House of Sand and Fog Response

         In House of Sand and Fog, Dubus opens his book with the quote “Beyond myself somewhere I wait for my arrival” from a poem by Octavio Paz.  This quote is appropriate for the book because Colonel Behrani, Kathy Nicolo, and Lester Burdon all arrive at a specific destination by the book’s end.  In the process, they each try to establish their identity in a new setting and work towards a particular goal which depends on the cooperation or manipulation of others for its realization. The tragic ending of the story is a result of each of these characters losing sight of their goal and their newfound identities. 

     Colonel Behrani is the immigrant in House of Sand and Fog.  Before coming to America, he was an officer under the government of the Shah in Iran.  In America, Behrani finds his identity in protecting his family rather than a military title. He buys Kathy Nicolo’s house in an attempt to provide a way for his son to pay for college.  Behrani kills his wife and commits suicide at the end of the book because he feels he is no longer able to protect his family following the death of his son.  He believes it is better for them to join his executed friend General Pourat and his family in heaven than live in America without justice and without their son. 

    Kathy Nicolo loses her house as a result of not opening mail which would have warned her of the coming auction.  Her husband Nick also leaves her.  These two events cause her to be depressed and experience low self-esteem.  When Lester Burdon enters her life, she finds her identity within his love for her.  Her need for his attention blinds Kathy to the harmful impact of their relationship on her life as she begins smoking and drinking again.  It is only when she believes that Lester is not coming back to her that she leaves the campground, becomes drunk, and points a gun at a woman at the gas station.  Her act of finding identity in her connection with Lester eventually leads her to prison.  Surprisingly, this destination offers the stability she had been seeking after she lost her house and her husband.

      

     Lester Burdon finds his identity in seeking justice as a police officer.  However, he takes this too far when he allows himself to get emotionally involved.  His relationship with Kathy Nicolo prevents him from seeing the conflict about her house impartially.  As he tries to protect Kathy, he compromises the law by breaking into the Behrani’s house and threatening them at gunpoint.  His actions lead to the death of the colonel’s son and his own imprisonment. 

      

     House of Sand and Fog is different from some of the other books we have read in that Dubus contrasts the immigrant experience with that of the displaced American.  His book shows that both of these experiences are the same in many ways.  The uncertainty of the immigrant in the search for identity is not unlike the instability many Americans face throughout their lives, especially as relationships and living situations are lost.