House of Sand and Fog - by Andre Dubus lll - Book Review

B. Thomas Cooper - Editor

blogment - National News wire - The Infinite Echo

House of Sand and Fog, a dark tragedy of loss and relentless crisis, as two families from divergent cultures struggle for sociological integrity in a system void of compassion. Our antagonist and protagonist are one and the same, as each steamroll forward on an antagonizing and ultimately fatal collision course.



The author, Andre Dubus lll walks the reader through the process of tax foreclosure and the damage it inflicts on it’s victims. He reminds us that time and again that when dignity becomes cheap, a man can do things never imagined. Meet Colonel Behrani, former man of wealth turned struggling immigrant:

“After cutting the grasses, I thought of phoning the gentleman at the county tax office who supervised the auction, perhaps make an inquiry of this woman, but I was not able to pick up the telephone; if there is no snake at your feet, do not lift rocks at the side of the road.”

The woman of which he writes is the former home owner, Kathy Nicolo, who has lost everything, and now stands to lose her house as well. It is a fight she cannot win. Meanwhile, a love story of sorts develops, but only as fodder for greater and greater disruption and disillusionment. At times the tension becomes readily palpable.

The writing is exceptionally well crafted. House of Sand and Fog flows from page to page with great ease, the heart pounding harder with each passage. I won‘t give it away, but predictably, the story does not conclude with a happy ending. Quite to the contrary, I’m afraid, leaving the reader exasperated, and perhaps more than a tad empty. House of sand and Fog may well be remembered as a literary classic for the ages, but a feel-good story it isn’t. Dubus carves his ground carefully. The subsequent scars run deep.

I wouldn’t recommend this novel to just any reader, as the subject matter is at times, jarring. This is highbrow literature at it’s finest and we would be wise to expect more extraordinary works from Dubus in the future. Still, House of Sand and Fog is a cautionary tale, and was not written with the light hearted in mind.

B. Thomas Cooper - Editor

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