The story is told primarily from two different people's points of view. I am not sure if the author intended the readers to feel any sympathy towards the characters in their predicaments, but I found all of them to be pretty despicable, and I thought they all probably deserve what's coming to them. At times I subconsciously root for one character or the next, but both of the main characters are greedy and selfish. Kathy is a screw up and incompetent which leads to all the trouble she gets in. Behrani is egotistical, stubborn and cares mostly about himself, imposing his own ideas of what is "best" for his family.

It is interesting hearing it from two different points of view, separated by different chapters, but I also feel like he stereotyped both characters a great deal. Using strategically broken english and an overbearing sense of pride through Behrani's words, and perhaps the exact opposite for Kathy.

Often this book is a perfect page-turner, but just as often I found myself wanting to skip over chunks and chunks of paragraph. What makes this book great is the gripping story and eerie building of suspense. You might suspect what is going to happen next, but you definitely do feel the need to keep reading. Where the book is weakest, I feel, is the pacing. Several points throughout the book the author will pause in the midst of a character's thoughts and dive into a flashback that can last up to three pages. And all of these flashbacks provide little more insight into the character... instead it seems like wasted words and space, and like I said, destroys the pacing. The climatic scene happens well before the end of the book, making the remaining pages very uninteresting and the ending is pretty unsatisfying.

Overall, a depressing but fairly well written book with a great story.

Structurally, the book was interesting. Several characters narrate the book, and the plot unfolds around a central issue--who owns a particular house. Who can live in the house? Who can sell the house? But, the major problem is that the characters are difficult to identify with or find sympathy for. All three of the central characters--Kathy Nicolo, Lester Burdon, and Colonel Behrani--remain the same. They are never changed by incredible circumstances--death, murder, suicide, inprisonment--they remain the same. Kathy has a chip on her shoulders that's never explained and Lester is just plain stupid. What motivates these characters? The reader never knows. Kathy gets herself into trouble blindly and so does Lester. The reader is left wondering how these two are bungling through life. Surely, every human has some kind of thought process that at least partially puts the world into focus--but Kathy and Lester never do. Even in jail, both Kathy and Lester are still thinking about sex with each other. Well, their worlds have fallen in on them and there is no opening in sight, and they are still thinking of a little sex. Unbelievable! Where is the introspection? When Kathy's relatives show up at the jail, she still has a chip on her shoulder. Why? What's happened between them? The writer's job is to give us some insights into human relationships. The insights are missing here. Colonel Behrani is a little easier to understand. He's outside his primary culture. He operates with a different world view than most of us, and thus we cut him some space. But even he doesn't change. His last coherent thought is that his daughter should sell the house for a certain amount. That's why the book ultimately seems flawed to me--the characters are unbelievable, unlikable, and ultimately are boring. I also agree with the reviewer who said the book is not for kids. I know there is an audio version for kids (unabridged)--but this book is definitely not for kids. The sex is raw, the drug additions exposed, the blind and stupid behavior accepted. I don't think this book will be much discussed in a decade.

Avid Reader

I gave this book 1 star, only because the review requires at least 1 star. This book was given to my 14 year old son to read for a High Honors required summer reading program. He read through the first 2 chapters and handed the book to me and said he wasn't going to read it. My husband and I then read the book and discovered extreme graphic sexual content, not just once, but, many, many times! The description of the sexual content is not done in a metaphorical way, it is exremeley graphic! I'm totally disgusted and appalled that not only did a teacher choose this book, but that it was approved by the Director of Curriculum! PARENTS BEWARE!!!

This is a great story of tragedy. I found it an easy read and couldn't put it down. I finished it very fast because the writer keeps the story moving. Very good writing as the characters are strong and easy to imagine. Highly recommended.

Events occur & become intertwined with one another. Dubus keeps you wondering where it is all heading. The book is easy reading & you have to
keep reading to FIND OUT what is going to happen! When NOT reading this book I found myself wondering what Kathy & Lester & Behrani (the main characters) were up to next!

Do not spend money on this book. It is well-written, but as other reviewers have noted, the plot is too unbelievable at the end.
I grew to dislike the characters so much...perhaps that was the author's objective.

HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG focuses on the disputed ownership of a small house in near San Francisco. Kathy has inherited the house from her father. She and her husband moved there for a fresh start, one that ended when he aburptly moved out. Deeply depressed, Kathy ignored the notices from the county until the day she was evicted and her house sold at auction.

The new owner was an Iranian refugee, one who had remained loyal to the Shah and had to flee with his family and a few possessions after the revolution. Desperate to rebuild his fortune and unable to find work as an engineer he decides to speculate in real estate, purchasing Kathy's bargain priced house as his first step on the property ladder. The two are soon on a collesion path to disaster, accompanied by the sheriff's deputy who served the eviction papers to Kathy.

This is an excellent story, each group of characters is so well written that the reader will go from being quite sympathetic to them to totally disliking them and then back again. As the story continues it becomes all too apparent that things will not end well. Each character has numerous opportunities to change the course of events but at each juncture makes the wrong choice and speeds the tragedy along. This is also why four stars instead of five, many of the choices that are made are so amazingly short sighted, so childishly selfish that they do not coincide with the thoughtful, insightful characters they have been protrayed as just a few pages before.

Overall though this is a wonderful book, and although a tragic one. It has the makings of a classic rather than a flash in the pan bestseller. Do not be surprised to see it appear on a college required reading list sometime in the future.

I was all jazzed up and excited to read this book many years ago when Oprah had announced on her show that "House of Sand and Fog" was the next selection in her book club.

The book sounded like a great read, so I jumped right in and read the book in a few short days. After I finished reading this book, I couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about.

Sure Andre Dubus III can write, there isn't any doubt about that, HOWEVER, the storyline, some of the events that take place in this novel, and even the actions of some of the characters, seemed way off center.

Take for instance the main character, Kathy, who doesn't bother opening and reading the several attempts by the county to let her know about a tax problem against her home.... Because she ignores the letters, the county takes away her home and it is auctioned off for sale. Come to find out the county had made a mistake/error regarding the supposed tax issue. If Kathy had only dealt with the letters the county sent her in the first place, then perhaps she wouldn't have been in the predicament she found herself in in the first place.

Kathy also has an affair with a married cop named Les in the novel, whom falls in love with her. Les ends up getting all caught up in Kathy's drama and crossing the line illegally by terrorizing & holding the new family that purchased her home in the auction hostage. Les' actions are truly unfathomable to me.

I found both Kathy & Les to be very frustrating characters to read about in this novel, which is why I am giving the book such a low rating.

I will admit this book was very well written. Maybe it was too well written in that I grew to intensely dislike Kathy, couldn't believe how stupid Lester was to the degree he got involved with her and ruined his life (good grief, how was she worth all this heartache?!), and while the colonel may not have seemed a very sympathetic character, I found myself rooting for him. I didn't find the ending satisfying at all & wished I hadn't wasted my time.

Which is why this book gets 3/5 stars from me. It was just always hard to sympathize with some of the characters, particularly the Kathy and Lester parts.

I think this movie is a great litmus test to see who thinks what as far as socialism and capitalism, because on one end you'll have people that feel that Kathy is the victim that should always be helped and nurtured no matter her own shortcomings, and on the other you'll have people who feel that the Colonel was the victim who was simply following the "American dream" of starting with a little, and through their own efforts, making things better.

To that extent I must be the latter because I could just never feel any sympathy for Kathy's character. She always felt like a grown-up child to me, one of those girls who always gets by on her looks and therefore is always dependent on men to help her out, and once they leave (as the book clearly showcased) the true trainwreck within her appears. Maybe the book should've been more sympathetic to her cause by showing some lighter sides of her, but come on, not opening your mail for weeks and then claiming innocence from any impending action because of it is very hard for anyone to accept, especially people who have been forced to start with very little in their own lives and through their own ingenuity (college, smart choices, and full-time work) made something of themselves, such as myself. The character of Lester certainly didn't help either, as he just came off as another knight-in-shining-armor to Kathy's hopeless cause. I just could never get past to how a cop, who day in day out sees self-degenerating people destroy themselves, never associates that with Kathy. Guess she must've be one really good looker, and if she looked anything like Jennifer Connelly then I can maybe see why.

And I have seen the movie, and I like how it omits certain parts from this book that would've further made the Colonel's character more sympathetic than Kathy's. For example, there's one part when the Colonel is going to visit Kathy's attorney, and as he walks to her building he sees some homeless people around. He mentions to himself that in his country these poor mentally disabled folks would be kept in hospitals and cared for the rest of their lives, not kept on the streets like they are here. So he is sympathetic to the causes of the unfortunate, only I imagine he also believes that those who are able-minded, such as Kathy, should get on their own two-feet and do something about their own miserable conditions. On Kathy's side, there's one part where she knows that sleeping with a married man is wrong (the book explains that she had actually done it once before when she was younger) but her reasoning is that her shadow-of-a-husband is probably banging somebody right now now too, so why shouldn't she. You see what I mean? It's hard to sympathize with a character that thinks that way, someone so irresponsible who always blames others for their own misfortunes.

One of my favorite parts in both the book and the movie is when the Colonel offers a very good solution to Kathy about her problem. He says that she should sue the county for 10 times the value of the house for her injustice, which no doubt would be very plausible for her to obtain and win since she was clearly wronged by the county, and any contingent-fee lawyer would be glad to take on a solid case like this, but Kathy is so ignorant that she never sees this great solution through the fog, pun intended.

In any case just my two cents on this book.

Andre Dubus lll is my new favorite author. After reading a few of the reviews, it astonishes me that others were not as blown away by "The House of Sand & Fog" as I was. I would go as far to say, this book is now in my top ten along with East of Eden, To Kill a Mockingbird, and A Thousand Splendid Suns.

The author writes in three narratives, which allows the reader to get inside three of the characters heads: Massoud Amir Behrani, Kathy Nicolo, and Lester, the Deputy Sheriff. I love this, since the reader can absorb each of the character's perspectives, thoughts, sins, and behaviors.

This is an emotional story about an immigrant, Massoud Amir, who leaves Iran, where he was in the Iranian military, just under the Shaw, a very important man in his country whom earned respect, wore French suits and Italian shoes. He comes to America where he is nothing compared to what he was in Iran. He works 2 or 3 jobs to keep his lifestyle intact. He begins buying fore-closured homes, and this is where Kathy Nicolo comes into the picture.

Massoud Amir buys Kathy Nicolo's home from under her feet, her father's home, her family home. It appears he will do anything, even take one's residence, so he is not humiliated and embarrassed by his new lifestyle, so his friends will see he is indeed somebody. He will do anything to keep up appearances, which is his demise in the end.

This is a story of three misplaced individuals, individuals who are struggling to find themselves, individuals who cannot find their way. The author uses fog as symbolism throughout the book to represent this disorder, and when the density of the fog becomes thick enough, nobody can possibly stop what will eventually come to be, what will alter every character's future.

Powerful. Beautiful. Lush vocabulary. Electrifying messages and significance. "The House of Sand and Fog" becomes a character itself: a place of confusion, and a destination of something sinking rather than a strong foundation. It becomes unbearably difficult to turn back from the fog once one begins the journey.

*****A five star classic treasure*****

Another reviewer put it best when they said "a slow train wreck does not make for good reading." The premise of the county wrongfully evicting a woman from her house was a little absurd but I was willing to swallow that premise if it made for a good story. But the absurdity just kept coming. The evicted woman and her married boyfriend just keep doing one stupid, unthinkable thing after another to the new, legal owners of the house. It would have been so much easier and logical to just sue the county for MORE than the value of the house and actually have benefited from the county's mistake. It was around this time that I realized, the author expects me to feel sorry for this main character but that I would rather she died and the story end than have to hear more about her stupidity. Then I asked myself why I would read a book about stupid people. And the answer was I'm not reading it anymore.

Aside from the absurd premise and actions of the characters, the writing was in no way impressive. The author was consistently mentioning the woman's breasts for no reason. She was laying on a bed and the author said she was laying on her breasts or she was in the shower and the water was streaming down her breasts. What is this? A cheap romance novel? And lets not forget that the new owner of the house is a colonel! A colonel from Iran who compares every sound he hears to that of an F16 fighter jet - because that's what colonel's really know, right? I'm not reading any more because I just know the colonel is going to notice the woman's breasts look like F16 fighter jets.

I give credit to any writer who can take a seemingly dull concept and turn it into solid read. The overwhelming feel of the book is that of people who have failed to live up to expectaions from themsevlves and others. All of the characters are inherently human. Likeable and disgusting in there mortal failings. The pathos and depression give the book a vibrance that belies the story of a legal and, ultimately, moral fight over a small house in southern California. In the end, there are no clear cut answers given, no closure for any of the characters, but that is what makes it so compelling. One of the most human books I have ever read.

At some point though, you want there to be some sort of resolution. During the latter third of the book, time feels stretched, but not in a way that reflects the action of the novel. It malingers too long.

Other than that, I really enjoyed the book. For good or ill, Debus is the type of writer who leaves nothing to the imagination, the readers have full insight into all the motivations for all the charaters. He "tells" alot amidst the texture of the environment, does not show as much.

This is a great story about an immigrant who comes to the
US, looking to escape the desperate situation in his home
country. He longs to achieve the American Dream but only
one thing is standing in his way: money. He quickly realizes
that the only way to achieve that is through real-estate
and buys a house. Only problem is that the house formerly
belonged to an irate woman, Kathy Niccolo, whose down on
her luck. The two fight over the home and tragedy ensues.

I can't understand the other reviewers low ratings. I saw
elements of Greek tragedy and literary symbolism in the plot.
I'll remember this book with all its trappings for years to come
and for me, as a writer, that's the marking of a classic novel.

The story drags. It is depressing, as others have written. Multiple layers of tragedy, but the most compelling perhaps is the tale of prejudice experienced by the family. There are better ways to spend time than reading this book.

I will say that the story line held my interest, the plot was plausible, even the depiction of the cultural differences and what havoc that wrought in the clash between the characters was fascinating and truthful. I cared about each of the characters and was riveted to find out what would happen to them next. The BIG downer of this book, however, was all of the cursing and way too much explicit sex. I realize this was somewhat important for developing the characters of Lester and Kathy, but the mere suggestion of it would have been enough. Instead, it was excessive, dirty, and over the top in my opinion. Overall, I'm glad I read this strong emotion and thought provoking story, but I would be reluctant, embarrassed even, to recommend it without warning of the excessive and explicit sex and cursing.

If you think that you are too happy with your life and you want waste a couple hours, then this is the book for you. I can't believe that this book was made into a movie or that Oprah put this on her book club list. It is that bad.
I did find it interesting to review the cultural differences and expectations of different societies, but other than that it was extremely depressing and a total waste of time. If you want to know the ending - everyone either dies or goes to jail. What an uplifting story - not!

Rating this novel was extremely difficult because the book left me with very mixed feelings. The writing and imagery were magnificent and certainly worthy of five shining stars. Some of the plotlines and characterizations, however, were relatively disappointing. The characters of Lester and Kathy evoked a lot of anger and frustration, which may have been the author's intention, but their overwhelming selfishness, ignorance, and simplicity was a bit over the top. Their "love" affair was also a bit over the top and Lester's instant devotion was difficult to swallow considering he was essentially a confused adulterer who violently abused his power as a police officer and somewhat took advantage of a troubled woman who had nothing left to lose. This wasn't as emotional a read as I was expecting because it was almost impossible to sympathize with half of the key characters (mainly Lester and more often than not Kathy). I do, however, commend the author for the unique and intriguing cultural perspective he weaved throughout the book.

Even though the ending was spoiled for me ( didn't finish in time for book club) I was captivated enough to finish anyway. I really enjoyed the story. Very well written. I highly recomend this one. ( The film was pretty good too!)

From the very first paragraph, you know this book is going to be depressing. What you don't know is that it's going to be a headache to get through. Each character is shallow and has the Shakespearian-quality of making ridiculously rash decisions inevitably leading to tragic consequences. I especially found the author's attempts to mesh the Persian culture in every other sentence irritating. What bothered me the most about this novel, however, was that I felt no empathy for a single character --save for the Colonel's son--a character who was kept far in the background. The narratives were too drawn-out and ridiculously infused with self-pity. Throughout the novel, I began to despise the characters more and more, and by the action-laden end (strange because the rest of the novel took so long to pick up), I felt totally disappointed. I had expected so much more from this book because the idea was brilliant.

I found that the main feeling I had throughout this entire reading experience was a solid mix of frustration and anger. Frustration at the entire situation these two completely different people find themselves in and anger at the fact that they insist on making things that much worse with every desperate decision they make. Frustration in the mere fact that the writer, Andre Dubus III, didn't take a step back and realize that his novel, while spectacularly imagined, was just too long and drawn out for it to be completely satisfying and angry at his publishers for not making him do so. `House of Sand and Fog' is overall fantastic, but I'm so torn because this is far from an easy breezy read and at times I even gave up all together, read two or three other novels, and then picked up only to repeat the process twenty pages later.

`House of Sand and Fog' is not by any means a waste of time, and if you can make it through the overly drawn out first half then the second will be a welcomed page-turner. In fact it took me months to get through to the second part of the novel, and just two days to finish it if that gives you a better perspective. It's not that I wasn't involved in these characters, because I was, but I was just waiting for something, anything to happen that glued me to the page.

If you've seen the film adaptation you pretty much know what to be looking for. The movie was faithful to the prose in many ways. The book here too revolves around Kathy Nicolo, a reformed alcoholic whose husband has left her alone and is still struggling to keep her life from falling apart. She's depressed and repressed from the rest of her family, avoiding their critical eye every chance she can. When her house is wrongfully taken from her due to a county error she is thrown out in the street and her house, her fathers house, is sold promptly at an auction for a very, very lowball price. The new owner of the house, Massoud Amir Behrani, a one time colonel of the Iranian military, has his own reasons for wanting this home. Coming from a place where he was respected as a god almost and now residing in a land where he's left to pick up trash on the streets Behrani just wants a chance at making back what he lost, and this real estate investment looks to be his ticket.

When the county realizes their error they offer to buy back the house from Mr. Behrani, but he won't sell unless he can flip it and make three times what he paid for it. The county of course refuses and Kathy is left on her own to fight for her home. She's not alone for long, for Deputy Sheriff Lester Burdon decides to throw away his family and his career to help Kathy regain what she unfairly lost.

What separates this novel from the film is that with each character flushed out the way they are here we can really become attached to each and every person involved, from Kathy and her pangs of failing her family once again to Mr. Behrani struggling to make a good life for his family, both of whom must battle their pride which won't allow them to back away from this losing battle. The end is even more heartbreaking than that of the film and goes to show that Hollywood, while never having a problem with jerking a tear, always tries and sugarcoat what at times should be left tarnished and rusted. The ending here is far from sugarcoated.

Other than the monotonous first half (I'm serious here, I never realized it would take so long to get through 199 pages, but it did) the only complaint I have is the simplicity and or maybe just plain stupidity of the man known as Lester Burdon. He is one of the more annoying and just plain aggravating characters of modern literature, for me at least, and in the end he proves to be the biggest problem to any of the characters in this book. When Kathy is going on and on in the end about not wanting to have involved Lester and not wanting him to suffer because of her actions I felt like slapping her in the face and reminding her that this whole mess is HIS FAULT! Anyways, now maybe you can see why I refer to this novel as frustrating.

So, my final feelings towards this novel are...read it...plain and simple. It's such a powerful piece of literature despite its shortcomings. Do I wish that maybe Andre decided to do some trimming? Sure. Do I wish that Lester was more than just a control hungry nymphomaniac with no regard for the well being of his own family? Of course. But in the end the passion and truth this novel exposes more than makes up for the issues I have with its delivery.

. In this thoughtful, harrowing story, Dubus explores how the quest for the American dream can go so wrong. Massoud Amir Behrani is a proud former Iranian colonel who was forced to flee his country just steps ahead of the revolutionaries who would have killed Behrani and his entire family. Now Behrani works on a construction crew in California by day and as a convenience store cashier by night support his wife, teenage daughter and son. His life's savings has been gobbled up by his wife's expensive attempts to make fellow Iranian refugees believe that the Behranis are still rich and powerful. On the verge of financial ruin, Behrani makes one last desperate attempt to seize the American dream. He uses the last of his savings to buy a home which has been auctioned by the county. But the house's former owner, Kathy Niccolo, a recovering alcoholic down on her luck is determined to regain her home at any cost. And her lover, a local cop is willing to go to any lengths to force the Behranis to leave their new home. Dubus has crafted a tragic story in which the reader can sympathize with each character. There are no villains, only misguided, stubborn human beings whose blind obsessions make the horrific end inevitable.

PLOT: Behrani, a former Iranian Colonel, is now a working stiff in Northern California. He purchases a good-looking home during an auction, and moves in with his family. Little does he realize that Kathy Niccolo, the rightful owner of the house who has been forced out of her own home, has found an error in the auction and wants to move back. But the Colonel refuses to move out, so now Kathy, along with her new lover, a married Deputy Sherriff named Lester Burdon, must find many ways to bring the Behrani family out of her house.

CHARACTERS: Almost every character is three-dimensional. There are reasons behind Colonel Behrani's temper against other people, and Kathy's shattered happiness. Lester Burdon seems like an antagonist you'd love to hate when confronting the Behranis, but his own family crisis makes him more of a humanely frustrated protagonist. There are no villains here, only unsatisfied heroes: Behrani, Kathy, and Burdon are unaware with each other's problems in the past, and that's what makes their conflicts more gut-wrenching.

PACING: This book is not for a moderately fast read. All the conflicts, sub-plots, and narrations involving characters' past/present dilemmas are carefully crammed in this 365-page novel. Lester Burdon's narrative in the second half of the story unfortunately drags, though it is still important for his part. The climax seems too quick, no matter how tragic it becomes, and the resolution seems a bit too long.

THE WRITING ITSELF: Author uses both present tense (Behrani's point of view) and past tense (Kathy and Burdon's point of view), & both first person (Behrani, Kathy) and third person (Burdon) narratives, which is exceptionally unique. Imagery is quite powerful: the descriptions of San Francisco, Half Moon Bay, and other places are very detailed and not overly bloated with adjectives and metaphors. The conflicts between our three major characters (especially near the climax) are written with brilliant tension, and the most tragic events that happen in the book will sting the heart immensely.

OVERALL: Andre Dubus III could've done better with the pacing of this story (especially with Lester Burdon's narrative in the second half of the story), and the ending might not be what the readers want, but all in all, it is a very good book. A very recommendable contemporary tour de force. B-

This book has a very intersting situation behind it, a situation that is full of righteous action--Kathy Nicolo, a recovering addict, loses her husband and then her house quickly one right after the other, and Colonel Behrani, formerly of the Iranian military in the days of the Shah, buys the house with his dwindling funds in hopes to sell it for a much higher price and reinstate his family with some of the stature they had in Iran. Though Behrani is subject to fits of abuse, and Kathy is in a spot unadmirable for an addict, the book pursues the obviously converging paths of these intriguing characters. Add to the mix Deputy Lester Burdon, who seems to have a vested interest in Kathy, and this would seem to promise a solid tragedy of characters acting out against each other as powers beyond them manipulate but remain untouched.

But halfway or so through the book, the drive behind the story seems to peter off. It may possibly have to do with the gradually growing focus on Lester Burdon, whom even the book acknowledges as a character unworthy of his own first-person narrative, but after a while a centerpiece of the action. Kathy Nicolo and Colonel Behrani seem to come to saturation points relatively early in the book and have trouble moving along the story, possibly the reson behind inserting Burdon into a third person perspective, but evne though the main characters come back to a position of interest as the ending begins to unfold, Dubus seemed to struggle with making the last half of the book move forward.

There is something strangely American about this novel, in that it deals with some almost archetypal figures that may not be easily heralded as American icons (the struggling female, the determined immigrant, the control-hungry cop), which may have made it a worthy contender for the National Book Award, but as a novel, it seems to leave itself a little wanting.

This is a GREAT book. Beautifully written, a story about love and ultimately loss. There are several sub plots going on at the same time in this book but the author blends them so well, you never feel lost. VERY original and insightful look at how people from two totally different cultures seem so different but really are not. Things are not always as they seem . By far the best of all of Oprah's picks in my opinion. LOVED IT!!

Wow, this book really puts you in a strange place of not knowing which side you're on or which character you're rooting for. The character development is so rich, and the curious twists in the storyline make for an exciting and unique literary journey. This is true America, a melting pot of so many cultures, and all these people blend here in this novel. Hope you love it!

When I started reading House of Sand and Fog, my expectations were that it would be another story about an immigrant family struggling to make ends meet but eventually reaches their goal of happiness. Well, if that's what you want out of a book... you're in the wrong place. Although my expectations were not met, the book goes in a completely different direction that what one might expect. This is the story of Colonel Behrani and his family of Persian immigrants who are getting accustomed to life without luxury in America. Meanwhile, Kathy Nicolo is an American woman whose life has made so many wrong turns that she is completely lost. These characters connect in an unlikely way... and what ensues is nothing short of tragic. The biggest strength of the book was the author Andre Dubus III's way of connecting the characters in such a way that you are at no time confused during the course of the novel. The biggest weakness of the book, however, was how Dubus sometimes found himself rambling about Colonel Behrani's old life in Persia, which sometimes distracts the reader from the main plot. Despite this minor flaw, Dubus's style of writing is very fluid and incredibly enjoyable; I would definitely read more of his novels. After finishing the book, you take away mixed feelings. This story will completely change your perception of the "American dream," and will definitely change your attitude towards people that are desperately struggling to make ends meet.

Patrick O'Callaghan
The House of Sand and Fog is a novel that met my expectations and beyond. I was expecting a boring tale after hearing many friends review the novel, and after reading it, i felt that Andre Dubus did a great job of keeping the reader intrigued. I really felt sympathetic for both Kathy and Massoud because of how Dubus went from one perspective to the other. I believe that was one of the strengths of the novel, and although the plot was a little bland and predictable, Dubus made up for it by making the reader feel for the characters. One of the weaknesses was that Dubus let the plot take too many twists, therefore ruining any sympathy you may have had because of the characters incomprehensible actions. Because of the authors great writing techniques, i would definately read one of his other books with an open mind. Every writer could have a bad story, but generally, the way they write a story does not differ greatly. I think i took some valuable lessons from this book, such as the American Dream, and how it is attainable but through hard work and overcoming obstacles. I would reccomend people buy this book if they are looking for an enjoyable read, and I look forward to reading some of Dubus' other novels.

When I was first considering reading The House of Sand and Fog I asked several people for their thoughts and opinions. From everone I asked, I recieved the same response, both my family and friends told me that this novel was a devastatingly sad story, but definatley worth reading. Now after reading the novel myself i can say that i agree in that the story is very sad and at some points disturbing, but its a book everyone should read at one point or another. The book was fast moving and completely capturing, it was interesting to see the extreme pain some people go through and how this affects thier personality. But at the same time at certain points throughout the book i felt that characters could have been developed more, such as Kathy's husband. While reading I often wondered what happened to him that made him leave and what happened to him after he left her, it would have been interesting to see how his actions affected her personality. Andre Dubus III's writing style was fluid and intruiging, with surprises after every page he truly keeps the reader guessing what will happen next, because of his nearly flawless writing style i definatley look forward to reading more of his books in the future. From this book I learned that it is important to think about your actions and consider what affect it will have on yourself as well as others, this is an important and beneficial lesson for everyone to learn throughout life, which is why i would highly reccomend The House of Sand and Fog.

Extremely compelling and hard to put down or stop thinking about. This very talented writer writes convincingly in the voice of a woman as well as an Iranian colonel. Fascinating and enjoyable it shows trouble spiraling out of control, something most people can probably identify with on some level.

This book pits two people against eachother for a house and its tough to decide whom to vote for. A poor woman gets thrown out of her house and her house is bought by an Iranian ex-colonel who is trying to realize the Amercian dream for his family. At first, I yearned for the woman to get her home back but as you lean more and more about the Iranian family, I sympathized with them as well.

I found this to be an extremely powerful and beautifully written book. The characters are in crisis and their emotions are very intense and dynamic. The plot and I were carried along on streams and eddies of raw emotion, swirling, diving in erratic and unpredictable directions, coming time and time again close to disastrous collision.

There are several dimensions that enrich HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG. First, there are two main protagonists written in the first person. The first is an Iranian, a man of deep dignity, honor, and love for his family. The second protagonist is a 35-year-old American woman, a sympathetic character, although she had spent many years doing coke and alcohol and had become clean and sober apparently because she was doing time in jail and rehabilitation was offered to her either as an alternative or as a condition of parole. Nevertheless, she works hard to maintain her sobriety after her release.

Needless to say, the experience of reading this book cannot helpt but be influenced by current events, which contributes a further dynamic to thw work.

A third character is a policeman who falls in love with the American woman. What is fascinating about him in the context of the novel is that the he is identified as a weak man by the writer, and this is explicated throughout the book. At the climax of the story, he fails to do something that could have prevented a tragic situation. Nevertheless, I liked him and rooted for him and was on his side.

These three main characters get sucked into a conflictual and potentially dangerous interaction.

I liked each one and hoped that each one got what he wanted. I didn't want anything to happen to any of them. And yet the novel very successfully kept me in suspense about how these conflicts would resolve--sort of like looking at a weather map and seeing the makings of a hurricane or tornado if the right conditions occur--or the avoidance of such violence and turmoil.

The writer kept me on the edge of my seat and totally enmeshed in the plot and characters, and it is one of those books where you're never quite the same afterwards.

Recently I picked up House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III. The book had been recommended to me by members of my family and I decided that the book was worth reading. Upon picking it up I found the book to be well written with a fine, fast moving plotline and interesting characters. The book, which address' a clash in culture between former Iranian colonel Amir Behrani and Kathy Nicolo, a poor house cleaner who's life has recently fallen to shambles. Behrani and Nicolo's lives cross when Kathy is wrongly evicted from her home and Behrani jumps at the opportunity and proceeds to buy it from the state. Behrani wishes to use the home as an investment property to help get his family back to the noble status they possessed before they were forced to flee Iran. It becomes a moral conflict when Behrani must choose between his family's future and the future of a wronged stranger. Dubus does a fantastic job of depicting the Behrani's standards and habits; far different from those of the western culture he has been placed in. The struggle of Nicolo is also well portrayed but the book lacks other qualities.

Dubus strives to make the book as eloquent as possible. He shows off his obvious in depth research of Iranian culture under the Shah's control. Indeed Dubus succeeds in depicting the clash of cultures and the intricacies of the different ways of life. But where Dubus excels in his knowledge of the different cultures and his development of characters he lacks in his development of the book as a whole. Dubus pushes to mold the book into a fine piece of cultural artwork. The goal of the book seems to be a depiction of a meeting of cultures but the artistic values are not present. It is simply a story of two characters who have come upon hard times in their lives, difficult times that require special attention to emerge on the other side. Art, which is what Dubus strives for, is something that can change a culture. Something that can grip a person and tell them that something needs to be done. It can change a human being for the better or for the worse. Dubus should have attempted to reach his audience and display to them that we are all people, Iranian, American, whatever culture, and we all have hardships. But the book lacks on this particular point, the conflict isn't developed to as full an extent as it might have been. Behrani's life style is shown in depth, his habits and customs, but almost too much emphasis is placed on it. Scenes in Behrani's house do little more than show what Behrani was like at one point. Chapters from Behrani's point of view seem hung up on displaying as much cultural differences as possible instead of developing the story. Even at the climax of the book when Lester, Kathy's confused partner, shows up at the Behrani's armed Dubus tries to cram whatever bits of information he can into the passage. It seems as if the book was Dubus' way of showing his knowledge of this particular lifestyle instead of the powerful cultural beacon it could have been.

This is not to say that the book wasn't a great read. It was gut wrenching at times, grotesque at times and morally sound. It did eloquently display hardships that all people hope they never have to experience. The book still manages to pull at heart strings despite the previous drawbacks that I mentioned. I would recommend the book to all and let them find come to their own conclusions. The book is no great piece of art; it doesn't send out the powerful messages that are linked to some of the most fantastic pieces of art, whether literary, musical or in any other fashion. It lacks the power to move people greatly but still possess' enough power to perhaps draw a tear. Still a good book, eloquently written and does possess valuable information on cultural clashes.


Nickyboy

I have to say that for a book I bought for next-to-nothing on a whim solely for the purpose of reading on a flight to New Mexico, House of Sand and Fog was much better than I'd hoped. I had already seen the latter half of the movie version and so I knew the basic plot, which seems very close to the source material.

Colonel Bahrani and his family come to America after the Shah's overthrow in 1979 to build a new life. While wealthy and privledged in Iran, Bahrani can only find a job picking up garbage as a "garbage soldier" along the northern California highways. He wears expensive clothes to and from work so that his neighbors, many of them Persian, do not believe him to be poor. The former colonel sees a classified ad in the newspaper for a house auction and decides this will be the way to generate money for his son's college education.

Unfortunately the house used to belong to Kathy Nicolo, a recovering alcoholic/cocaine addict whose no-account husband left her not long ago. Due to a clerical error the house that belonged to her father was repossessed and put on auction. By the time she and her lawyer persuade the county to give back what they wrongly took, the Bahranis have already moved in and the colonel refuses to simply give back the house.

The interesting dilemma for the reader is the same as with the movie. Neither Bahrani or Kathy are particularly likable, so who do you root for? Who is right? The answer is that no one is right and you really can't choose one side over the other. This isn't about good guys vs. bad guys. Bahrani obtained the house legally, why should he have to give it back for no profit and find somewhere else for his family to live? At the same time, Kathy's house was wrongly taken from her, isn't the fair thing to give it back to her?

Now if these two people were reasonable they could broker some kind of deal or compromise. But Bahrani is an autocratic, stubborn man who refuses to yield and return his family to poverty while Kathy is a frantic and desperate woman who sees losing her father's house as the final crash for a life that's been spinning out of control for years. Neither of them is about to be reasonable and neither is about to give in to the other's demands.

So this sets up the ultimate confrontation, the rails greased by Kathy's new boyfriend, a deputy sherriff who's leaving his wife for her (maybe) until the whole thing goes off the track with kidnapping, extortion, and gunplay in the climactic scene.

Overall I thought the writing was sturdy. The shift in language for parts narrated by Bahrani and Kathy helped show the differences between them. I'm not sure why so much time was given to Deputy Lester in the second half or why it was in third person, but it didn't detract from the overall story.

On the down side, the struggles of the characters were a little melodramatic and at times shrilly so, such as Kathy's mammoth bender near the end and Lester's racist attempt at intimidating Bahrani. And the end where certain characters are imprisoned went on for too long; I didn't need to hear all the check-in procedures for the county jail, especially twice.

Still this is a very good book, even for airplane reading. I recommend both the book and the movie, which I plan to watch in its entirety very soon. Make sure you do the same.

A few years after seeing the movie, I was able to pick up the book, curious as to what was different. It was such an amazing movie that I figured the book had to be equally, if not moreso. Yes, there's a lot to the second part that seemed like a lot of long windedness, but it was definately vital to the book. I was surprised at how graphic it was, not only describing the tragedy that the Persian family had to endure, but very candid sex "scenes" -- the author did not hold back, and yet it didn't make the novel smut. He definately explores in the voices of two entirely different cultures, the clash that can be seen in this day and age between ignorance, greed, and the cultural divide. Worth the read, in any case.

Yes, it's easy to see how the book is going to turn out. The story is a tragedy; its end is supposed to be predictable. The beauty of this story is in the journey: the two clear voices of Kathy and Colonel Behrani, each one sometimes reasonable and sometimes stubborn and shortsighted, laid out for us in Dubus's smooth and evocative prose.

And the fact that it is predictable is a testament to the author, not an indictment: the action of the story grows organically from the characters, each action making the ending more inevitable.

If you're looking for a plot-driven potboiler with surprises on every page, this is not the book for you. But if you go into this book expecting an astonishingly accomplished character study of two stubborn people whose collision course drives both of their lives into an out-of-control spiral, you will not leave disappointed.

This is a slow moving, long winded book that pretends to have a plot and story line but after you wade through the noring monologues and vacant dialogues you arrive at a few pages of excitment only to have the book comes to an abrupt and unbelievable ending that leaves you asking, What is the point? What a waste of time.

House of Sand and Fog is one book that readers should always avoid. Reading it is simply wasting of time. I started reading it to find out who exactly gets the house. But the conclusion was simply disappointing. I felt like stupid to read it till the end. The first part of the book was really interesting, but when I went to the second part, it turned out to be boring than ever. And also there was too much stretching in the conclusion. Dubus was not really coming to the point. He just left it incomplete. As far as I think, Dubus just tried to show how much he was capable of saying the story from two people's point of view. Unfortunately, it was nothing but a disaster.

Colonel Massoud Behrani fled Iran with his family after the fall of the Shah. All he wants in America is what he once had in his former life, respect and comfort. After struggling with several low paying jobs to ensure a proper marriage for his daughter Soraya, he is now looking to save enough money to put his fourteen year old son Esmail through college, and see the smile return to Nadi's face.

Kathy Nicolo Lazaro wakes up one lonely morning to policemen pounding on her door. They have arrived with a man from San Mateo County to evict her from her home, for failure to pay a business tax she never owed. Kathy's husband Nick recently left her, and Kathy is friendless. A recovering addict, Kathy is confused by the eviction and doesn't know where to turn.

Sheriff Lester Burdon is wallowing in a personal crisis of ennui when he arrives on Kathy's doorstep to evict her. Moved by her beauty and her vulnerability, he helps her move her belongings to a storage unit and get her checked into a motel.

These three very separate lives collide when the Behrani's purchase Kathy's house at auction, for one-fourth its value. Behrani begins to see and end to his slave wages and a chance to buy-and-sell real estate as an opportunity to rebuild his former life. Nadi's depression lifts.

Kathy is determined to return to the house her father left her. Anguishing over her circumstances and encouraged by Lester's attention, she begins to smoke and drink again. Lester leaves his family, and jeopardizes his lifestyle and career to be with Kathy.

'House Of Sand And Fog' is a beautifully written novel of personal dysfunction. Colonel Behrani cannot control his anger, Kathy cannot control her addiction, and Lester cannot control his impulses.

Each character's dysfunction will destroy them in the end, along with the one thing they all have in common: Greed. Whether the greed is for money, intimacy, or dependency, it is all selfish in nature.

Dubus paints with perfect clarity an alarming moment, a missed opportunity, a mistake made when all three parties have the chance to redeem themselves but allow the moment to slide by because they are too proud, too frightened, or too weak to make things right again.

An intimately told tale, 'House' is written in first-person chapters alternating between Behrani and Kathy, interspersed with third-person intermissions from Lester's POV. You will get to know all of them, their strengths and weaknesses, their faults, their loves and their loathings, their characters and lack of character.

Although the novel drags in some places, it is definitely worth a read. I also recommend watching the movie, especially if you like the book. Enjoy!

The real star of "House of Sand and Fog" for this reader was the writing of Mr. Dubus. Characters so well drawn out, I found myself screaming at them "call the police Behrani!!", "how can you do that Lester!!" "Kathy you're so stupid!!!" etc...I found the suspense following me after I finished reading parts of this novel, as if I was in the story myself. One true testament of a well written story is when you care about people you otherwise know you would dislike in real life. The drama was top notch and for me very believable. By the way, I listened to the author's reading of the audio book, and Mr. Dubus reading along with Ms. Dubus was simply riveting. Easily worthy of all five stars.

Don't waste your time unless you're not quite sure if you want to commit suicide or not. This book comes with the knife included.Who is Oprah to be advising people on reading material? I have found no information in any of the books she recommends, no redeming value and no research in the content. And certainly no entertainment! I want to be entertained with information that I can't put down. There are too many books, too little time. Oprah's stamp is the kiss of death as far as I'm concerned. If you want an informative novel that you can't put down read anything by Phillipa Gregory!

To all authors: if you're going to make up cities for your novels, please make sure that they are not already existing within the state! That was even more annoying than the references to "Frisco" and smoking in non-smoking restaurants. Makes one wonder how much of the other research is wrong.

One of the bigger disappointments is the title--it leads one to think that the house is in some way special--it isn't, and why either party is fighting over it at all is puzzling at best.

I read this because I thought, it HAD to be better than the movie (which, except for some of the acting, is just dreadful), it just had to be. But it wasn't.

Don't waste time with either the book or the movie.

I highly suggest this book. It is not the type of fiction I'd normally pick up, but I was interested in how the Persian characters would be portrayed for a class I was developing on contemporary immigrant experience in the U.S. Clearly Dubus is not too familiar with Persians, so the result was that the background information on the Persian family seemed textbook-ie the political affairs in Iran and the attitude of the family. It would have been more interesting to see a different representative of a Persian family of that status.
I found that the Colonel character was a one-dimensional borderlining a stereotype. Way too much emphasis on the tea, food and general persian lifestyle that would leave a more ignorant audience to think that Iranians were only concerned with tea after dinner, designer goods, position and exterior monetary wealth. I find that while I have these complaints I thought the writing was good--worthy of including it on a supplemental course reading syllabus.

This book is, without a doubt, the best book I have read in years. Possibly since I read Rohinton Mistry's second book 'A Fine Balance' 5 years ago. The author manages to evoke amazing images of different cultures, fabulous scenarios built around really solid characters - it is spellbinding. The authors way with words could put most others to shame!

This book is, without a doubt, the best book I have read in years. Possibly since I read Rohinton Mistry's second book 'A Fine Balance' 5 years ago. The author manages to evoke amazing images of different cultures, fabulous scenarios built around really solid characters - it is spellbinding. The authors way with words could put most others to shame!

I picked up this book for our "independent reading" for my English class and since it was made into a movie (that I had not seen), I figured it must be good. After reading it, I was confounded.

The story alternates between the views Behrani and Kathy Nicolo which offers an objective plot. Kathy, seperated from her husband Nick (who we never see), lives in her father's house in San Francisco and works as a maid. One day, her house is seized by the county who claim that she hasn't been paying her taxes. The house is put up for auction and is purchased by Colenel Behrani, a Persian man who reminisces often his homeland, Iran, pre-revolution. Kathy is homeless and falls for the police officer that delivered her eviction, Lester who is married with kids. It is soon discovered that the county was confused with another house and wrongfully seized Kathy's home. Soon an awkward battle begins between Behrani and Kathy...

Dubus' style puts more emphasis on the actual, nitty-gritty emotions of his characters, with moderate dialouge. While the premise is interesting, the plot twists into something, though unexpected, displeasing. The tension between Behrani and Kathy is not as violent or wild as I thought it would be and the second part of the book tends to be a little far-fetched. It is not a "page-turner" (at all, but doesn't bore you) as the title boasts but a good read for someone with a lot of free time.

Dubus has created a masterpiece with such heart-wrenching compassion and gripping suspense that it borders on being addictive. He showcases the inability of humans to understand each other-a simple task that is, unfortunately, rarely achieved. Idealistic and selfish, the main characters clash head on as their paths in life cross in jarring misunderstanding. Dubus does a superb job of creating truly believable characters; they are flawed, in love, torn in opposing directions, and in general quite narrow minded-truly representative of our society. These character traits act as catalysts for the conflict, which concludes with silencing morbidity. Sometimes, however, dark morbidity can accentuate a message, and draw attention to the drastic consequences of societal prejudices and incapacities for acceptance and appreciation. My only complaint with the novel is the absurdity of some of the situations. The chances that Kathy would not get pulled over for driving drunk, or that the sequence of events at the end of the book would happen as described, is very slim. I am also curious as to the fate of Lester, as well as what happens between Kathy and her family. With that said, however, the book as a whole is an immersive rollercoaster ride through love and hate, euphoria and despair, and-ultimately-live and death.

This novel is a great read, but the awkward ending sequences were, I think, inevitable, in order to perfect the allegory the author was attempting to draw. Most great novels tend to have a little awkwardness to their plotlines in order to get their theme across. It can definitely be understood on different levels. But I see this as primarily a commentary on how too many of the economic and social relationships in the U.S. are, in the final analysis, built on "sand" and "fog." I think that the influences of (French novelist) Japrisot (l'Ete Meurtrier) and Wm. Faulkner are fairly evident. To characterize this book in literary terms, I'd have to say that this book is what would result if William Faulkner had lived in 1990's California and collaborated with Thomas Friedman (of the NYT).

As in life, the conflict in The House of Sand and Fog is not the product of good and evil. Rather, disagreement grows between two well-meaning characters whose goals in life can't co-exist.

The two main figures, Kathy and Behrani, both lay claim to a house. Each views themselves as righteous and the other as evil (and both are correct from their own point of view). Readers will toggle between the two, as both are sympathetic and both have noble, honest intentions. Kathy loses her home when the tax office makes a mistake and seizes it from her. Behrani buys the house at an auction and re-invents his family's life in the little bungalow. Selling it back to Kathy at the tax office's price would cause him to lose considerable time and investment on the property.

The narrative moves freely between the two characters, with each acting as hero during their "turn" and then being relegated to villain when the other character picks up the narrative. Dubus' depiction of the ambiguous nature of "being right" is the book's greatest strength. If the book were only Kathy's tale, Behrani would be a Mr. Potter-like capitalist demon, while Behrani's version would depict Kathy as a lazy, irresponsible and illogical American, consistent with those most immigrants encounter after moving to the USA and expecting to see Gary Cooper and June Cleaver in every home. Since the author gives both characters a voice, the result creates conflict in the reader. Who's right? Who should get the house? And at what cost?

The book also allows the two characters to be about more than just their housing controversy. Kathy is a recovering addict, who slowly falls prey to the vices of her past as the tension consumes her. The Iranian Behrani shows the difficulties facing immigrants who hope to find a better life in America while trying to prevent their families from being corrupted by the ways of Americans.

The first half of the book is magnificent, a compelling inspection of the nature of human conflict (and a pretty good crash course in real estate foreclosure bureaucracy). After the conflict is established, however, the novel becomes a bit too focuses on action and physical drama and goes on a bit too long. I preferred the cerebral clashes of the first part and believe it to be the book's greatest feature.

This is the story the American Dream as embodied by a small California house. From the very beginning of the story you are carried forward in an accelerating current of ambition, alcohol, and sex to an all-too-inevitable smash-up. Andre Dubus III has created three very flawed characters and made us care about what happens to each of them. There is Amir Behrani, formerly a colonel in pre-Revolutionary Iran, but at the opening of the novel a "garbage soldier", as he disparagingly terms himself, part of a highway litter removal crew, and desperate to restore to himself and his family a semblance of the wealth, dignity and prestige he enjoyed in the Shah's Iran. Astutely seizing an opportunity that comes to his notice, he acquires the legal title to the house. In doing so, he dispossesses Kathy Nicolo, who owned the house through her father's small inheritance before it was seized by the county through a bureaucratic error. Kathy is a women struggling against her history of addiction, and so apathetic about he