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House of Sand and Fog  By  cover art

House of Sand and Fog

By: Andre Dubus III
Narrated by: Andre Dubus III, Fontaine Dollas Dubus
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Publisher's summary

In this riveting novel of almost unbearable suspense, three fragile yet determined people become dangerously entangled in a relentlessly escalating crisis. Colonel Behrani, once a wealthy man in Iran, is now a struggling immigrant willing to bet everything he has to restore his family's dignity. Kathy Nicolo is a troubled young woman whose house is all she has left, and who refuses to let her hard-won stability slip away from her. Sheriff Lester Burdon, a married man who finds himself falling in love with Kathy, becomes obsessed with helping her fight for justice.

Drawn by their competing desires to the same small house in the California hills and doomed by their tragic inability to understand one another, the three converge in an explosive collision course. Combining unadorned realism with profound empathy, House of Sand and Fog marks the arrival of a major new voice in American fiction.

©2001 Andre Dubus III (P)2001 HarperCollinsPublishers Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

  • Book Sense Book of the Year Award Finalist, Adult Fiction, 2001

"We've got all the ingredients for an old-fashioned tragedy. Brilliantly written, and presented with feeling, this is one of the saddest stories ever told." (AudioFile)
"Dubus has created a novel that is nearly perfectly suited to the audio format....The reading by the author and his wife is sublime." (Publishers Weekly)
"Dubus sets out the growing confrontation with chilly ingenuity and a remarkably observant compassion....[A] fine and prophetic novel." (Los Angeles Times)
"Dubus writes gorgeous prose with a noirish edge." (Booklist)
"An enthralling tragedy." (Kirkus)
"Dubus...is clearly a talent to be reckoned with....House of Sand and Fog is a page-turner with a beating heart." (Boston Golobe)

What listeners say about House of Sand and Fog

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
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Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

overblown melodrama

It starts out very promising; good, believable characterisations come out through the narrations of the two main characters. However it all comes unstuck in the most awful way in the end, just too over the top for words. I won't be listening to it again.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

gripping

i read this book and could hardly put it down....the characters are perfectly portrayed and it is very hard to like any of them. who is right? who is deserving? how can something so simple turn out so tragic for all concerned. the ending couldn't have been more appropriate.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Disturbing

This book is a very realistic look at self-centered bigotry and it's consequences. I kept hoping for some sort of compromise that would lead to a happy or at least satisfying ending for each of the characters and all I got was a dose of reality. While I was able to alternately sympathize with and despise all of the main characters, I felt the author's sympathies were slightly tilted toward one side. The situation was painted as impossible, but the only thing that made it impossible was the character's unwillingness to see anyone else's point of view. The narration was acceptable but didn't stand out as adding a great deal to the book.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A must read

Having seen the movie and loved it, I was afraid to read the book thinking it would spoil some of the visuals from the movie and the wonderful casting. But I was wrong, the book added another dimension by giving more insight into the characters state of mind. A and the extended ending was important. It gave a little more finality to the story ending.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story; Great reading

I, too, could not put this book down. The characters are fascinating, edgy, and rich with detail. The juxtaposition of two cultures was beautiful and well done. It was also very well read. Bravo!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Almost great.

Did an excellent job of holding my focus, but was dissatisfied with an unredeeming end. I don't have anything against sad endings, but this one revealed no grace whatsoever and left a few unanswered questions.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Maybe pick a different story

It's hard to listen to hours of people making bad decision after bad decision and feeling like they are not deserving of the consequences. Ugh....

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

READ the book

This book is beautifully written, a gripping & haunting story that resonates. But? It was ruined for me by the horrible voice performers. I'm still shocked that the author himself was unable to find a tone other than aggressively defensive for the opening chapter. I figured as he went on he would simmer down the unnecessary tone & find a rythm more true to the characters & he did. But then came the female voice. Is she bored? I literally cannot handle her disinterest in the story she is reading. Who chooses these people? Oh wait. The author didn't go the route of actually picking the best voice. Huge disappointment. If I sound ridiculously offended over an audiobook it's because I am. These things are not cheap & I just wasted my one free download on lackluster, disinterested & all around BAD readers.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

It seemed boring at first

At first I thougt boring. Then the fun starts. What a wild story. I kept wondering what could happen next. You will be suprised!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

What the hell kind of accent is that supposed to b

What did you like best about House of Sand and Fog? What did you like least?

Interesting story, thought much of it rings true, it still it written through the lens of a non-immigrant white man so I don't think it is the most authentic thing out there.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hard to pick one.

What didn’t you like about Andre Dubus III and Fontaine Dollas Dubus ’s performance?

They were embarrassingly bad at a persian accent. Like so, so, so bad. It wad a distraction and painful to listen to.

Do you think House of Sand and Fog needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No

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