House of Sand and Fog – A Novel - Softcover

9780393338119: House of Sand and Fog – A Novel
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A former colonel in the Iranian Air Force yearns to restore his family's dignity. A recovering alcoholic and addict down on her luck struggles to hold on to the one thing she has left. And her lover, a married cop, is driven to extremes to win her love. In this masterpiece of American realism and Shakespearean consequence, Andre Dubus III's unforgettable characters people with ordinary flaws, looking for a small piece of ground to stand on careen toward inevitable conflict, their tragedy painting a shockingly true picture of the country we live in today."

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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

Review:
A page-turner with a beating heart.

[A] fine and prophetic novel.

A mixture of classical tragedy perfectly imbued with film noir. . . . [T]he work of a writer who is the real thing.

Elegant and powerful. . . . An unusual and volatile literary thriller.

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  • PublisherW. W. Norton & Company
  • Publication date2011
  • ISBN 10 0393338118
  • ISBN 13 9780393338119
  • BindingPaperback
  • Number of pages384
  • Rating

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780393356342: House of Sand and Fog – A Novel

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ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780393356342
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2018
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