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Amazon.co.uk Review
Dubus tells his tragic tale from the viewpoints of the two main adversaries, Behrani and Kathy. To both of them, the house represents something more than just a place to live. For the colonel, it is a foot in the door of the American Dream; for Kathy, a reminder of a kinder, gentler past. In prose that is simple yet evocative The House of Sand and Fog builds to its inevitable denouement: one that is painfully dark but unfailingly honest. --Alix Wilber
Amazon.co.uk Review
Dubus tells his tragic tale from the viewpoints of the two main adversaries, Behrani and Kathy. To both of them, the house represents something more than just a place to live. For the colonel, it is a foot in the door of the American Dream; for Kathy, a reminder of a kinder, gentler past. In prose that is simple yet evocative The House of Sand and Fog builds to its inevitable denouement: one that is painfully dark but unfailingly honest. --Alix Wilber --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Author Dubus tells the story from the perspective of three characters: Kathy Nicolo, who owns and loses a modest, 3-bedroom bungalow in northern California and who is a recovering coke addict and alcoholic; a former colonel from the Shah's Iranian military and now a legal citizen of America who acquires Kathy's house through a county auction; and an intelligent though troubled and dissatisfied American policemen who starts a relationship with Kathy after serving the official eviction notice
This is a book as much about the effects of bureaucratic mistakes and their attendant nightmares, as it is about people and their almost fated inabilities to break free of bad habits and destructive behaviours. At the same time, it's about life in a free country, dreams of betterment, and shaking free of the past.
Big themes. Well handled.
The different perspectives show the American dream and our unalienable rights --- shelter, prosperity, the pursuit of happiness or, failing that, at least a decent enough relationship. The reader is never really certain which character deserves the most empathy; they each have their fatal flaws and also their very real charms.
As the story builds to its tragic conclusion, you will find yourself completely gripped and increasingly worried. This is a page-turner. And it's very, very good. While the book could have done with some good editing towards the end --- maybe ten or 15 fewer pages, especially regarding Les Burdon, the policeman --- it is well worth reading and really memorable.
Highly recommended.
It's certainly not a light read and I wouldn't say that it falls into the page turner category, but it was one of the most unusual and eventful books I've read in a long time. Andre Dubus manages to describe the environment and the inner turmoil of the characters in a very accurate way and with an interesting and colourful choice of words.
There's no hero in this book. There are no innocents (other than perhaps the Colonel's son). The main characters are treated both with the sympathy and contempt they deserve. Rather than falling for the obvious trap of making one person the victim, Dubus shows them for what they are, human and fallible, and this only adds to the readability of this book. As the reader you're torn between whom to side with as you can see both parties' point of view, but nothing will prepare you for the ending.
Dreadful and tedious read, frustrating, too much text and no paragraphs, or dialogue- became violent and... Read more
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