I definitely like House of Sand and Fog and I am glad to have read it, but.......

The book is set in the early 1980s. It focuses on three characters—an Iranian immigrant by the name of Massoud Amir Behrani, a wealthy, a high-standing Colonel in the Iranian Airforce under the Shah until his downfall, Kathy Nicolo, a reformed drug addict clearly still struggling with the demons of her addiction and the recent departure of a lover, and finally, Deputy Sheriff Lester Burdon, equally messed up and having conjugal problems of his own. Kathy and her brother have inherited a bungalow in the San Mateo County in the Bay area of San Francisco. Due to a mix-up concerning back taxes, the county has erroneously auctioned off Kathy’s bungalow to guess who--the Iranian. Who will get the property? This is the central focus of the book.

The book excels in showing readers how different characters are thinking. The reader is put in the dilemma of wanting both Kathy and the Behrani family to win possession of the property. You feel for both. You understand their respective points of view. Massoud, his wife and his youngest child, all three are perceptively drawn.

What has given me trouble are the actions taken by Massoud, Kathy and Lester to resolve the dispute. Their actions are too extreme. Alternate solutions seem more realistic, more reasonable to me. Yet my solutions would result in a less dramatic story. In my view, the conclusion becomes too cinematic. In fact, in 2003, the book was turned into a popular American drama film starring Ben Kingsley, Jennifer Connelly, Ron Eldard and Shohreh Aghdashloo. The last played Massoud’s wife. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards.

Andre Dubus III, the author, and his wife, Fontaine Dollas Dubus, narrate the audiobook. He narrates the sections when we are in the heads of Massoud and Lester. She narrates the parts revealing the thoughts of Kathy and Massoud’s wife. I preferred Fontaine’s narration over Andre’s. Hers feels more spontaneous, more natural than his, but both are easy to follow. To my ears, Andre seems to know Persian. The narration is good, so I am giving it three stars.


*********************

*Townie 4 stars
*House of Sand and Fog 3 stars
*Bluesman TBR

House of Sand and Fog, a National Book Award finalist, is a galvanizing book of the kind and I urge you to read it. Mr. Dubus has a knack for an in-depth character development and analysis and despite being written in 1999, the story reads as if written yesterday because at the center of it is the desire to live, to love and to belong. This book is not your typical sudden-jolts genre that grips you from the very start. 150 pages into it and I was still waiting for the climactic moment and then I realized I was already in the thick of the story. Dubus' prose is so enrapturing because his words are so true, so raw, and so honest! My Instagram @thevagabondlawyer

Reading this book is like being frozen to the spot while you're watching a train wreck about to happen. It's an emotional wringer. Ultimately, I have to say it's 3.5 stars out of 5. (SPOILER ALERT) I did pop out of the narrative a few times, mostly due to goofy stuff (such as inaccuracies about the SF Bay Area; eg, having BART in Pacifica?!). But really, the basic premise of the novel isn't plausible. I couldn't see the county evicting somebody one day and then auctioning the place off the very next day. No govt agency is THAT efficient! Thus I was very aware I was reading fiction the whole time. On the other hand, I thought the switching narrative viewpoints were handled expertly, and I liked how each of the major characters had flaws to the point of even being dislikable, but I still found reason to pull for each of them. Or at least I understood each of them and could empathize. Another problem is the Colonel commits suicide at the end: but if he's dead, how can he be telling the story? I also found it a little unbelievable that deputy sheriff Burdon (admittedly a good name for him) unravelled to the extent that he did. I'd still recommend the book despite its flaws.

This book had many layers of suspense, frustration and anticipation. Dubus focused on the difficulties for Iranian immigrants, the Biranis, of adapting to American culture. They had lived a life of refinement in their homeland, but had to succumb to a lesser existence in America. The other essential focus in the novel is that of Kathy's, a divorced, alcoholic mother, who is desperately trying to establish a normal subsistence. She lost her home through failure to make mortgage payments. The bank has sold it to Col. Birani, who will stop at nothing to establish this as his rightful place. Things begin to spin out of control rapidly, with many errors and heartbreaks along the way.
The movie adapted well to the novel, but as ususal, the strength of Dubus's writing could not be captured. This was a compelling, heart-pounding novel.

Rating: 3 / 5

DNF at p. 180 (about halfway through)--read the rest of the summary online

To put it bluntly, this just sucks. Oh, I don't mean it's bad or anything, but rather that the situation of the book and what the characters go through is just awful. Two stars off for three reasons, all of which I'll outline below:

- It's bad that it has a lot of boring parts

Slow moving? Check. Tedious detail? Check. A lot of unimportant extras that give you background to everything in the story but have very little to do with the main plot itself? Check.

The writing, I will admit, is good, especially in how the author manages to accurately and convincingly capture the voices of two very different people; but, unfortunately, the amount of detail he supplies to everything works against a story that should be "fast-paced" and "gripping".

- What's worse is that you can't cheer for anyone

I honestly could not pick a side because...well, Kathy's completely useless and unlikeable, and Behrani is...well, he's justifiable in some of what he does, I guess, but at the same time it's incredibly self-serving and based off of a lot of misplaced pride and refusal to let go of the nostalgic "appearances" of the past for back when he had a strong military position. I hated Kathy and couldn't muster enough of feeling sorry for her to really support her despicable actions. And as for Behrani, overall I did like him a bit more, but he also had a ton of problems that I was against him for as well--not least of which is of course his domestic violence towards his wife, no matter how much he says he's "sorry" and "regrets it". If you do it once, MAYBE an altruistic wife can forgive you; but if you do it more than once, I say her best choice is to dump your ass, regardless of cultural and societal stigmas. (Sorry, but as a modern-day woman, I just couldn't accept this.)

In any case, having both Kathy and Behrani be both flawed and morally wrong on some level or another works against the story in a very bad way. I honestly believe that I could have put up with the boring parts of the story and pushed through until the end if only I felt like I could root for one of them. Unfortunately, this is one of those morally-ambiguous stories where there is no definite right or wrong and therefore no clear way to solve things. Just...ugh.

- And the WORST is the whole crappy situation that everyone's in

To be honest...*blows out a breath*...I think the situation at hand is rather unrealistic. For starters, I don't think that a county office could make such a huge mistake as taxing the wrong person for something, then attempting to follow up with that person and even bringing in law enforcement, evict her from her house, and then even bloody auction the house ASAP, without realizing somewhere along the way that they've made a mistake. There's just...no way that would happen, I swear. I mean, people working for any company HAVE to double-check their details, and so the mistake of the county office just isn't one that I can buy into.

HOWEVER, even assuming that this mistake "could happen", I STILL refuse to believe that they'd be able to just kick a person to the curb and have an auction for the house as quickly as they did. There's just...no way. That house would have to be checked over by agents before anyone could consider auctioning it off, in which case it would give the original house owner enough time to contact the county office and have someone look into their mistake, in which case they'd owe that person a HUGE apology and a ton of reparations as well.

HOWEVER, even assuming that the auction "could happen" as early as it did, I STILL refuse to believe that they'd sell it that quickly and actually expect a person to pay in cash. Furthermore, for that person to then go and add to the house THAT quickly is kind of bonkers, when you think about it. Sure, Behrani feels confident in his ownership and whatnot, but I honestly felt like the author was rushing through things a bit here just so that it would be harder for Behrani to let go of the house--not that he was going to anyway--and therefore Kathy would have a harder time making a case for it. AND also, that lawyer of hers was working exceeding slow towards the convenience of the plot for taking action on Kathy's behalf. I mean, I understand that some things take time, but if you hire a lawyer to look into something for you, most lawyers are professional enough to get the job done quickly, especially in a matter of, oh I don't know, this. Much. URGENCY!

Ahem, but anyway, you see where I'm going with this: the situation is unrealistic and contrived.

Despite this though, as well as my personal questioning of why anyone would want to write this type of story, I really do have to give the author credit for his writing. It's convincing in bringing all of the characters to life, as well as weaving as tangled a web as you can expect. I suppose that for those people who like this type of story, it's quite enough to satisfy, but personally...

Yeah, I DNFed it and have already made my case, so I'll just move on.

After reading this, I PROMISED myself I would NEVER read another Oprah pick. I have twice broken that promise and hated myself each time.

The storyline in this book is dreary and depressing and the characters are the biggest group of losers I have ever read in one book. There are so many things that happen in this book as plot devices that are completely unbelievable, but necessary for a ridiculous ending.

And the writing sucks (this sentence may demonstrate that I'm not one to judge writing...but trust me, the writing is sophomoric and uneven).

If you could rate zero stars, I would have.

There is nothing really wrong with this book. It's well-written, psychologically astute with distinct voices for the different narrators who are desperate, needy and proud. It is appropriately heart-wrenching at the most critical point in the story. Having said all that, maybe I should give it 5, or at least 4, stars, but I found that it isn't my kind of story in a way that I'm not sure I can explain. Perhaps it's because it's like watching a car wreck, or people on a so-called reality show. While many use the car-wreck analogy to mean they can't turn away, I never have trouble averting my eyes or changing the channel. So I can only say that while I admire the book and I guess I 'like' it, I don't 'really' like it.

To be honest maybe i liked it a tad more because I liked the movie. My favorite Jennifer Connelly movie. Can't remember if I read the book or saw movie first.

I definitely liked the book though. it read nicely. Good storyline, good characters, it drew me in. A very good summer read; some suspense, some intrigue, some passion. The ending was not quite satisfying, maybe hoping a happier ending. When things go bad, things rarely end well i guess.

Hated, hated, hated this book. I found not a single character nor sentence that made reading it worthwhile. I threw the book across the room in anger when I finished it.

It starts with a bureaucratic mistake. Massoud Behrani, formerly part of the Shah of Iran’s elite inner circle, is working two menial jobs in an effort to maintain a semblance of the wealth and status his family once enjoyed. His family is blissfully unaware of their circumstances, but he knows that he cannot maintain the charade for long and must find a way to achieve the American dream. He sees his opportunity in a newspaper advertisement for a sheriff’s auction – a nice bungalow near the ocean is being sold for back taxes. Kathy Nicolo, struggling to remain in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction and recently abandoned by her husband, is evicted from her home over the tax dispute. She believed she had straightened it out months previously, so ignored the continued letters from the county, and now two sheriff’s deputies have arrived to take possession of the house. One of those deputies is Lester Burdon, who is touched by Kathy’s plight and becomes obsessed with helping her get her house back. The power struggle between these characters forms the core of this gripping novel.

What really gets to me about this work is that you have three people who all want the same thing – a better life for themselves. Dubus slowly reveals these characters and why they are so fragile, proud, confused, hopeless, tenacious, and reckless. Their inability to see any way but the ONE way they have each chosen is what sets up the inevitable tragedy. Each firmly believes s/he is correct and they are almost completely unable to understand one another. Actions taken as a result of impulse and poor judgment are compounded by further actions and reactions.

Dubus changes perspective regularly throughout the novel. So we have insight into each of these characters, their back stories, their dreams and motivations. While I find that I had the most empathy for Colonel Behrani, there were times when I also felt empathy for Kathy or even Lester. And, conversely, there were times I wanted to slap some sense into each of them (mostly Lester and Kathy, but also Behrani). I had seen the movie so knew what was coming, but still felt the sense of suspense.

My only complaint is with the ending. This is probably because of my having seen the movie, which ended with Colonel Behrani … a very powerful image. I recognize why Dubus gave each character an opportunity to reflect on what had happened at the end of the book, but I still wish it had ended about 30 pages earlier.

This book was very very well written. The author’s ability to have a reader associate closely with all the character was major achievement.

Good book. However, I was not ready for the ending. I will not share because of spoilers but it was a bit of a disappointment and that’s why I did not give it a five star rating. And I will say it is one of the better Oprah selections I have had less than stellar luck with her picks recent days.

Rating: 4.75* of five

The Publisher Says: On a road crew in California, a former colonel in the Iranian Air Force sees a way to restore his family's dignity in an attractive bungalow available on county auction. But the house's owner, a recovering alcoholic and addict down on her luck, will fight for the one thing she has left. And her lover, a married cop, will be driven to extremes to win her love. In this masterpiece of American realism and Shakespearean consequence, Andre Dubus III's unforgettable characters careen toward inevitable conflict, their tragedy painting a shockingly true picture of the country we live in today.

My Review: Behrani. An exiled colonel in the Shah's army. Kathy. A fucked-up druggie living off her inheritance. Lester. A major idiot whose law-enforcement career is his last best shot at staying off welfare.

Not one of these people will leave this book better than they entered it. Kathy's only home is the one she inherited, and the county says it's not hers anymore because she hasn't paid the taxes. She has, though. She's completely unable to function in the world because she's hazed on drugs for so long that even when she's clean she can't think straight. That means she can't figure out how to prove she has complied with the law.

Behrani can't get an American life going. He has savings (one hesitates to imagine where the money came from originally) that barely keep him afloat, and jobs that demean him but are all a man with no skills except being an Army officer can get. But his son's college money is sufficient to buy a distressed property at auction. Kathy's home, as it turns out. He plans to renovate and flip it, using this as a stepping-stone to American Dream-level prosperity.

Lester comes in as the deputy assigned to be sure Kathy gets out of the home that's no longer hers. Love at first sight! Lame-o Lester and Loser Kathy...surely the white trash Romeo and Juliet!

Pretty much.

Dubus drags us through the legal system as the parties battle out the rights and wrongs of the case. No one here is a good person, just a greedy selfish prick who deserves what, in the end, is meted out to them by the author's just and pitiless exercise of karmic debt collection.

NOT an uplifting book. My withers were wrung about every twenty pages, and I took frequent breaks in order to console myself with excessive liquor consumption and sordid sexual escapades.

I love a book that brings out the best in me.

There's a scene where Lame-o Lester gets his first-ever BJ from Loser Kathy, which Dubus goes into in a bizarrely flat and affectless way that completely desxualizes the act, makes it a symptom of a pathology and not an erotic or intimate or even sexy development. It's just part of the sickness pervading these broken, unfixable people's existences.

Did you *get* that? A man wrote about the thing most men want more than food and only slightly less than air, and made it *unappealing*.

Dubus is a master of his craft. He is an artist. He can do anything he wants with words to make them dance in the reader's head to HIS tune, screw whatever you were expecting, reader! He can fashion a story that, in its outlines, sounds juicy and ripe with conflict, and make it a sharp object that will deflate whatever happy illusions were still in your head about yourself and this Murrikin Dream we're supposed to be having, reader!

And that is why you should read this book.