false 359770 22 <b>Oprah Book Club® Selection, November 2000:</b> Andre Dubus III wastes no time in capturing the dark side of the immigrant experience in America at the end of the 20th century. <I>House of Sand and Fog</I> opens with a highway crew composed of 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 U.S. 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." The 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, and on impulse he sinks his remaining funds into a house he buys at auction, thus unwittingly putting himself and his family on a trajectory to 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. <br><br> 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, <I>House of Sand and Fog</I> builds to its inevitable denouement, one that is painfully dark but unfailingly honest. <I>--Alix Wilber</I> 932849 1999 House of Sand and Fog total:11328|5:2288|4:4124|3:3055|2:1225|1:636| 11328 40187 13973 1273 1 6 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 25 21:24:02 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 21 11:40:30 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 4 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Apr 20 14:00:51 -0700 2007 Fri Apr 20 14:05:16 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 2 false false Mon Nov 03 13:11:46 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 07 12:54:58 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 2 false false Thu Aug 07 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 07 08:39:08 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 07 16:34:12 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Tue Jun 05 05:44:30 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 05 05:44:47 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 4 false false Mon Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Tue May 29 01:02:19 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 12 11:58:05 -0700 2007
Slow start. Th...more...]]> 1 3 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Thu Mar 20 08:10:15 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 20 08:38:12 -0700 2008
To tor...more...]]> 0 1 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 08 12:32:36 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 08 12:44:45 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false true Mon Aug 04 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 12 13:34:19 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 05 05:25:47 -0700 2008
Actually, it's much more than that, and I thought the house served as a symbol for each person involved. Thi...more...]]> 3 1 false false Thu Jun 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 12 11:49:46 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 19 12:48:15 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Fri Mar 21 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Mar 29 12:42:11 -0700 2008 Sat Mar 29 12:55:21 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Jun 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Feb 08 21:49:02 -0800 2008 Sun Jun 15 15:01:14 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Dec 02 08:12:45 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 02 08:32:15 -0800 2007 more...]]> 2 1 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 30 05:40:37 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 08 20:15:47 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Oct 25 13:20:35 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 09 08:53:18 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 1 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Dec 01 05:55:41 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 10 10:41:28 -0800 2007

This book started off with so much promise! Excellent characters, a wonderful premise, and great potential to really come to a memorable climax. It started out as a real five-star book. Excellent writing, great descriptions, wonderful s...more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Oct 23 21:15:19 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 23 21:27:39 -0700 2008
My thought through this book was that Kathy was responsible for most of the problems in this story. She was the one who ignored the tax notices (having answered them would have fixed the clerical...more...]]> 2 1 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Thu Jul 12 07:17:53 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 12 07:21:59 -0700 2007 more...]]> 1 1 false false Tue Aug 07 20:45:29 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 07 20:48:29 -0700 2007 more...]]> 0 1 false false Sun Oct 12 20:45:27 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 12 20:50:46 -0700 2008
i'm keeping his copy. over the Oprah's Book Club logo, there is a self-made sticker that has written in blue pen:
The Tok...more...]]>