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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
I didn't want to give this book 4 stars because it was absolutely depressing. That being said, the author made me feel things I didn't want to feel and just sucks the reader in.
Well-written book with some wonderfully complex characters. Also somewhat long-winded. The book was just longer that it needed to be or the ending left me such a bad taste in my mouth.
"For our excess we lost everything"
Probably the best line in the novel as it applies to each of the three characters and something to think about in our own lives as it's an rumination on the overthrow of Shah of Iran.
Dubus is able to tell this story from two divergent view points - the former Iranian Colonel, now a trash picker and convenience store clerk and Kathy Nicole - the downwardly mobile recovering addict. What these two different characters have in common is that they don't fit in their current life. For both of them this modest house - the house of Sand and Fog - becomes much more than a place to live or a real estate investment.
The three main characters suffer from a perception issue. They can't perceive reality and can't communicate between themselves, which predictably leads to disaster.
Part One alternates between the Colonel's and Kathy's first person narrations and its a good build up.
Part Two has problems. Mainly the character of Lester Burdon. Lester is bad from the beginning because he consistently acts in ways supposedly inconsistent with his character. He's the good looking caring cop type. Dubus doesn't show what a great cop or dad or lover he is. He's a selfish boy seeking to release his pent up impotent rage. For Lester, Dubus alternates between a close third person narration with Lester in action scenes and higher level more omniscient in the background scenes.
Part One setups up the story as an un-resolvable confrontation between Kathy and the Colonel over the house. And this is really the story here. However in Part Two, Lester takes over for Kathy, who simply drinks herself into inertia. The novel devolves into the trope of the scared accidental hostage taker in an inescapable situation. At that point it would really be a better story than as a movie than a book.
Only in a bad horror movie would a cop forget his service piece in the trunk of his newly met unstable lover's car or would the ex-Colonel overprotective husband/father leave a loaded gun on his kitchen counter. How stupid can you get? Chekhov wants his gun back.
Probably the best line in the novel as it applies to each of the three characters and something to think about in our own lives as it's an rumination on the overthrow of Shah of Iran.
Dubus is able to tell this story from two divergent view points - the former Iranian Colonel, now a trash picker and convenience store clerk and Kathy Nicole - the downwardly mobile recovering addict. What these two different characters have in common is that they don't fit in their current life. For both of them this modest house - the house of Sand and Fog - becomes much more than a place to live or a real estate investment.
The three main characters suffer from a perception issue. They can't perceive reality and can't communicate between themselves, which predictably leads to disaster.
Part One alternates between the Colonel's and Kathy's first person narrations and its a good build up.
Part Two has problems. Mainly the character of Lester Burdon. Lester is bad from the beginning because he consistently acts in ways supposedly inconsistent with his character. He's the good looking caring cop type. Dubus doesn't show what a great cop or dad or lover he is. He's a selfish boy seeking to release his pent up impotent rage. For Lester, Dubus alternates between a close third person narration with Lester in action scenes and higher level more omniscient in the background scenes.
Part One setups up the story as an un-resolvable confrontation between Kathy and the Colonel over the house. And this is really the story here. However in Part Two, Lester takes over for Kathy, who simply drinks herself into inertia. The novel devolves into the trope of the scared accidental hostage taker in an inescapable situation. At that point it would really be a better story than as a movie than a book.
Only in a bad horror movie would a cop forget his service piece in the trunk of his newly met unstable lover's car or would the ex-Colonel overprotective husband/father leave a loaded gun on his kitchen counter. How stupid can you get? Chekhov wants his gun back.
I thought this was a really well written book, even though it so dark. Not a light read, but it went pretty fast. Most of the book was spent building up the characters, and it was a little frustrating and dull at times. I understand why, especially since most people aren't familiar with the way of life of the Colonel and his family, but I was a little tired of the Shah.
I was quite surprised at the ending, everyone ends up going over the edge... but I was a little let down at the same time. I ended up being more on the Colonel's side for some reason, and I wanted the ending to be harsher for the other couple. I don't want to spoil anything, but it really seemed that Kathy's ending was "tacked on"... it would have been more darkly ironic if that wasn't in there.
I was quite surprised at the ending, everyone ends up going over the edge... but I was a little let down at the same time. I ended up being more on the Colonel's side for some reason, and I wanted the ending to be harsher for the other couple. I don't want to spoil anything, but it really seemed that Kathy's ending was "tacked on"... it would have been more darkly ironic if that wasn't in there.
Wasnt sure I liked this book after a couple chapters but! Im glad I sticked with it! Really good book. Wow.
Okay, I liked it, as much as I could like a book about people consistently making bad decisions and then paying the price for them. Urgh. It made me a little sick. I mean, I have my own problems. I don't need to read about people ruining their lives. This does limit me a little in my reading. Take "The Corrections," for example. I couldn't finish it. I kept screaming in my head, "Make different choices! Don't you know this is going to ruin you?"
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I did not finish it and now barely remember how it began, so I suspect I would not recommend it.
One of those books that shows the domino effect of making one stupid mistake and the repercussions it has on everyone involved.Found myself not wanting to put it down...the characters are heading for such an obvious train wreck you just want to see how they manage to screw it up next.