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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
Loved this book. It was hard reading it at times---it was like an accident you knew was coming and was going to be disastrous.
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Murder
An important and unrelenting book that dives deeply into the trouble that festers in people's hearts. A bad situation gets worse with each step as the awkward characters, who come from distinctly different cultural backgrounds and have little respect for the plight of others, continue escalation. Andre Dubus III takes a huge risk by structuring the story around three unlikeable narrators, digging into the reader for compassion and meaning-making.
I feel much better about how much I hated this book after reading the other reviews. I too found myself despising the main characters and finding it impossible to get beyond that repulsion. And yet, I'm giving it three stars because I recognize that the writing was exceptional, and the inner lives of these characters were well crafted. I didn't see the movie, but find myself in the funny position of wishing I'd skipped the book and seen it instead, since it starred the charismatic Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connolly. Maybe they could have made the characters more palatable.
I thought this book was really good - what a twisted web. The writing was beautiful, I really was drawn in to these characters, and he surprised me with the ending - twice.
What can I say about this book? I loved it and I hated it, so I went for the average by giving it a 3. The writing is great, except for a few minor issues. The story is instantly involving. County bureaucrats auction Kathy's house out from under her because of an unpaid tax bill (that it turns out wasn't even hers) - but she never did anything about notices she received, because she was depressed following a marital breakup and didn't open her mail. Mr. Behrani and his family, refugees from Iran, buy the house at a price far below market value and Behrani plans to flip it. Who will "win?" Who "deserves to" win? Each character has a clear reason for wanting the house more than usual. Kathy inherited the house from her father. Behrani is trying to salvage the dignity and financial status of his family that they lost when they left Iran.
An exercise in moral relativism is clear here. Dubus does great work by making you care about the characters while you are also unfuriated and repelled by them. I didn't like any of them; in fact I actively disliked all of them. But I was pulled back and forth between Kathy and the Behrani family, wanting each in turn to "win" - or ideally, for them to work out an acceptable compromise. Also in the mix is Kathy's new boyfriend Lester, a police officer. Lester was the character I felt least empathy toward. Dude, get some marriage counseling, some personal counseling, and take some responsibility for yourself. I have no patience for this type of character. Practically the first thing he does after starting to date Kathy - a woman he knows is in recovery - is give her alcohol. Really??? I also thought that had he not been in the picture, things might have turned out OK. Possibly this book is an argument for Women Working Things Out Between Them with no stupid macho guys around. (Sorry, guys, I know you are not all like Lester or Behrani!)
As I read I kept thinking, this is not going to end well. Each character has some good qualities and each has plenty of bad. Dubus keeps making you think that one of them might make a choice coherent with their better qualities - and then pulls the rug out. If you've ever been in a situation where you see someone, or a group of people, make bad choice after bad choice, this will make you cringe. Many reviewers have said that reading this is like watching a car crash in slow motion, and I agree. As it all comes to a head, you keep seeing moments where just one word or gesture from any one of them might turn the whole thing around. But....this, I think, is what makes the book memorable and frustrating. We don't get to do that in our own lives because we're not on the outside looking in - and that's the frightening thing about the book. How many of us might be steps away from a situation as volatile and tragic? How many of us would have the nobility (or just plain common sense) to back away? I hope a lot of us would, but I'm not sure. I hope I would.
In the end, you have to realize that any situation involving obsession of various kinds, weapons, and cultural/gender misunderstandings, is not going to end nicely. The take-away? Open, read and respond to your mail. A deal that seems too good to be true, probably is. And don't cheat on your spouse. Rules to live by. I need a new Shelf for this book - Greek Tragedy.
An exercise in moral relativism is clear here. Dubus does great work by making you care about the characters while you are also unfuriated and repelled by them. I didn't like any of them; in fact I actively disliked all of them. But I was pulled back and forth between Kathy and the Behrani family, wanting each in turn to "win" - or ideally, for them to work out an acceptable compromise. Also in the mix is Kathy's new boyfriend Lester, a police officer. Lester was the character I felt least empathy toward. Dude, get some marriage counseling, some personal counseling, and take some responsibility for yourself. I have no patience for this type of character. Practically the first thing he does after starting to date Kathy - a woman he knows is in recovery - is give her alcohol. Really??? I also thought that had he not been in the picture, things might have turned out OK. Possibly this book is an argument for Women Working Things Out Between Them with no stupid macho guys around. (Sorry, guys, I know you are not all like Lester or Behrani!)
As I read I kept thinking, this is not going to end well. Each character has some good qualities and each has plenty of bad. Dubus keeps making you think that one of them might make a choice coherent with their better qualities - and then pulls the rug out. If you've ever been in a situation where you see someone, or a group of people, make bad choice after bad choice, this will make you cringe. Many reviewers have said that reading this is like watching a car crash in slow motion, and I agree. As it all comes to a head, you keep seeing moments where just one word or gesture from any one of them might turn the whole thing around. But....this, I think, is what makes the book memorable and frustrating. We don't get to do that in our own lives because we're not on the outside looking in - and that's the frightening thing about the book. How many of us might be steps away from a situation as volatile and tragic? How many of us would have the nobility (or just plain common sense) to back away? I hope a lot of us would, but I'm not sure. I hope I would.
In the end, you have to realize that any situation involving obsession of various kinds, weapons, and cultural/gender misunderstandings, is not going to end nicely. The take-away? Open, read and respond to your mail. A deal that seems too good to be true, probably is. And don't cheat on your spouse. Rules to live by. I need a new Shelf for this book - Greek Tragedy.
