“The Garden of Last Days” by Andre Dubus III
I have just finished a book by the author of one of the most impressive books I have read in the last 5 years: The House of Sand and Fog. Andre Dubus III has just published ‘The Garden of Last Days,’ an incredibly complex interweaving of potent characters in one of the most compelling ‘environments’ of any fiction I have read: the two days preceding the Sept. 11 attack on The Twin Towers.
Taking place in Florida, the narrative follows a stripper at the strip club one of the future terrorists has become addicted to, the caretaker of the stripper’s little girl, Franny; the kind hearted bouncer, an achingly lonely man who is injured when he is thrown out of the club…….even the smallest role in the book is handled with care and vibrancy.
BUT this is a depressing read. It is an agonizing story of loneliness, bad judgment, delusional choices, and an urgent desire to connect with someone, anyone. The San Antonio Express News had an excellent review of this book last Sunday. The reviewer said, quite accurately, “You constantly want to shout out to the characters: ‘No! Don’t do it!’”
Like The House of Sand and Fog—and the excellent movie adaptation—The Garden of Last Days (yes, full of religious symbolism)—is chiefly about cultural misunderstanding and how being “blind” can lead to desperate and devastating outcomes. (The final scene with Ben Kingsley in The House of Sand and Fog haunts me to this day.)
It is a page turner, but it is also a ‘workout’ because your muscles will be tight and tense as you read. It never let me go; it is long—555 pp.—but it is worth it and it flies by. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, but I didn’t want to look at the next page, as well. The conflict between ‘read on’ and ‘don’t read on’ is palpable.
Wonderful book, if you can handle it. If you handled The House of Sand and Fog, you can do it!
July 11th, 2008 at 9:10 am
My book list is probably longer than my time left on this planet, but I’m adding both of these to it! (It never hurts to have extras on there)
July 11th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Chris:
I have a wicker basket full of books waiting to be read. I have found airports and airplanes are the best places to focus on book reading….as well as my recumbant bike at the Fitness Center. Keep on keeping on: one book as a time. Mary Rauch