seemed irrelevant to the story. And of course the tragic ending that everyone talks about left me unsatisfied and sad. It was a bit of a surprise for me, not the quality of something I expect from Oprah's book club.