296th out of 327 books
—
66 voters
We Don't Live Here Anymore
In these three stories—two of which form the basis of the award-winning film We Don’t Live Here Anymore—literary master Andre Dubus traces the lives of two couples who married too young, and who are intricately entwined by love and friendship, jealousy and understanding.
Hank and Jack have been best friends since high school. Hank married Edith, the prettiest girl Jack had...more
Hank and Jack have been best friends since high school. Hank married Edith, the prettiest girl Jack had...more
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
August 17th 2004
by Vintage
(first published January 1st 1984)
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“Sai? Sto lavorando sulla filosofia del riso. Si basa sul credere che se stai precipitando nella merda, l’unica risposta è la leggerezza.”
Tre racconti in cui si affronta la crisi della vita di coppia, la fine dell’amore. Due coppie di amici che si aggrappano l’uno all’altro, si mescolano, si tradiscono, litigano e piangono e cercano una nuova strada. Una strada che può separare definitivamente, come è stato per Hank e Edith, o proseguire, come per Terry e Jack, conservando la sicurezza del matri...more
Tre racconti in cui si affronta la crisi della vita di coppia, la fine dell’amore. Due coppie di amici che si aggrappano l’uno all’altro, si mescolano, si tradiscono, litigano e piangono e cercano una nuova strada. Una strada che può separare definitivamente, come è stato per Hank e Edith, o proseguire, come per Terry e Jack, conservando la sicurezza del matri...more
«La famosa pace armata del matrimonio.»
Scrivere un commento a questo libro nasconde, neanche troppo bene, un trabocchetto nel quale io non voglio cadere: quello di parlare di sé.
È ovvio, è naturale, è scontato, riconoscere qualcosa di sé in Terry o in Edith, in Jack o in Hank, ma persino trovare se stesso in tutti e quattro, in ciascuna di queste due coppie, Terry e Jack, Edith e Hank, che nemmeno trentenni incontriamo nel primo racconto, Non abitiamo più qui, e che Dubus ci mostra già nel pieno...more
Scrivere un commento a questo libro nasconde, neanche troppo bene, un trabocchetto nel quale io non voglio cadere: quello di parlare di sé.
È ovvio, è naturale, è scontato, riconoscere qualcosa di sé in Terry o in Edith, in Jack o in Hank, ma persino trovare se stesso in tutti e quattro, in ciascuna di queste due coppie, Terry e Jack, Edith e Hank, che nemmeno trentenni incontriamo nel primo racconto, Non abitiamo più qui, e che Dubus ci mostra già nel pieno...more
ANCHE DENTRO AL BUIO CI SONO ANGOLI DI SALVEZZA
Ancora una volta ho creduto di sapere e conoscere, ma Dubus mi ha dimostrato che mi limitavo a intuire. Ancora una volta mi sono affacciato e ho disteso la vista che appariva sgombra e infinita, e Dubus ha dissipato la nebbia e la caligine di cui non mi ero accorto, regalandomi la trasparenza.
D’altra parte davanti al buio pece mi sentivo perso, e lui mi ha preso per mano, accompagnato negli angoli di salvezza, acceso la notte per me. E di fronte all...more
Ancora una volta ho creduto di sapere e conoscere, ma Dubus mi ha dimostrato che mi limitavo a intuire. Ancora una volta mi sono affacciato e ho disteso la vista che appariva sgombra e infinita, e Dubus ha dissipato la nebbia e la caligine di cui non mi ero accorto, regalandomi la trasparenza.
D’altra parte davanti al buio pece mi sentivo perso, e lui mi ha preso per mano, accompagnato negli angoli di salvezza, acceso la notte per me. E di fronte all...more
Nel musical Rocky Horror Pictur Show il dottor Frank'n'Furter ammonisce cantando metaforicamente di "non giudicare un libro dalla copertina". Invece vale la pena di fare un'eccezione per questo libro e dare merito alla casa editrice Mattioli di avere realizzato una notevole edizione: bellissima grafica, un formato che ricorda un po' le agende della Moleskine con i bordi arrotondati, ottima stampa e carta addirittura piacevole al tatto. Tanto per sottolineare che allo stesso prezzo si comprano sp...more
Non abitiamo più qui non è un libro, anche se l'oggetto in sé può trarre in inganno. Non è un libro inteso come romanzo, ma un libro inteso come raccolta di racconti si, questo si. La decisione di prendere tre diverse storie, scritte e pubblicate in diversi periodi, e di riunirle tutte quante in un unico volume è solo decisione della casa editrice. Andre Dubus, fedele al suo principio secondo cui la forma più alta di scrittura fosse appunto il racconto.
Qui troviamo due coppie che fanno da collan...more
Qui troviamo due coppie che fanno da collan...more
Andre Dubus's work satisfies in that the author clearly managed to write what he knew and where, in life, he struggled. These novellas are no exception; I felt a little uncomfortable, reading them, because I knew I'd entered someone's private pain and was experiencing his raw vulnerability.
I've found Dubus's work a good place to turn since burning through Hemingway's. Same absence of fluff, same stark quality to the language. The big difference is Dubus's concentration not on physical landscape...more
I've found Dubus's work a good place to turn since burning through Hemingway's. Same absence of fluff, same stark quality to the language. The big difference is Dubus's concentration not on physical landscape...more
“We Don’t Live Here Anymore” is a collection of three novellas written by Andre Dubus. The stories follow the lives of two couples over the course of several years as they indulge in affairs both within their marriages and with others. The first novella, “We Don’t Live Here Anymore,” is told from the perspective of Jack, a college professor who is married to Terry, who is a stay at home mother. Jack and Terry are best friends with Hank and Edith. Hank is a professor on the same campus, and also...more
Affairs are considered illicit thrills, but Dubus isn't interested in the heart-pounding factor of lying to your spouse and going behind their back: the three novellas in this book is more interested in the consequences.
Jack no longer loves his wife, Terry, and seeks comfort from Edith, the wife of his colleague and friend Hank. Hank and Terry likewise form a pair. There's no joy of being "swingers" in this book, but what's fascinating is how each person handles their crumbling marriage. Terry...more
Jack no longer loves his wife, Terry, and seeks comfort from Edith, the wife of his colleague and friend Hank. Hank and Terry likewise form a pair. There's no joy of being "swingers" in this book, but what's fascinating is how each person handles their crumbling marriage. Terry...more
"There are two types of unhappy people in the world" Hank said. "Those who show it and those who don't."
I truly loved this book. I haven't seen the movie - and I think I could probably carry on living quite happily without seeing it - but the book felt rather astonishing to me. It's about the divides between love, sex and marriage, although it is by no means a guideline to love. It did, however, feel full of small truths that struck me to the heart and often made me pause to think about what I'd...more
I truly loved this book. I haven't seen the movie - and I think I could probably carry on living quite happily without seeing it - but the book felt rather astonishing to me. It's about the divides between love, sex and marriage, although it is by no means a guideline to love. It did, however, feel full of small truths that struck me to the heart and often made me pause to think about what I'd...more
This book was satisfying, if only because of Dubus's rich, engaging prose. Every sentence sounds like poetry, yet the effect is not sappy or tiresome. It draws you in and introduces you to the book, and then carries you throughout the whole novel. I'm going to write my review by novella, because each one is so unique and fascinating, for a different reason.
"The Pretty Girl" was the most depressing of the four, but all of them are dark, to say the least. The most interesting and therefore definin...more
"The Pretty Girl" was the most depressing of the four, but all of them are dark, to say the least. The most interesting and therefore definin...more
Aug 16, 2009
Kirstie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people interested in traumatic relationships
Very very bleak image of man and woman and what we do to eachother in terms of intimacy in relationships. There is a bit more to this than in the film, specifically one of the characters after the major tumultuous relationship rift. I think perhaps the most finely crafted aspect of it is how intellectuals fool themselves.
I certainly prefer Dancing After Hours, but this isn't bad. The first two stories are so... sad. I definitely don't want to see the movie if it's based only on those.
The timing of the stories and the way each character changes made me think about how hopelessly we're all at the whim of other people's changes of heart. If only Hank had gone through what he goes through in "Finding a Girl in America" before he had met Edith. While I find his reaction to what Monica did rather appalling, if a radi...more
The timing of the stories and the way each character changes made me think about how hopelessly we're all at the whim of other people's changes of heart. If only Hank had gone through what he goes through in "Finding a Girl in America" before he had met Edith. While I find his reaction to what Monica did rather appalling, if a radi...more
Ci sono volte che dei romanzi non c'è bisogno, perché alcune cose le sanno dire solo i racconti. Si giustificava così Dubus, a chi gli chiedeva perché preferisse scrivere Short Stories invece che romanzi. Questa affermazione viene confermata in pieno in questi tre racconti, indipendenti, eppure legate insieme dai protagonisti. E' allievo di Yates, e si sente, ma i suoi personaggi sono più raffinati e colti, anche se annegano l'angoscia del vivere nell'alcol, tra corse nei prati del New England o...more
Andre Dubus III wrote 'In the Bedroom' which was made into an excellent movie 6 or 7 years ago. The House of Sand and Fog was written by his son, also named Andre Dubus. At first I thought they were one and the same. The elder Dubus is a great short story writer. This book was made into a movie, which didn't do justice to the novella of the same name on which it is based. I looked Dubus up on Wikipedia bc I couldn't figure out how to pronounce his name (duBUSE, rhymes with excuse) and wondered i...more
in my mind I've always loved this book, and I'm going through my 1985 notebook, and see this 'title story superb' and 'what i'd like to write like' (terrible phrase), but then later there's this: 'But the last two stories have made me change my mind about him. Dubious about Dubus. They're dull, on the whole, and self indulgent. I make up my mind never to write about writers. Despite the sharp insights and neat details these stories are tedious.'. So. I don't actually remember the 'bad' stories,...more
Feb 01, 2012
Franco Vite
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
letteratura-statunitense
Dall'interno della piccola borghesia americana
Tre racconti lunghi in cui Dubus ci accompagna dentro la famiglia americana. La famiglia piccolo borghese, quella delle professioni - in questo caso il mondo della scrittura e dell'insegnamento - vista nelle viscere delle relazioni interpersonali.
Fin troppo viscere, mi è venuto da pensare ad un certo punto, quasi che tutto il resto non esistesse. E' forse l'unico vero limiti di questo grandissimo scrittore, di questa scrittura, addirittura, che un p...more
Tre racconti lunghi in cui Dubus ci accompagna dentro la famiglia americana. La famiglia piccolo borghese, quella delle professioni - in questo caso il mondo della scrittura e dell'insegnamento - vista nelle viscere delle relazioni interpersonali.
Fin troppo viscere, mi è venuto da pensare ad un certo punto, quasi che tutto il resto non esistesse. E' forse l'unico vero limiti di questo grandissimo scrittore, di questa scrittura, addirittura, che un p...more
Artful writing, but emotionally...skewed from my worldview. The great love story is of male friends and parents to children. The husbands and wives are flakey and cruel, selfish--and their groping for not-love, but some sort of ca-fucking-tharsis is a dead game to me: I just couldn't bring myself to care for happiness as all the characters cried, screamed, broke apart and screwed each other. The ex-priest is too heavy-handed. Graceful styling, but false...Better writing about men than women. Hem...more
Meh.
I liked it, but thought it was only OK.
Two couples that are friends cheat on each other with the other’s spouse. Everyone gets found out and one couple decides to stay together, while the other tries to have an open marriage that ultimately ends up in divorce. The second two stories follow the characters from the open marriage/divorce. The ones that stay together are only mentioned less than a handful of times in the following two stories, and to be honest, that’s the couple I was more inter...more
I liked it, but thought it was only OK.
Two couples that are friends cheat on each other with the other’s spouse. Everyone gets found out and one couple decides to stay together, while the other tries to have an open marriage that ultimately ends up in divorce. The second two stories follow the characters from the open marriage/divorce. The ones that stay together are only mentioned less than a handful of times in the following two stories, and to be honest, that’s the couple I was more inter...more
At the end of the first novella I couldn't decide how I felt about this book. I think the problem was that in the first story, out of all the four characters, I could not connect with anyone of them. Not because their situation was not realistic, but because I found them all for one reason or another unlikable. I couldn't relate. And that was true for me until the second and third novellas. Reading just the first novella leaves you sad, depressed and disappointed, disappointed in all the charact...more
tre racconti lunghi, con gli stessi personaggi - che sono di volta in volta protagonisti e comprimari. tradimenti, matrimoni che falliscono, tentativi di spiegare la complessità dell'amore e la non riuscita dei rapporti. vidi il film che ne hanno tratto e lo trovai insopportabile e noioso - sulla carta invece quel che viene raccontato ha un senso e, a modo suo, commuove. lascia parecchia amarezza e tante domande, soprattutto.
I really hated this book at first, since it was all about adultery and people being horrible and selfish to each other. It wasn't pleasant to read and I felt dirtied by it. Then, in the third novella, I realized that Dubus was on my side--he was actually a moralist in wolf's clothing. Of course he shows you the horribleness of adultery... And the ending, well it was just masterful.
Three novellas that can stand alone, but together their interwoven stories of thirtysomethings dealing with faithlessness, failing marriages and the specter of middle age looming ever closer make a rich story even greater than their parts (if that is even possible).
Dubus has an uncanny talent of writing simple sentences that say so much about his characters, and in turn, the human condition. You can't read one of his stories and not come away from the experience changed.
Dubus has an uncanny talent of writing simple sentences that say so much about his characters, and in turn, the human condition. You can't read one of his stories and not come away from the experience changed.
I have the Picador edition, 1984 Published in great britain. The cover picture is different to the one shown here.
Andre Dubus, the master short story writer, toiled in relative obscurity during much of his lifetime. Though known primarily for his stories, Mr. Dubus also wrote essays and novellas. His only novel, THE LIEUTENANT, was published in 1967.
Though publishers clamored for novels, Mr. Dubus wrote what his stories asked of him. Sometimes the story wanted to be seven pages, sometimes twent...more
Andre Dubus, the master short story writer, toiled in relative obscurity during much of his lifetime. Though known primarily for his stories, Mr. Dubus also wrote essays and novellas. His only novel, THE LIEUTENANT, was published in 1967.
Though publishers clamored for novels, Mr. Dubus wrote what his stories asked of him. Sometimes the story wanted to be seven pages, sometimes twent...more
i read these stories in quick succession, and realised i shouldn't have. for some reason i remember reading andre dubus when i was younger and being enraptured by the prose. it's effective in that he creates an ambience of stifled or forbidden desires in ordinary settings. perhaps i'm just tired of living with those people.
Didn't care much for this collection. I probably should not have read the Wikipedia article about the author before I read this one. Generally I don't like books about writers because they imply self insertion, especially knowing in this case that Dubus was married three times. But anyways, a book mainly concerned with quarreling couples and adultery is definitely not my cup of tea either, I've discovered.
I was fairly disappointed with this book. Maybe I expected too much since it had a high rating on goodreads... either way it was depressing and overly drawn out. The book is actually three separate novellas, but the characters in each novella are repeating. Its basically the story of four friends over a period of three or five years.
The first novella was seriously depressing and made me feel all upset and out of whack. The second one was a lot better and raised my hope for the book slightly. But...more
The first novella was seriously depressing and made me feel all upset and out of whack. The second one was a lot better and raised my hope for the book slightly. But...more
I was annoyed by the adultery, the characters seemed so unloving to each other, why stay togheter? Perhaps I should have found out more about the topic was before picking it up and reading, but once I started I felt I had to finish it. Hopefully I'm over that now.
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Award-winning author Andre Dubus II (1936–1999) has been hailed as one of the best American short story writers of the twentieth century. Dubus’s collections of short fiction include Separate Flights (1975), Adultery & Other Choices (1977), and Dancing After Hours (1996), which was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. Another collection, Finding a Girl in America, features the story...more
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