The house of sand and fog book. House of Sand and Fog (Oprahs Book Club) (Vintage Contemporaries) (Paperback) 2022-10-04
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The House of Sand and Fog is a novel written by Andre Dubus III that tells the story of three characters whose lives become intertwined through a series of misunderstandings and miscommunications. The novel is set in the suburbs of Northern California and follows the lives of Kathy Nicolo, a recovering addict and former beauty queen, Behrani, a former Colonel in the Iranian military, and Deputy Sheriff Lester Burdon.
The novel begins with the eviction of Kathy Nicolo from her home, which has been auctioned off by the county due to an error in her property tax payment. Behrani, an Iranian immigrant who is struggling to provide for his family, sees an opportunity to invest in real estate and buys the house at auction. When Kathy learns of the sale, she becomes determined to reclaim her home and hires a lawyer to fight for her rights.
As the legal battle between Kathy and Behrani escalates, Deputy Sheriff Lester Burdon becomes involved in the situation. Burdon is a deeply troubled man who is struggling with his own personal demons and is caught between his duty to enforce the law and his desire to help Kathy.
As the conflict between the three characters intensifies, they are each forced to confront their own personal demons and the mistakes that have led them to this point. Through their interactions with one another, they come to understand the complexities and limitations of their own perspectives and the ways in which they have contributed to their own struggles.
One of the central themes of The House of Sand and Fog is the idea of identity and belonging. Each of the main characters is struggling to find their place in the world and to define themselves in relation to their past and present circumstances. Behrani is grappling with the loss of his status and wealth as a result of the Iranian Revolution, and Kathy is struggling to rebuild her life after years of drug addiction and abuse. Burdon is trying to find a way to cope with his own personal demons and the weight of his responsibilities as a law enforcement officer.
The House of Sand and Fog is a powerful and poignant novel that explores the ways in which our sense of identity and belonging can shape our lives and our relationships with others. Through its complex and flawed characters, the novel asks us to consider the ways in which we can overcome our own limitations and biases in order to find understanding and connection with others.
House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
She is pretty, waifish, and vulnerable. I had to do that over and over, before I found a pattern that seemed true to those characters and to me. That gets my blood going. As a result of their relationship, which quickly becomes a sexual affair, Kathy starts drinking again and Lester threatens the Behranis and later places them all under house arrest. By the end - the snow boulder stage - when characters are getting into unbelievable situations, and things get a little pulpy, well, that's where I lose interest. It gives you deep insight into the main characters, but also avoids the Dickens Effect, a term I've coined to describe first-person narrators that are never very interesting, since they're always only looking out their own eyes.
This novel - outlining the doomed and intertwined lives of Behrani, a former colonel in Iran and now struggling to have a life of dignity in the USA; Kathy Nicolo, a pretty young woman given a raw deal by life; and Sheriff Lester Burdon, who falls in love with Kathy against his better judgement - is such a book. There's a scene where Lame-o Lester gets his first-ever BJ from Loser Kathy, which Dubus goes into in a bizarrely flat and affectless way that completely desxualizes the act, makes it a symptom of a pathology and not an erotic or intimate or even sexy development. And really, there's nothing wrong with that. It was such a welcome change to read a story with the exact opposite of the typical happy ending. She is evicted by Deputy Lester Burden, with whom she is soon engaged in a lukewarm affair.
After Kathy's state-paid lawyer gives notice to the San Mateo County Tax Office, the county recognizes and admits its error and asks Behrani to sell the house back for the full auction price, thereafter to be returned to Kathy. . Casual, Humid days start off as cool mornings of mist. . As the snow ball picks up more snow, and gets bigger, the story gets a little shaggy. His characters are all flawed and deeply disturbed; they all desire more, they all want to retrieve that which was taken from them and by doing so, they make reckless choices. The author transitions from chapter to chapter between the two main characters, using wonderful language for each, and then lets the reader decide.
FREE House of Sand and Fog PDF Book by Andre Dubus III (1999) Read Online or Free Downlaod
The American realism, which does not differ that much from other western countries, are disturbing in the sense that it doesn't reflect a 'what if' situation as much as it portrays the harshness of a truth that can happen to anyone. I thought about it. If they're just living their tough lives, guilty only of putting one foot in fron We're all familiar with tragedies, aren't we? She has been flying straight for a while. Neither of the characters were perfect, but neither could be classified as "bad guys". Kathy was a hard character to like and I did try. The fat one, the radish Torez, he calls me camel because I am Persian and because I can bear this August sun longer than the Chinese and the Panamanians and even the little Vietnamese Tran. Behrani, a respected Colonel in the Iranian Air Force, has immigrated to the States in order to escape a government equivalent to the SWAT Team.
Either that, or substance abuse is to blame, but Dubus III doesn't seem to dwell on that specific issue intensely enough. House of Sand and Fog is a spectacular tragedy - I'm telling you, no one walks out of this unscathed, and orders a cafe latte at Starbucks at the end. But somehow, wrong after wrong after wrong occurs, sliding good people into a nightmare they can't wake from. And the sky above the ocean always speaks of rain or sun. As a side note, check out this link to see a picture of the house they used in the movie, which is now for sale. Sheriff Lester Burdon, a married man who finds himself falling in love with Kathy, becomes obsessed with helping her fight for justice. I am a fan of Ben Kingsley and couldn't possibly see how he would go blindly into such a disappointing set up.
This one is no exception. Colonel Massoud Amir Behrani was once a powerful and respected officer in the Shah of Iran's air force. Humid days start off as cool mornings of mist. Dubus drags us through the legal system as the parties battle out the rights and wrongs of the case. And so I began reading again.
House of Sand and Fog: A Novel by Andre Dubus III, Paperback
One of those things that causes one to ponder why it has not been done before so well, to my knowledge. So I had to cut up that fabric, rearrange the pieces and sew them back together. This section contains 492 words approx. And in a very Selbyesque fashion, these three characters become so obsessed with their respective pursuits of happiness, that their purported selflessness is really something of a lie in the end. I am a fan of Ben Kingsley and couldn't possibly see how he would go blindly into such a disappointing set up. He says he will only sell it back to them for the house's full market value.
House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III: Summary and reviews
The reason I love this book is because it beautifully presents a problem from two sides, then let's the reader decide which side he or she supports. Another make it in America story? Behrani works two crappy jobs, one picking up trash along the highways and the other as a late night convenience clerk. I love a book that brings out the best in me. I was picturing Mary Louis Parker think The Client, 1994. In the case of certain characters of his, they can't help but continuously fail, and he wants to see them do so; it doesn't seem to hurt that they also manage to bring level-headed or impressionable people down with them. Behrani becomes aware of this, turns her away, and obstinately refuses to believe that he should give up the home for what he originally paid.
House of Sand and Fog (Oprahs Book Club) (Vintage Contemporaries) (Paperback)
Or is it a masochistic tendency to keep hurting ourselves, and sigh with dejection and despair laced by a sneaky sense of satisfaction when the ending is even worse than we expected? The book was first published in 1999 and the latest edition of the book was published in January 27th 2001 which eliminates all the known issues and printing errors. We highly recommend checking out the movie adaptation once you are done reading. And that is why you should read this book. It is an unusual situation with all parties being victims of an unresolvable issue with the county. Handling time Will usually ship within 1 business day of receiving cleared payment.
