House of Sand and Fog (Paperback)

Also recommended: CHILDREN'S CORNER by Jackson McCrae

Kathy Nicolo has had her California seacoast bungalow unfairly put at auction by the county and a former Colonel in the Iranian Air Force has purchased the house to resell as soon as possible for a profit. The Colonel and his family will soon be out of money and the purchase and sale of the house are vitally important to keep them from poverty. Kathy tries to get her house back with help from Deputy Sheriff Lester Burdon, who has become her lover. A bad situation soon becomes tragic for all concerned.

Now that you know the story here's why you don't want to read the book, or see the movie, for that matter.

The three main characters are cartoons, not real people. The worst is Deputy Burdon. We watch with incredulity as he invades the Colonel's home, locks the Colonel and his family in the bathroom for the night, and then plans to take the Colonel and his son to city hall to effect the transfer of the Colonel's property to Kathy, a person he knows is not the rightful owner of the house. Even the folks who enjoyed this book must have been shaking their heads at this unbelievable turn of events. We try to understand Lester's motivation and thought process, but this is not possible given the limited information Dubus has given us.

Next is Kathy, a former drug addict and alcoholic who has now become a drunk again. Dubus tries to help us understand her. She is given the most development in the story, but Dubus does not have the skill to make her actions appear credible. Additionally, Dubus must have been watching Fatal Attraction and other Hollywood films where dead people come mysteriously to life to allow for some additional thrills at the end of the story. For those that want to read the book, I won't reveal what happens in the end except to say think Fatal Attraction.

Lastly, we have Colonel Behrani, the former Iranian Air Force Officer. I don't know anything about Iranian officers, but I believe they are likely to be sensible people. Not Colonel Behrani. Perhaps he has been watching infomercials about buying property and selling it for a profit as a way of getting rich. Dubus doesn't tell us this, but it the only way to understand how a reasonable person would think that he could support his family and send his son to college by buying a house, even at a bargain, and then reselling it immediately as a way to live and prosper. In the end he is driven to despair and takes the action of a truly desperate man. Believing infomercials and acting on their advice might do this to some people.

Those who buy this book after reading this and other negative reviews on Amazon might want to practice their speed reading skills. That would be the only benefit I can think of for purchasing The House of Sand and Fog.