- Hardcover: 368 pages
- Publisher: William Heinemann Ltd; New edition edition (6 April 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0434009636
- ISBN-13: 978-0434009633
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,365,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Andre Dubus III wastes no time in capturing the dark side of the immigrant experience in America at the end of the 20th century. "House of Sand and Fog" opens with a highway crew comprising several nationalities picking up litter on a hot California summer day. Massoud Amir Behrani, a former colonel in the Iranian military under the Shah, reflects on his job-search efforts since arriving in the US four years before: "I have spent hundreds of dollars copying my credentials; I have worn my French suits and my Italian shoes to hand-deliver my qualifications; I have waited and then called back after the correct waiting time; but there is nothing". A father of two, Behrani has spent most of the money he brought with him from Iran on an apartment and furnishings that are too expensive, desperately trying to keep up appearances in order to enhance his daughter's chances of making a good marriage. Now the daughter is married, he sinks his remaining funds into a house he buys at auction, thus unwittingly putting himself and his family on a trajectory with disaster. The house, it seems, once belonged to Kathy Nicolo, a self-destructive alcoholic who wants it back. What starts out as a legal tussle soon escalates into a personal confrontation--with dire results.
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 the Paperback edition.
Amazon.co.uk Review
Andre Dubus III wastes no time in capturing the dark side of the immigrant experience in America at the end of the 20th century. House of Sand and Fog opens with a highway crew comprising several nationalities picking up litter on a hot California summer day. Massoud Amir Behrani, a former colonel in the Iranian military under the Shah, reflects on his job-search efforts since arriving in the U.S. four years before: "I have spent hundreds of dollars copying my credentials; I have worn my French suits and my Italian shoes to hand-deliver my qualifications; I have waited and then called back after the correct waiting time; but there is nothing." The father of two, Behrani has spent most of the money he brought with him from Iran on an apartment and furnishings that are too expensive, desperately trying to keep up appearances in order to enhance his daughter's chances of making a good marriage. Now the daughter is married, he sinks his remaining funds into a house he buys at auction, thus unwittingly putting himself and his family on a trajectory with disaster. The house, it seems, once belonged to Kathy Nicolo, a self-destructive alcoholic who wants it back. What starts out as a legal tussle soon escalates into a personal confrontation--with dire results.
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
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First Sentence
THE FAT ONE, THE RADISH TOREZ, HE CALLS ME CAMEL BECAUSE I AM Persian and because I can bear this August sun longer than the Chinese and the Panamanians and even the little Vietnamese Tran. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
THE FAT ONE, THE RADISH TOREZ, HE CALLS ME CAMEL BECAUSE I AM Persian and because I can bear this August sun longer than the Chinese and the Panamanians and even the little Vietnamese Tran. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"House of Sand and Fog" is the story of people whose dreams, though fairly ordinary and mostly achievable, turn out to be built of highly illusive materials, such as sand (upon which you cannot build a house) and fog (through which you cannot see the truth).
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.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Other reviewers have described this book as unpredictable - it certainly is. There are so many twists and turns in this book, without it seeming they have been added for effect. The central characters are well drawn, the story original and profoundly touching and the ending...well, as others have suggested, it will wrench your heart. This book is a wonderful discovery and I can see why they have made it into a film, but cannot imagine how any film could do justice to the depth of the novel. It may sound trite to say it, but this book is worth your time. Wonderful.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This has to be the most unpredictable book I've ever read. Every time I thought I had the characters or the plot figured out the story took a new turn and surprised me all over again.
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
An enjoyable character study
Genob Sarhang Massoud Amir Behrani is as proud and pompous as his name suggests, even though the former Colonel in the Shah's Iranian air force now works as a road cleaner in the... Read more
Published 7 months ago by George Hamilton
The Pathos...
This is a gripping novel, from beginning to end, with themes even more relevant today than when it was written, in 1999. Read more
Published 16 months ago by John P. Jones III
miserable book!
There was enough holes in the story line to make a calander! Started with promise and deteriated from then on with pages of irrelevant ramblings in between that did not help the... Read more
Published 20 months ago by V R Holland
excellent writing, but connived story
i would hate to give this book less than three stars purely on the basis of the author's writing style alone. he has you glued. Read more
Published 23 months ago by seldon
HIGH ON HOPE, LOW ON SATISFACTION
I began this book with high hopes, which sadly it failed to satisfy. In part I guess that was because the story is something of a contrivance, in part because the author seems... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Barry McCanna
A struggle
I had read several recommendations for 'House of Sand and Fog' but I really struggled to read this book. Read more
Published on 21 Feb 2010 by Bookworm79
Compulsive and heartbreaking
I picked this up at a jumble sale, remembering the compelling trailer for the film adaption. It's an extremely gripping, well-written book, telling the story of Behrani, an... Read more
Published on 4 Sep 2009 by Jeremy Walton
house of sand and fog
avoid this book if you're a happy person or if you're on holiday!
Dreadful and tedious read, frustrating, too much text and no paragraphs, or dialogue- became violent and... Read more
Dreadful and tedious read, frustrating, too much text and no paragraphs, or dialogue- became violent and... Read more
Published on 28 July 2009 by Mrs. S. Goosey
Beautiful
"House of Sand and Fog" is definitely one of those books that stayed with me long after I had finished reading it. Read more
Published on 12 July 2009 by Lapidus
Huge disappointment
I bought this book on the basis of the rave critics and I ended up regretting the time I spent reading it and the money I spent buying it. Read more
Published on 14 Jun 2009 by Sophia
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