Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: The book really draws you in initially and seems very realistic until it takes a bizarre twist that seems like a cynical report on Dateline or 20/20. The author just tries too hard to crush the American dream through corruption and violence. Too bad, because the yearning and disillusionment he created in the beginning of the book is the real deal.
Rating:
Summary: ...
Review: I enjoyed much of the development and history of the main characters. The writing itself is above average. However, the deputy sheriff is so unbelievable that he should be satirized by comedians on Saturday Night Live, or by some anti-establishment hate newspaper. He would have been fired long before he could have brought hurt to anyone. This is a man sworn to uphold the law, yet he manages to plant evidence, be a coward, leave his wife and family for a trashy harlot, and also manages to get the harlot back with substance abuse. Thank goodness for the colonel, and his sense of values and honor, even though contrary to Western standards at times. This book took me almost two weeks to finish, but I figured that... Oprah liked it, maybe there would be a redeeming conclusion. Not so...readers save your money. Before I am called a non-realist about life, I have never come across so many losers in such a short parameter of time and space, and all over a house.
Rating:
Summary: Don't bother
Review: This book started out down and out & it just got worse from there. I couldn't believe how horrible things became. By the middle of the book, I thought it may turn out to be a good read yet. Then, the problems of these people just snowballed into disaster-- total disaster. Don't bother reading this book; it may be real life, but I'm sorry-- the ending sucked! I wanted to throw that book against the wall, I was so mad that I'd wasted my money! If you're going to read a book with real life in it, read "Tuesdays With Morrie" by Mitch Albom. It's real life & you actually learn something!
Rating: 
Summary: Surprisingly Wonderful!!!!
Review: I really did not know what to expect from this book. Once I started reading it I could not put it down and finished it in only one day!! This is a great book and will keep you glued to the bitter end!
Rating:
Summary: Are you serious?
Review: If you want to be spoonfed an uplifting story about the world, keep deluding yourself and stay within whatever carefully constructed reality that you live in reading hokey books with blinders on. But if you'd like to get a peek into a new world; gain a different perspective on what it's like to be an American, then check out this book. I'll admit, that if you're a suburban housewife, looking for an easy read, then maybe you'll want to stear clear of a real literary novel and keep your eyes glued to scenes spewed from your reality distorting television. Real life isn't always fun, but how can you let that get in the way of the story? I appreciate these people voicing their opinons, but not after declaring that they never even finished the book. What good is a viewpoint if you can't have it challenged? I also felt that the character's seemed a bit overwrought at times, but I never doubted their believability, and it didn't ruin the book. I'm quite glad that all these people who gave this book such a strongly negative review were forced to have their reality confronted. They were shown a different world from the candy-coated one that they think they live in. Read the book, and keep an open mind.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing read-unbelievable ending
Review: First of all, I generally hate Oprah's books. However, this one was amazing!!!!!!!!!! I could not put it down. The author is so good at writing really descriptive and detailed scenes-you truly feel like you are there with the character. I literally felt sad when I was finished reading b/c the book was over. It was a bit tough at first to get into the storyline, however, about a chapter or two into the book, I was hooked!!!!!!! An A+++++ find.
Rating:
Summary: NO ENDING....... AGAIN!
Review: Dubus has a definite talent for spinning the English language into an almost compelling tale. The characters can draw you in, you get set up for an exciting conclusion, the crescendo builds.....then nothing. I felt like someone tore the last few pages out of the book. I'm not surprised, though. He does the same thing with every story in Dancing After Hours. Big build up, no payoff. A note to Oprah's Book Club, try a bit harder.
Rating:
Summary: Foggy Intrigues
Review: It's probably fitting that I read most of this book coursing through the streets of Los Angeles in a Metro bus. I see characters like Colonel Behrani every day yet seldom if ever stop to think about the intrigues that may be going on in their lives. But a notion just like that one was enough to set Andre Dubus on his way with "The House of Sand and Fog" an intriguing novel from a writer who shows great promise. Interestingly enough, in the early chapters I found that I didn't like the Behrani character at all. It wasn't until the story began to unfold that I realized that Dubus skillful writing had placed me in that frame of mind and that the whole sad affair was populated with people above reproach only because they are below contempt. Generally speaking a novel like that is a depressing affair at best, but there is something in the authors style that makes these truly pathetic individuals compelling. Call it voyeurism perhaps, but what was created here was a printed car wreck that you just can't look away from. Its true that there is a telegraphed story line and some pretty loopy circumstances you have to accept to get to the end. But hey, if you buy the premise you buy the bit. None of the shortcomings of this book should deter a reader from giving it an honest read. Dubus' easy language and writing ability alone make this an interesting book. Hopefully in the future he'll take on something with more potential avenues of exploration in the storyline. That foggy house is just a little too small to hold an entire novel in.
Rating:
Summary: Unputdownable
Review: Is that a real word, unputdownable? anyway, you know what I mean. I m not a great writer but Andre Dubus is absolutely outstanding in this book where both the story and the writing are strong. This is one of the rare books I could read in one sitting. By having the story alternately described from each side's vantage point, Dubus does an unbelievable job making us feel what it would be like to be in their situation. He is very careful to show that both sides have a legitimate claim to the house. This makes it all the more fascinating since you can never take sides and have to share the angst of both Kathy and the Iranian colonel. Although I am not an expert on Iran, he seems to me to have a good understanding of Iranian culture and of life under the Shah. Unlike some other readers, I enjoyed the ending as much as the rest of the book. The conflict was steadily deteriorating throughout the book so it would have been stupid to end happily. Dubus is a star.
Rating:
Summary: Not a relaxing read, for sure
Review: This was one of the most disturbing books I've ever read, but I can't say it was poorly written, just that I didn't enjoy it too much. I did like the way the author educated us readers to the ways of the old world while also portraying how some modern-day people live. I didn't like "seeing" an innocent family that minded their own business and took advantage of an auction, get dealt such a terrible hand. Just not my idea of a good book to read.
|
