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

Story is good, the narrator is boring.

Story is good, the narrator is boring. Rent the movie instead of reading this book.

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

Everyone wants to have a home

His book is enthralling. Captures the characters very well and gives a clear identity so that the listener truly understands the characters. The narrates do a fabulous job to bring the characters to live with feeling and capture the reader even more. Such a beautiful story, each having their own view of right and what’s fair. This book has many twists and turns and just when you think you figured out some things...it would be a page turner!

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

Had a tough time finishing this book

I enjoyed the character development and found that insightful. However, the total ineptitude of all of the characters was so unbelievable that I did not want to finish the book. I finished it anyway and was left feeling empty. Perhaps these types of people exist, but I would like to think not.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Great Listen!

I thought the book was very well written and had a great story line. Just wish the ending cut have been a little longer and a little different!

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

Well written but dark and depressing

I thought the book was very well written descriptions are excellent, incredibly detailed. It’s a depressing story of human weakness. I found the readers voices to be very flat, wit little or no affect. Maybe that was intentional but it was sometimes hard to listen to.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb!

This book has everything--terrific writing, characters and suspense. Couldn't stop listening--can't reccommend enough.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

I LOVED this book

While listening to this book, I was struck by how likeable and unlikeable each of the characters were. They were a great commentary on every one of us. We all make bad choices and have paths to take to make them right. How often do we all take the wrong path?

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I couldn’t stop listening

This is one of those books that never get boring...it kept me interested and I was so sad when it ended.

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

More details than the movie.

In the movie it was easy to feel sorry for the original owner of the house. Listening to the book I am baffled at how stupid she was to throw out letters that kept coming from the tax office. I'm at the half way mark of the audio book and think she's a ditz just drifting along making one horrible mistake after another. At this point I would advise others to watch the movie so you don't know how stupid she is.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Cartoon Characters.. and NOT for KIDS

While i liked the suspense that built up though this book.. the characters and plot line reminded me of a Dick Tracy comic book .. ( any body remember Dick Tracy? )

The simple theme of " one's actions and decisions affect many others and the consequences are soemtimes huge".. is an ok premise..
the ending... isnt an ending.. and isnt even that thoughtful .. also

The beginning of this track says it is presented by Audible KIds.. I would have some serious doubts about any kids under 17 listening to the violence, sex talk and raw language in this book.. so dont.

dfz

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