Rating: 
Summary: outrageous, horrible, depressing
Review: The first third was interesting. The rest of the book was ridiculous. The author treats the 3 main characters as if they are victims of fate without any sense of understanding or intelligence. The ending was hideous. I definitely would not recommend this unrealistic, gory, and depressing book.
Rating: 
Summary: What Promised To Be A Good Read
Review: I just finished reading this book and I'm in two minds about it. The first half of the novel was a good read, I couldn't help but like all the characters, but come to the last 150 pages or so the story and indeed the characters just came unstuck. By the end of the book I really came to dislike both Lester and Kathy, but I never came to dislike Colonel Behrani. I just think the consistancy of the characters lost shape as the book progressed, and the events that ultimately happened just didn't seem realistic to me. What I really hated about Lester, which showed he didn't really care for Kathy, was his encouraging Kathy to drink again knowing she was a former alcoholic. I guess the author used literary licence to a degree, but the novel to me was unrealistic and the end was disappointing.
Rating: 
Summary: A real page turner!!!
Review: This was a great book. I get bored very easily with books unless they are quite good but I couldn't put this one down. The author does a very good job developing a diverse group of characters that come crashing together in a tragic ending.
Rating: 
Summary: This is a fabulous book for critical readers.
Review: I am very disturbed by several previous reviews. People who don't finish a book have no business reviewing it. This is a challenging, thought-provoking book -- so if all you read is Danielle Steele and Nicholas Sparks, yeah, you probably won't like this. But if you enjoy being challenged, having your thoughts and beliefs questioned and turned around - and if for once you'd like to read a story that you can't figure out the ending of 1/2 way through the book -- this is it! It didn't get to be a National Bk. Award finalist for nothing - and in my opinion - it should have won.
Rating:
Summary: Congratulations...
Review: to Andre Dubus III who has done a great job on this book. I found the characters at times trashy or unlikeable, but that really brought out my emotions and made the characters so realistic. I thought this was extremely original and unputdownable at the same time. I read the whole thing nonstop in a matter of days. Andre has handled potentially confusing differing viewpoints expertly and I found the result very easy to read. If you read some of these reviews Andre and they get you down - well this reviewer loved it!!! I find it really hard to find a good book these days but this is one. But I must admit I took sides - I was kind of rooting for the Iranian family.
Rating:
Summary: House of Stupidity
Review: I greatly enjoyed reading the book to a point. It was fast moving and a real page-turner with interesting characters, especially Behrani. But after three quarters of the story, it began to fall apart, its seemingly intelligent characters behaving in incredibly stupid ways, especially Burdon, the responsible FTO police officer. I was looking forward to some trouble and then, perhaps, an interesting resolution, but no, the story took a nosedive with the important characters displaying extemely poor judgement, rash behavior and gross stupidity. Ultimatley the book was not believable and very disappointing. Shame on you, Oprah, for recommending it.
Rating:
Summary: House of Stupidity
Review: I greatly enjoyed reading the book -- to a point. It was fast moving and a real page-turner with interesting characters, particularly the Iranian refugee, Behrani. But after three quarters of the story, it began to fall apart, its seemingly intelligent characters behaving in incredibly stupid ways, especially Burdon, the responsible FTO police officer. I was looking forward to some trouble and then, perhaps, an interesting resolution, but no, the story took a nosedive with the important characters displaying extemely poor judgement, rash behavior and gross stupidity. Ultimatley the book was not believable and disappointing...
Rating:
Summary: It was the best of novels, it was the worst of novels
Review: Andre Dubus' House of Sand and Fog is a brilliant novel with several gaping holes that make it much worse than it should be. Dubus is a wonderful writer, that much is clear. His writing flows and the themes in the novel are quite thought provoking. Generally, the plot in this novel is constructed very well (aside from one major problem) and I actually think that because of that, this book would make a good book club selection. That being said, I have some major problems with this novel. The entire conflict of the novel is based on events that could not happen in Northern California (Eastern Europe, maybe). A woman's home is taken by the local tax authorities because of a clerical error and sold for nonpayment of taxes (a whopping $500 worth). The tax agency sells her house almost immediately to an Iranian immigrant who had been in the United States for several years, desperately trying to hold on to the wealth his family once had in pre-Ayatollah Iran. He has visions of selling the house and making money on it, she just wants her house back. The way her house it taken from her just could never happen in California. There are other details concerning the house, which I won't go into here (can't give too much away), that were equally as unbelievable. I am sorry, but I just cannot suspend my disbelief that much. The preposterousness of this factor of the story tainted the rest of it for me. The novel is really a gritty, reality story, yet the entire conflict stems from an impossibility. It was just too contrived for me. Another problem I had was with the behavior of certain of the characters, particulary Kathy, the woman who owned the house. Kathy narrates the novel, and as a narrator, she comes off fairly intelligent and thoughtful. Her behavior and her conversations are far from that. I think if Dubus wanted to make her more believable, her narrative voice should have been that of the vacuous, narrow-minded racist that she was, based on her actions. With those flaws, House of Sand and Fog still has its merits. Frankly, I found it hard to put down for the last 150 pages or so. I just wish Dubus had been more true to Kathy's character and had come up with a more convincing reason as to both characters would have fought over the house. Had he done so, this would have been a truly terrific novel.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely Disappointed
Review: I was very disappointed in the language used in this book (I think they should provide a ratings system like movies). And I hated the dark feeling this book left with me. It was not uplifting or enlightening. If this book is someone's reality, I certainly don't want to read about it, especially if it's not true. If this were based on a true story I would probably have a lot more compassion for these people. But the author Made These People Up! Don't waste your time reading this.
Rating:
Summary: !que horriblE!
Review: this book was poorly written, the characters were shallow stereotypes and the story was stupid.
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