Recent Reviews
House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
The House of Sand and Fog is probably best read in December when the darkness of the month matches the darkness of this gripping story. This novel by Andre Dubus III was a National Book Award finalist in 1999. Dubus captures the characteristics, values, and motivations of each of his three protagonists. He provides compelling back-stories and psychological nuance for each of these characters. I felt frustration and anger as well as understanding and empathy as each character made choices that I knew were not going to end well. As my grandmother used to say, “We are all prisoners of our personalities.”
Dubus’ book also illuminates the ongoing culture clashes between immigrants and those who (erroneously) perceive themselves as indigenous Americans. Massoud Behrani is a former colonel in the Iranian Imperial Air Force and was forced to leave Iran after the overthrow of the Shah. Once in California, he drives a fancy car and dresses in a suit when he leaves for work. But then he parks the car and changes his clothes to collect garbage by day and clerk at a convenience store by night. He must maintain the impression that he is still affluent to his fellow Iranian exiles. When he sees an ad for "Seized Property for Sale," he purchases a three-bedroom ranch house with his meager remaining funds. Filled with hope, he and his wife and teenage son move into the home. Behrani intends to improve the house and resell it for a profit. The house symbolizes the beginning of his new successful life in America.
Unfortunately, the house was improperly sold due to a bureaucratic error by the county. The rightful owner of the house is a troubled young woman named Kathy Nichols who works hard at being a waitresses and keeping away from drugs. For her, too, this little bungalow, with a distant view of the Pacific Ocean, represents stability. When Kathy Nichols drives to the house to confront Colonel Behrani, Sheriff Lester Burdon is called to the scene. Before long, Sherrif Burdon falls in love with Kathy and becomes obsessed with helping her to get her house back. (A little cliché, but it works.)
When the county offers to return the Colonel’s money, he refuses. He is a man who is accustomed to getting what he wants and he wants the house. As the days and weeks pass by, Kathy and Behrani think of little else. Neither will give in. Their thoughts and behaviors become focused and narrow. It is as if they are in a tunnel from which they cannot escape. Kathy and Behrani both perceive that ownership of this house will provide solidity and stability to their lives. Their rigidity prohibits them from understanding each other’s perspective. There is tenderness when Kathy Nichols and Mrs. Behrani interact, which made me feel hopeful that the conflict could be resolved. But, not surprisingly, the terms of engagement seem dictated by the men and my hope soon faded. The Colonel’s obstinacy sets the tone and is a catalyst for the tragic chaos that ensues. Like characters in a Shakespeare play, Dubus’ three characters pass a point of no return where they abandon rational thought and make choices that lead to dire consequences. As Colonel Behrani says, “For our excess we lost everything.”
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
Most people wish they could "redo" an event in their past. Julian Barnes in his outstanding book, The Sense of an Ending, explores the role of repression and regret and maturation and memory in the evolution of a person. He extols the virtues of refection, while acknowledging the difficulty of the task. When Tony Webster is 17 years old, he attends a boarding school outside of London in the 1950s. When he learns that his good friend Adrian and his former girlfriend Veronica are romantically involved, Tony feels hurt and rejected. He writes a mean and bitter letter mocking their relationship. Even cursing them. He graduates, marries, pursues a career and has a daughter. He thinks little about Adrian and Veronica and that period of his life.
Forty years later Veronica’s mother passes away. The mother’s lawyer notifies Tony that Veronica’s mother has left him a small sum of money and two documents, one of which is his letter. Tony learns of the letter's ramifications in the lives of his former friends. He views the letter he barely remembers writing. He states,” I reread the letter several times. I could scarcely deny its authorship or its ugliness. All I could plead was that I had been its author, then, but was not it author now. Indeed I didn’t recognize that part of myself from which the letter came.” Tony is remorseful on behalf of his younger immature self, “I was just flailing around, trying to find a way to hurt.”
I don’t want to spoil all the twists and turns in Part 2, but the story hinges on why Veronica’s mother possesses Tony’s letter and wills it to him. Tony meets Veronica again and we understand Tony’s view of the events that had transpired before the letter. There is a question lurking in the narrative, Is Tony’s story truthful? Barnes warns us in the first few pages, “…we need to know the history of the historian in order to understand the version that is being put in front of us.” Now in their 60’s, Veronica says to Tony, "You still don't get it. You never did and you never will." The novel offers a sense of an ending, but not a clear ending. Readers must come to their own conclusions.
Barnes’ brilliantly illuminates the issues of misunderstanding and denial in communication. Memories have motives of their own and feelings can override facts. Human beings can rearrange events to create a parallel narrative that excludes unwanted information and emotions. In this age of twitter posts, I am struck by the importance of considering what we say and do. Impulsive actions often hurt. Humans want to be rational, but when it comes to love, loss, pride and shame, we are captive to our emotions. We can only understand our lives by looking at our pasts; we must attempt to make good choices in the present.
