House of Sand and Fog

Rating:
Summary: One House, Two Perspectives of the Mind
Review: I found the novel to be riveting. I could appreciate both views regarding the ownership of the house. I would find myself liking one character more than another and then reverse my thoughts! The Colonel's stubborness was reasonable, understandable, and fair. Kathy's stubborness was reasonable, understandable, and fair! Just when you thought there might be a happy ending, there is tragedy and injustice for all. No winners.

I do recommend this book and am dumbfounded about those who rated it with only one star. There was nothing predictable, the characters were rich and real, the plot thickened with each turning page. It was an excellent Oprah pick.

Rating:
Summary: Filled with tension
Review: House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III Vintage Books 2000

Kathy Lazaro owns a house from which can be seen the ocean but when her husband leaves her, goes into a funk and throws out all mail without opening it. She only realizes her mistake when she is evicted from her house by Deputy Sheriff Lester Burdon for non-payment of taxes. Colonel Massoud Amir Behrani, an immigrant from Iran sees a notice of the house sale and believes that this is the chance he, his wife Nadi and son Ismail have been waiting for. Behrani buys the house for $45,000 dollars when it is easily worth 3 - 4 times that price...

For me, the book was too filled with tension and like two trains heading toward each other at full speed a peaceful and equitable resolution to the problem seems impossible. Then when we begin to see the lives of the protagonists, we begin to understand the importance of the house to each.

Behrani, an important man in the Shah's Air Force, left Iran at the time of the Shahs overthrow with a lot of money but in order to marry off his daughter to a suitably wealthy family had been living a life style above his income from two menial jobs. Kathy, a recovering alcohol and drug addict, has been working cleaning houses to support herself while she deals with the loss of her husband and failing in her family's estimation...

Kathy struggle to regain her life through the affair with Lester and the attempt to recover her house are not nearly so believable or sympathetic.

I did not enjoy the book and had difficulty finishing it. The ending seems inevitable, the tragedy unavoidable. But perhaps this is what life is all about.

Rating:
Summary: compelling read
Review: I felt that many of the customer reviews I read captured quite successfully what I wanted to say so I can only add that this is a book that totally captivated me...yet knowing that as I got deeper into it that it would result in a tragic and disturbing conclusion -- but the characters Dubus presents here --particularly the Colonel, were so "real" that I woke early this morning to finish it -- it was as if it was my duty to read it and complete it knowing that I would be saddened by its resolvment but still compelled to complete it. A most unforgettable story that will stay with me for quite awhile.

Rating:
Summary: Depressing and bizzare.
Review: I have read several of Oprah's recommendations and like all of the others, this is an unusually weird book. I don't think she reads anything except this type of book. I did finish the book, only because I am stubborn and refuse to give up, even though it was not an enjoyable read. I do not recommend it to anyone, unless they are into depression.I will not read another of her recommendations nor will I read anything else by this author.

Rating:
Summary: House of Sand and Fog gives "Dark" a new meaning
Review: House of Sand of Fog represented a triangular relationship of 3 people all trying to work out issues from their own history all centered around the bungalow as the symbol. For the colonel, it was the chance to prove himself to his family and rebuild his financial stake in America. For Lester, it was getting back at all those Chicanos from his boyhood who he feared and resented that he never had the courage to stand up to. For Kathy, it was clinging to her father and her family and the last piece of dignity which was tangible. It was three people who unfortunately were simultaneoulsy acting out, converging their needs to make amends and heal their pasts. If one of them, just one of them were out of sync and the triangle was missing a parallel line, perhaps the catastrophe could have been prevented but they were all so blind and hell bent on proving themselves to themselves. I'm not even so sure that Lester even loved Kathy. She just fit into this scenario of his childhood past for if he truly loved her wouldn't he haven't listened to her and her druggy past.

To me, a book that inspires one to think is a book that has accomplished a task. I couldn't put it down, but it cast a sadness in a way that the movie "Leaving Las Vegas" did over me, with characters begging unanswered questions and such dark sides.

Rating:
Summary: Page turner, gripping last 100 pages, disappointing ending
Review: Andre Dubus, III is an excellent writer. His description of people's intermost feelings and beliefs was gripping. Though overall, I liked the book I am not a person who likes to read sex scenes and this book had more than enough for me. I do wish Oprah would let her audience know before they buy the book how she would rate it. Otherwise, I enjoyed the character development and a look into another culture that I had never seen before. The ending was a a page burner except I felt let down when the loose ends were not as neatly tied up, as I had expected they would be. Overall, I think the book is worth reading yet I wouldn't rate it as one of the best books I have ever read (as Oprah did).

Rating:
Summary: I can't get this book out of my mind!
Review: I was totally glued to this book until the wee hours of the morning. I couldn't put it down! Now that it's finished I can't stop thinking about the characters. This novel is like watching an accident happen in slow motion that you have to watch until its horrific and tragic end.

Rating:
Summary: Good best-selling type thriller
Review: For those who enjoy best selling novels, House of Sand and Fog is an enjoyable thriller. The drama of these two parties who fight for a house is well worked through, challenging the reader's simpathy for their causes and experiences. Even though sometimes the characters' mindset seemed rigid and their feelings a bit extreme, I didn't find their portrait to be stereotypical. I could follow their beliefs, their history, their doubts and the unique meaning the house had for each of them. I found that the sexual sub plot was heavy handed at times, skewing my attention from the main drama -- but it wasn't so bad. This story is about misunderstandings, despair and past hurtful lives that come together around a pathetic house. Even though I was eager to know who was going to get the house at the end, I felt this hollow sadness for the characters, and hoped for a good compromise at the end.

Rating:
Summary: Pride comes before the fall
Review: I found no sympathetic characters in this book. Every page I turned, I had the urge to stop reading. But, it pulled me in at the end. Certainly a lesson in misplaced materialism, and foolish pride. The least sympathetic character, to me, was Lester Burdon who in essence abandoned his children for his obsession with Kathy Niccolo. Everyone was obssessed in this book, not just with ownership of a small bungalow and who had a right to it, but obsessed with the opinion of others.

Yet, the book pulls you into the lives of all the characters, including the Iranian refugee family, for whom I felt some empathy. Some of the sections where they all ruminate about their past lives were a bit tedious, but overall the book is well written. It made me angry at time, but it made me think. Above all, I learned to open all correrspondence from county tax authorities.

Rating:
Summary: A tragedy
Review: THE HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG by Andre Dubus III is the story of 3 sets of people that are greatly impacted by the erroneous sale of a house by the county to an immigrant family. The home is formerly owned by Kathy Nicolo, but because of a mistake made by the government, the house is taken from her and then sold to the Behrani's.

Colonel Behrani has aspirations for himself to become a real estate mogul, and is desperately trying to bring his family back to the style of living they were accustomed before being driven out of their home country, Iran. The house, he feels, is the stepping stone for their path to financial comfort.

Kathy's past is not a good one. She's fighting demons ruled by alchohol and drugs, is trying to cope with being newly separated after being married for not very long, and is barely making ends meet by working as a house cleaner. All she had was her house, and a car that her brother helped her get.

Sherrif Lester Burdon happens to be the sherrif that "evicts" her from her home, but he soon falls in love with her and tries desperately to help her regain her home, a home that was left to her by her parents. Lester, by the way, is married, but not happily. His focus soon turns to Kathy and his need to protect and save her.

The three become intertwined as the house becomes the focal point of their existence. I felt the book took a while to get started, but the more I read the more I was hooked. As the three of them spiral downward towards a tragic end, I found I could not put the book down. The characters are not likeable, I'm afraid, but this does not mean the story is not fascinating to read.