Rating: 
Summary: depressing and a waste of time
Review: The House of Sand and Fog by Andres Dubus III was a dissapointing read. I had lost interest in the characters while I was only a quarter of the way through the book, but I kept reading thinking it had to get better. I also wanted to see what happened in the end. It never did get better and by the time I finished, I was mad that I had wasted so much time reading this book. The two main characters, Colonel Massoud Behrani and Kathy Nicolo do not evoke much sympathy. They are both very stubborn and self-destructive. They each get exactly what they deserve in the end. Another character, Deputy Sheriff Lester Burdon, also falls into the trap of not using his common sense and ends up losing everything. This is a story of the American Dream gone bad. The narrative is told from Behrani and Nicolo's points of view respectively. There are many anti-American sentiments in Behrani's parts of the narrative. He was a Colonel in the Iranian army who served under the Shah and was forced to flee his county. He doesn't think Americans deserve what we have. We are all "radishes" and take it all for granted. Nicolo, on the other hand, is a recovering addict who falls into the same irresponsible behavior she has been trying to overcome all of her life. Her spontaneous, self-destructive behavior causes her to lose everything and by the end of the book, she still hasn't learned anything. If your time is valuable, don't waste it reading this book.
Rating: 
Summary: House of Sand and Fog
Review: As a "young" writer I tend to read books from two sides: simply for the joy of reading a good story, and with my own editor's voice in my ear. I loved House of Sand of Fog. The characters were extremely interesting and I swaggered from liking them to disliking them, but always understanding them and always interested in reading on to find out where the story would lead. The voices of the two characters drew rich pictures of their cultures. Great character developement! And interesting. The only negative: I was REALLY bothered by the introduction of the third person point of view halfway through the story. It doesn't fit, it doesn't flow with the rest, it spoils and disrupts an otherwise great piece of writing.
Rating: 
Summary: I agree with the stupid book category
Review: I am finding that in reading Oprah's picks that they are often disappointing reads.
Rating:
Summary: compulsive reading despite its faults..
Review: It is interesting to see the wide mix of reviews for this book. 'House of Sand and Fog' seems to be viewed either as a poorly written soap opera which exploits negative stereotypes of Iranians, or it is viewed as a moving story on modern Americana and its values. Which view is correct? Well ... For me, this book is actually well-written despite the somewhat daytime soap opera feel about it. The main protaganists (an Iranian family and a washed-out single woman with burned-out boyfriend cop) are well-developed characters. The author does sometimes slip into stereotypes, but the Iranian family gets the most balanced portrayal. The story is about both protaganists squabbling viciously over the possession of a house (the Iranian family purchased it fairly, however it was originally taken from the single woman unfairly). The burning desires of both parties in this matter are clearly expressed, and is very thought-provoking. Sadly, the story takes a rather bizarre and violent twist (..no spoilers here) which is rather unbelievable and, by this reader, not appreciated. Fortunately it doesn't ruin the overall goodness of the book. Bottom line: shock/schlock ending doesn't spoil this interesting read. Not a classic, but Oprah did good in adding this to her recommended list.
Rating: 
Summary: An very intense page-turner...
Review: I can't remember the last time I read such an explosive, unnerving story. House of Sand and Fog is everything a dramatic, suspenseful, culture-clash novel should be. I was intrigued and frightened, my emotions going through the wringer a countless number of times. My loyalties went from one character to another then back again through the course of the novel, never really deciding who to love or who to trust. A dark, drastic tragedy of a drama that unfolds in the most terrifying way. Through an administrative error of the County Tax Department, Kathy Nicolo's house is seized out from under her. On top of this, her husband has left her and she has no one to turn to. Forced to live in her car and rented motel rooms, Kathy befriends one of the Sheriffs that came to evict her. Deputy Sheriff Lester Burdon finds himself in love and completely infatuated with helping Kathy get her house back. Meanwhile, Iranian immigrant Colonel Massoud Behrani is desperate to pursue his version of the American Dream: to acquire the dignity, status and respect he once entertained as Officer in the King's Airforce in his native country and to provide for his family and secure a healthy future for them. His desires come in the form of a house, an investment opportunity recently seized and up for auction at an unheard of low price. These two incidents run parallel courses that eventually collide into an explosive downward spiral. Andre Dubus has written an electrifying, hair-standing-on-end, riveting book that only builds more tense as readers turn its pages. A fascinating and thought-provoking novel that shows how one simple thing can escalate into something huge and horrible through others irresponsibility and stubbornness. Reading parts of this book was akin to a dreamworld, a fog if you will, that will send readers into a panic, struggling for air. The writing evokes many opinions and emotions and will undoubtedly inspire numerous heated discussions. Masterfully told with poetically bold language that breathe with life. Awesome.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Read!
Review: I really enjoyed reading the House of Sand and Fog by Andre, III Dubus. The story was truely original and the turn of events are quite amazing. Although I had never read any books from this author in the past, I was pleasantly surprise and would definitely pick up another one of his books!
Rating:
Summary: A good Oprah pick
Review: This book keeps the reader's attention. I would recommend it for a quick weekend read. Brace yourself for the ending, it is quite unexpected.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful, wonderful, wonderful
Review: A modern classic! This is a GREAT work of fiction. The events that unfold are both tragic and believable. Andres Dubus is a master at creating characters that are both lovable and unlovable. The characters in this book are drawn together by an unlikely but plausible event and the disintegration of these lives is heartbreaking. He also writes beautifully of the San Francisco Bay area, making you feel that you are there. This is one of the best books I have read this year. It's not often I find a work of fiction that I can't wait to pick up again and see what happens next. So much of the fiction written today is utterly predictable. I loved this book.
Rating:
Summary: WHOSE HOUSE IS IT?
Review: In HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG, author Andre Dubus III creates scenarios of questionable ethics, morality, and responsibility. He sets up situations which could end either in explosive violence or peaceful resolution. One day, Persian expatriate, Massoud Behrani, now living in San Francisco and working on a highway cleaning crew, sees an ad for a house to be auctioned by the county. He imagines this as an opportunity at richness so he takes his savings and purchases the house, with hopes of selling it for a profit. A few days earlier, Kathy Nicolo (already believing herself to be a failure) was rousted from her home by county officials, her possessions put in storage, and told told that her house was to auctioned for failure to pay taxes. It's the same house. The problem is that the county has seized the wrong property. The correct house has a similar sounding address. Enter Deputy Sheriff Lester Burdon, the victim of a loveless marriage, who develops an instant attraction to Kathy. Lester will do anything in his power (and some things not) to see that Kathy is treated fairly. Now homeless Kathy, who has done nothing wrong, wants her home back. She thinks the government should void the sale to Behrani and just give it back. However, Behrani has legally purchased the home and won't sell it to the county or anyone else for less than triple profit. HOUSE OF SAND AND STONE shows how a person's history and heritage control their thinking regarding their property. It also shows the incredible lengths to which one will go to maintain that which they believe is rightfully theirs. The book starts slow, but gets on one roller coaster after another of extreme emotions and accompanying actions. The ending was less than satisfactory, but thought-provoking as to how this situation could have been handled differently. This is an excellent book for discussion. There are so many angles that an active book club would have a field day.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting book with human characters
Review: Not one character in this story is flawless. Their flaws draw them to make some really bad choices that lead them to more bad choices. Kathy, the girl trying to hide and hope that things will will just be okay (she doesn't deal with the first notices she receives, just figures they're a mistake). The colonel just wants to be a success so he doesn't lose face with his family and peers. His family doesn't see any problems because the colonel hides the problems, and they choose to overlook any evidence. Everything builds and spirals until you just want to read and see how the author handles these issues. I found I wasn't pulling for any particular "hero", because there wasn't one. I really liked this book because I found it wasn't predictable and it showed people with different cultures and ideals trying to work through a situation in real estate (which I find confusing in the best of circumstances). I really enjoyed this story.
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