One early September night in Florida, a stripper brings her daughter to work. April's usual babysitter is in the hospital, so she decides it's best...
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Jun 12, 2008
Mike
rated it: 
To draw a quote from the book itself, this is one of those "And nothing happens by mistake" kind of narratives, every piss-poor choice by a character leading her or him down an overdetermined path toward melodramatic near- and actual tragedies (and some measure of cathartic redemption). Think "Crash," with a dollop of 9/11 thrown in to give the thing a bit more zeitgeistian heft.
I was able to take the hyperbole of plot in Dubus' last, big-selling _House of Sand a More...
I was able to take the hyperbole of plot in Dubus' last, big-selling _House of Sand a More...
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Jul 04, 2008
max
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I read this book cover to cover, which attests to its efficient prose despite its 500+ page length. Andre Dubus' trick is to advance the action of the loosely interlocking characters in cinematic mini-chapters, each time completely inhabiting the persona and neuroses of its subject.
Dubus is an accomplished observer and has clearly researched his Floridian subjects well. Especially fascinating are his antiheroes, a down-on-his-luck contractor and father trying to find a way to do right More...
Dubus is an accomplished observer and has clearly researched his Floridian subjects well. Especially fascinating are his antiheroes, a down-on-his-luck contractor and father trying to find a way to do right More...
Jun 12, 2008
Melissa
rated it: 
This book fits squarely into my category of a good idea poorly executed. The promise of the book lies in its gritty characters and the outward ripple into their lives from a point of chance intersection. And of course I was drawn by the clever concept of the chance intersection being taken from a footnote to the headlines of the biggest story of the young 21st Century.
But the execution is a big pile overwrought melodrama. My problem is that the prose is pedestrian and the story is d More...
But the execution is a big pile overwrought melodrama. My problem is that the prose is pedestrian and the story is d More...
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Oct 03, 2009
Eileen
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This is a gritty and graphic novel of the last days of one of the 9/11 highjackers and his chance meeting with April, an exotic dancer. Although the club scenes are filled with salacious details of the strip club life, the protagonist April retains her sense of self and has the reader hoping she will find her way.
For more about this book, see my review on amazon.com under the title and my reviewer's name, EGranfors.
For more about this book, see my review on amazon.com under the title and my reviewer's name, EGranfors.
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Jan 21, 2009
Michael
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Recommended by Stephen King as one of the best books of 2008, I picked this one up with high expectations.
King's made some great recommendations in the past and helped me discover the joys of reading Laura Lippman (for which I will be eternally grateful).
But as for "Garden of Last Days," it was more of a miss than a hit. I enjoyed the story, but maybe my expectations were ratcheted up a bit too high after hearing King heap praise on the novel. It's a story w More...
King's made some great recommendations in the past and helped me discover the joys of reading Laura Lippman (for which I will be eternally grateful).
But as for "Garden of Last Days," it was more of a miss than a hit. I enjoyed the story, but maybe my expectations were ratcheted up a bit too high after hearing King heap praise on the novel. It's a story w More...
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Aug 05, 2008
Ray
rated it:
Well, I read all the other GoodReads reviews and don't have much to add. There are lots of sharp insights below.
In short, yes this was a book told from probably too many perspectives (I counted at least 9 distinct points of view), there was a bit of over-writing, and there is powerlessness/over-sexualization attached to some of the female characters. And the September 11th terrorist sub-plot borders on the ridiculous...but...I liked it.
I like a chunky book. I like a More...
In short, yes this was a book told from probably too many perspectives (I counted at least 9 distinct points of view), there was a bit of over-writing, and there is powerlessness/over-sexualization attached to some of the female characters. And the September 11th terrorist sub-plot borders on the ridiculous...but...I liked it.
I like a chunky book. I like a More...
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Aug 05, 2008
Brian
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The prose is a bit purple, the situations overheated, and the borderline fetishistic look into the mind of a 9/11 hijacker creeps towards the "what we hope they're thinking and are like," instead of what they may actually be like. The central plot, though, which I won't give away, is riveting, and based on the House of Sand and Fog I assumed the worst. I kept turning the pages and couldn't put it down, and found myself rooting for various characters, too.
That said, this is More...
That said, this is More...
Jun 22, 2008
JoAnn/QuAppelle
rated it:
I am so annoyed with myself for wasting the hours I spent to read this. I had to force myself to pick it up every day. I loved Dubus's first book so much that I kept hoping this would get better and some characters would appear who would be even the slightest bit appealing or meaningful. Never happened. And yes, I know life has a seamy side, but that does not make this novel any more appealing. It made me feel dirty.
But the reviewers loooooove it.
Amazon says that this book More...
But the reviewers loooooove it.
Amazon says that this book More...
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Jul 07, 2008
Woodge
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I hadn't read this author before and when I was browsing some comments on this book on Amazon, it looked like most people enjoyed this but consider The House of Sand and Fog a better book. I first heard of this after Stephen King's glowing review in EW. It's an engrossing story about an exotic dancer named April who brings her 3-year-old daughter Franny to work one night when her regular babysitter is hospitalized. April had no other backup babysitters (I know how that feels). Two of the other m
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May 02, 2009
Kelly
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"The Garden of Last Days" takes place within the final few days leading up to 9/11. The story follows a small cast of characters whose lives become interconnected during one long night in a strip club. Dubus delves into every thought, feeling, and action of each of these characters, superbly drawing the reader into an understanding of what motivates the choices made by these individuals. We certainly may not always condone these choices, but we do understand them. As the story unfolds,
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(2 people liked it)
Dec 09, 2008
I taught this book in my course on 9/11 literature, though it has less (directly) to do with that infamous day than the other books in the course did. Yet 9/11 weighs heavily on the narrative. It takes place largely in and around a seedy Florida strip club (I realize there is at least one redundancy in that phrase). It's really a series of character studies. I've read everything by Andre and consider him a friend: he made a second visit to campus this semester at my request and visited two o
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Jul 23, 2008
Barbie
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Author Andre Dubus explores human relationships and motivation in this story that brings together 4 unlikely characters in the seamier side of life in south Florida: April, who works as a stripper to pay the bills and care for her young daughter Franny; Jean, April's landlady, babysits for Franny only to discover that the little girl gives her life a new purpose; AJ, a lonely young man estranged from his wife and a frequent customer to the strip club where April works; and April's rich foreign
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Jan 01, 2012
Frederick
rated it:
The main character of this book is April, a stripper in Sarasota FL. One night the person who does the regular babysitting for her takes ill, and she has to take her 4-year-old daughter to her club while she works. She puts her in the club's office with some videos and goes to do her job. That night one of the customers is a dumb redneck named AJ. AJ gets too frisky with one of the other dancers and gets thrown out, and his wrist broken at the same time. Another customer is Bassam, an Arab
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Mar 08, 2009
Fredsky
rated it:
This garden of flawed characters begins with a stripper bringing her 3-year-old daughter to work because her sitter is sick. This night at the club brings together many creepy people and their interactions are described in tawdry detail. One by one, new stereotypes are introduced. The night goes on, the book goes on. Even as a mere reader, I resented being stuck for so long with a bunch of strippers and their parasites in a dark, ugly club. It all seemed tedious to me.
Although More...
Although More...
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Jan 29, 2009
Tony
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Dubus III, Andre. THE GARDEN OF LAST DAYS. (2008). ***. It’s tough to follow an act like, “The House of Sand and Fog.” But you have to judge a book on its own merits. This one has a few, but could have been a lot tighter than it was. It’s the story of the clash of cultures and the clash within cultures. It’s the story of people making the wrong decisions and building on them. The action centers around the Puma Club for Men, where all of the characters meet and then depart. April – Spri
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Jan 26, 2009
Linda
rated it:
It took me a while to see that April, the single-mom, stripper who is the main character of the story, is culpable for her choices. And, I don't know that she ever quite blames herself for her troubles. But, she has her own version of the American dream!
There are many supporting characters in this story and Dubus gives attention and sympathy to each of them. Remember the Joan Baez song with it's refrain: There but poor fortune go you go I. I identified with so many of them, espec More...
There are many supporting characters in this story and Dubus gives attention and sympathy to each of them. Remember the Joan Baez song with it's refrain: There but poor fortune go you go I. I identified with so many of them, espec More...
Nov 29, 2011
Maduck831
rated it:
“And it was her smile the men liked because she was always smiling and it never looked phony.” (39) “she began to wonder if she’d find any help or comfort or meaning in this world at all before she was dust no one would remember or speak of or even think about in passing while reaching for the butter or unlocking the door.” (52) “Tired of working so hard for nothing but bad feelings in return.” (121) “God was for the weak, that’s what she really thought. It was for people who can’t face that we
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Oct 23, 2011
Suzanne
rated it:
When April's babysitter falls ill without notice, she is forced to take her young daughter to work with her. April works as a stripper at the Puma Club for men ... not the ideal place for a young child. Leaving her baby with the owner's wife in the office, April is a nervous wreck, (although her professionalism won't allow her to show it) as she entertains a foreigner in the VIP room.
Meanwhile an over zealous patron is thrown out for getting too close to one of the dancers. As t More...
Meanwhile an over zealous patron is thrown out for getting too close to one of the dancers. As t More...
Oct 04, 2011
Jay
rated it:
This book was good in some parts, and lacking in others. The whole writing style was odd and somewhat superfluous for the narrative that it was, but the way the narrative changed well made it a good narrative. The way the writer changed his writing for each character was a good idea, and could have been something great, but it wasn’t executed well enough.
Each character had a certain narrative niche, a small quirk that made the character, and for most of them, this small niche was all the More...
Each character had a certain narrative niche, a small quirk that made the character, and for most of them, this small niche was all the More...
Jul 31, 2011
Charles
rated it:
The Garden of Last Days tantilized - Florida and strippers... and then it became much, much more. Andre Dubus has a descriptive style of writing that tugs you along as the characters develop and you are entwined in their lives and what shapes those lives. Mr. Dubus peels back the suductiveness of the "gentlemans club" and lays it bare in front of us. He turns the lights up bright enough to see the threadbare and beer soaked carpeting - literally.
Regardless of your culture o More...
Regardless of your culture o More...
Apr 07, 2011
Jen
rated it:
So far this is my favorite book in recent history (as far as modern literature goes).
I could not put this book down from page one. Andre Dubus is a genius, and his writing is thought-provoking, powerful and emotional - a literary trifecta.
If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it - you won't be disappointed.
Some books end up being a waste of time (especially when you have a short amount of free time to begin with)...but not this one. I gladly gave up many hours of sleep More...
I could not put this book down from page one. Andre Dubus is a genius, and his writing is thought-provoking, powerful and emotional - a literary trifecta.
If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it - you won't be disappointed.
Some books end up being a waste of time (especially when you have a short amount of free time to begin with)...but not this one. I gladly gave up many hours of sleep More...
May 29, 2010
Sarah
rated it:
The Garden of Last Days is a perfect literary example of masterful storytelling. It doesn't matter that the book is lengthier than average at over 530 pages because you won't notice it or feel overwhelmed; you'll simply enjoy the reading experience.
Andre Dubus III opens The Garden of Last Days on a lazy Florida afternoon and we are introduced to April and Franny; a single young woman who works for a strip club and her three-year old daughter. April's usual babysitter, Jean, is in the More...
Andre Dubus III opens The Garden of Last Days on a lazy Florida afternoon and we are introduced to April and Franny; a single young woman who works for a strip club and her three-year old daughter. April's usual babysitter, Jean, is in the More...
Jan 10, 2010
Zhanna
rated it:
The author does an amazing job describing a story during the 3 or 4 days leading up to 9/11 in this fictional, uniquely captivating novel. I was pleasantly surprised to find out at the end from Dubus' epilogue that quite a lot was actually true with respect to Bassam, one of the hijackers, and his partners. Adds a different perspective, the angle he worked is refreshing. Written from the viewpoint of the various main characters, I could hardly put the book down, despite it being consistently sad
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Dec 06, 2009
Charles
rated it:
Novelists keep being drawn to the events of September 11, 2001, hoping to confine the heinous imponderables of that day into the shapings of fiction. Writers as various as Jay McInerney (The Good Life), Jonathan Safran Foer (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) and John Updike (Terrorist) have made their attempts at it.
It’s hardly surprising that Andre Dubus III should join them with his new novel, The Garden of Last Days. Even before 9/11, in his 1999 novel House of Sand and Fog, he More...
It’s hardly surprising that Andre Dubus III should join them with his new novel, The Garden of Last Days. Even before 9/11, in his 1999 novel House of Sand and Fog, he More...
Nov 10, 2009
Shelley
rated it:
An extraordinary book. As compulsively readable as "House of Sand and fog", but even more daring. Dubus takes off from the true story about some of the 9/11 hijackers who spent the weeks before the event tasting their last earthly delights; by for instance, patronizing strip clubs in Florida. OK, it wouldn't be your idea of an earthly delight, or mine, especially the way Dubus portrays the club, but the point is... it's the kind of story which would excite any writer's imagina
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Jul 17, 2009
RNOCEAN
rated it:
One early September night in Florida, a stripper brings her daughter to work. April's usual babysitter is in the hospital, so she decides it's best to have her three-year-old daughter close by, watching children's videos in the office, while she works.Except that April works at the Puma Club for Men. And tonight she has an unusual client, a foreigner both remote and too personal, and free with his money. Lots of it, all cash. His name is Bassam. Meanwhile, another man, AJ, has been thrown out of
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May 07, 2009
Jennifer
rated it:
I loved The House of Sand and Fog and the way Andre Dubus III (son of the late writer Andre Dubus) built tension among the characters--a young, white, alcoholic woman and a family of Iranian immigrants, both claiming the right to ownership of a house. It was the kind of dramatic novel a modern day Shakespeare would write, where the culminating tragedy had been foretold all along.
Most of the story In the Garden of Last Days plays out at the Puma Club for Men, a strip club in Sarasota More...
Most of the story In the Garden of Last Days plays out at the Puma Club for Men, a strip club in Sarasota More...
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May 03, 2009
christa
rated it:
After awhile, I became convinced that Andre Dubus III was doing this on purpose: Oprah-endorsed writer pens insanely long and boring novel filled with the minutia of 5-7 strangers whose path's intersect one dramatic night at a titty bar in Florida.
This novel, "The Garden of Last Days," is senselessly slow and senselessly long. A wise man once said that no song should be longer than 4 minutes, unless there is a really good reason. I believe that a book should be no longer t More...
This novel, "The Garden of Last Days," is senselessly slow and senselessly long. A wise man once said that no song should be longer than 4 minutes, unless there is a really good reason. I believe that a book should be no longer t More...
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Apr 24, 2009
Don
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This is a well-written novel, aside from the use of half-sentences and phrases intended to be actual sentences, that tells the story of a few days in the life of a stripper named April (dancing name "Spring") who is forced to take her three-year-old daughter to work because her usual babysitter gets taken to the hospital. While there, April gets drawn into a private room with a strange foreigner, all the while she's worrying about her daughter. Throw in a guy who was forcibly ejected f
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Apr 15, 2009
Lars
rated it:
I really liked Dubus's 'House of Sand and Fog,' but something nagged at me about his style as I read it, and even as I watched the movie. There are a rich assortment of characters in 'The Garden of Last Days'--a stripper, various patrons and employees of the 'gentleman's club' in Florida where she works, and members of their extended families. And the story's premise--the visits to strip clubs indulged in by the 9/11 plane hijackers and the dichotomy of a worldview based on those visits contras
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