Search - The Garden of Last Days

If you've read the magnificent "House of Sand and Fog", this might be a bit of a disappointment. Many of the characters feel "revisited" form the earlier novel, (ie. the young woman living on the edge, the angry young man). There is, again, no pure delineation between good and evil--except for a blameless child. But---who serves up the disenfranchised better than Dubus?? He certainly kept me reading, and the intertwining of lives with 9/11 was ingenious. I would recommend this despite the caveats.

I am ambivalent about this book. I liked it, didn't like it, liked it, etc...alternating between the two until the end when it D-R-A-G-G-E-D on bit too long. The premise was interesting, some of it was predictable. I am saddened to think that Andre Dubus III may be a one-trick pony. Loved the House of Sand and Fog. This one I could have gone without reading and still have a happy life.

My book club read this book and it provided us with an extremely lively and thought provoking discussion. The main characters were well developed and the plot of the book was chilling. It's certainly not a happy story but it will give you something to think about.