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Search - House of Sand and Fog
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Book Description:
"Elegant and powerful...an unusual and volatile...literary thriller." --Washington Post Book World
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 Niccolo is a recovering alcoholic and addict 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 what it represents to each of them--and doomed by their tragic inability to understand one another, the three converge on an explosive collision course. Combining unadorned realism with profound empathy, House of Sand and Fog is a devastating exploration of the American Dream gone awry.
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 Niccolo is a recovering alcoholic and addict 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 what it represents to each of them--and doomed by their tragic inability to understand one another, the three converge on an explosive collision course. Combining unadorned realism with profound empathy, House of Sand and Fog is a devastating exploration of the American Dream gone awry.
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Genres:
- Literature & Fiction >> General >> Literary
- Literature & Fiction >> Authors, A-Z >> ( D ) >> Dubus, Andre III
- Substores >> Reading Group Guides >> Literature & Fiction >> Popular Fiction
Other Versions of this Book: Hardcover, Audio Cassette (Unabridged), Paperback
Top Member Reviews
7 member(s) found this review helpful.
I don't care if Oprah liked this book; I detested it. I've never encountered a weaker heroine. I wanted to slap her at every page.
5 member(s) found this review helpful.
Very well done but very depressing. A man even stopped me on the beach when he saw what I was reading and commented on how depressing it was and was curious as to how I was handling it. It took me forever to read because I needed to take breaks every now and then and re-group.
Rachael K. from NEWTON, MA wrote on 8/12/2007...
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
I simply could not get into this book and with 50 pages left I gave up. It was too slow for me and I didn't identify with the characters.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is simply an amazing book! One of the best of the thousands of books I've read over many, many years. BTW. if you live in Northern California (or are interested in it) it's a must read for you too. Set on the coast of No. CA near San Francisco.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
From Oprah's bookclulb, and a National Book Award Finalist, House of Sand and Fog is one of my all time favorite reads. It is filled with suspense that is almost unbearable at times. The disconnected charachters become intertwined in such a crisis that escalates from chapter to chapter...it is hard to understand how their crisis can every be defused. I love books that focus on immigrant stories...making this one of my favorites.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
An ending that will leave you amazed. Intense, touching and enlightening. A wonderful synopsis of life and those around us, including those who come to America to find freedom and perhaps find a lot less.
Linda H. from LUFKIN, TX wrote on 4/13/2007...
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Oprah's book club choice...slow in the beginning, then picks up speed...good
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
This was a really good read a few years ago. Couldn't put it down. Never saw the movie, but would like to.
Bonnie S. (
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Truly, a very very good book that I couldn't stop reading. But truly, one of the most depressing books I've ever read.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
One of my top five books of all time.
Rate These Member Reviews
Michelle J. (This was an amazing book. It was gritty and extremely depressing, but unbelievably well-written. The first 20 or 30 pages were very hard to get thru, so boring that I almost put it down, but I'm glad I stuck with it. This is definitely one that has made an impression.
Jill A. from BUENA PARK, CA wrote on 8/14/2008...Great book. You never know what is going to happen. One of my favorites.
wonderfully written, gripping story, one of Oprah's picks
Dana M. from MCKINLEYVILLE, CA wrote on 4/17/2007...A wonderful novel of suspense involving 3 people drawn by their desires for the same small house and doomed to be on an explosive collision course. Oprah's Book Club book
This book should be read by all who seek some answers regarding foreigners living in this country. Great story.
Wonderfully written story centering around a house - the woman from whom the county takes the house in error, the Iranian family who buys it, and the policeman who enforces the woman's eviction and becomes captivated by her. The characterizations are wonderful, the tension finely written and rushing towards a conclusion that seems ridiculous but inevitable. I found the book captivating.
Nancy W. from JAMESTOWN, NY wrote on 3/19/2007...a literary thriller of almost unbelievable suspense
Mary T. from WATERTOWN, SD wrote on 3/16/2007...A riveting tale of the clash of cultures (American and Iranian) in suburban California.
[an Oprah Book Club Selection][From the back cover] 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.
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