Legit Lit: House of Sand and Fog

First, a critical disclaimer: This book is seriously, seriously troubling. It will gnaw at your soul and leave your gasping. I saw the wonderful movie version, starring Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley, several years ago, and even though already I knew everything that was going to happen in the book, I was still in tears as I turned the last few pages. It is wrenching the way a Shakespearean tragedy is. So why should you read it? It will make you want to bury your face in a pillow and howl, but it is also a book that presents very authentic conflicts in a balanced, fair way that is all too rare. In most rivalries, it's not terribly hard to recognize the side that most appeals to you, even if you can empathize with both parties. I defy any perceptive reader to decide who is right at the end of House of Sand and Fog. Still not convinced you should get into it? Let author Andre Dubus III say it better than I can: "The truth is, life is full of joy and full of great sorrow, but you can't have one without the other." This book is full in equal measure of beauty and grief, and without either of those qualities it would not feel like life. Having plenty of both, it does.

The storms in this novel rage around a house. It belonged to Kathy, a recovering addict who has finally managed to get her life back together. Her father left it to her in his will, and she's been clean for a while and cleans houses to support herself. She pays what is owed on the house, but due to a filing error, the city evicts her because they claim she owes them for its mortgage. It is bought on auction by Behrani, a former Iranian colonel who had to flee the country with his family for political reasons. Despite his education, work experience, and legal status, no one will hire him in the United States for the kind of work he's qualified to perform, so he struggles to make ends meet by working at a gas station by night and on a road crew by day. He uses all his savings to buy the house and moves his wife and son there with plans to renovate and sell it, then use the profits to do the same to a larger house. By rights, Kathy never should have lost the house, but when she did Behrani bought it fair and square. Both have followed the rules, but,  obviously, only one party can have the spoils. During the eviction process, Kathy meets a cop named Lester who ends up falling in love with her and joining her crusade to get the house back. Things quickly spiral out of control. The story slowly starts to tear the seams of the expected, and the rip grows faster and faster until chaos reigns and only frayed ends of sanity are left. The ever-faster unfolding of the plot is magnetic. Near the end of the book, I read a few pages on the train during my morning commute, hurried to my office, and read while I waited for and rode up on the elevator. I felt a bit ridiculous - who needs diversion during the 90 seconds it takes for an elevator to arrive? - but I couldn't put it down.

Kathy, Behrani, and Lester all take turns narrating chapters. I found it a bit difficult to relate to Lester; he was sympathetic, but he didn't resonate completely with me. I wonder whether I'd have read him differently if I were male. I found myself easily able to identify with both Kathy and Behrani, on the other hand. Each seemed, in my mind, to have an equally solid case. At the end of each of Kathy's chapters, I was always pulling for her, but then I'd read a chapter narrated by Behrani and find myself swayed to his side. It's tough to read a book that leaves you agonizing over who should "win" when you hate to see either party lose. While I certainly didn't like some of the things Kathy and Behrani did, particularly towards the end as things fell apart, I could completely understand what caused their actions and am not confident that in the same situation with the same profile I wouldn't have done the same, reprehensible things.

House of Sand and Fog is not a beach read, and it's not a book to begin if you are short on time or looking for something light or uplifting. But those who are not afraid of a provocative story that makes them wrestle with gritty dilemmas like addiction, love, bureaucracy, status, family, culture clashes, expectations, immigration, and justice should waste no time in getting their hands on this gem.