House Of Sand And Fog - Softcover

Dubus III, Andre

Softcover

ISBN 10: 009928314X ISBN 13: 9780099283140

Publisher: Vintage, 2001

Synopsis

Kathy is a young recovering alcoholic recently seperated from her husband. When her family home is repossessed she is devastated. Her house is sold at auction to Behrani, a former Iranian Air Force officer for whom it represents an entry into real estate and a passport to the future for his family and his own version of the American Dream. For Kathy, its loss is the last of a sereis of insults life has dealt her and the stage is set for a gut-wrenching tragedy.

About this title

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

Review:

"The finest novel of the year... Enormously affecting" (Time Out Book of the Year)

"One of the best American novels I've ever read... A stunning book... No one who reads this novel will ever forget it" (James Lee Burke)

"A novel of tremendous impact" (Sunday Times)

"Stunning and original... From the moment one starts to read their story, one has no choice but to stay with these characters until the end ... Beautiful, gripping and highly intelligent" (The Times)

"A story of remarkable power and veracity and tenderness" (Tobias Wolff)

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 009928314X
• ISBN 13: 9780099283140
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368