by Andre Dubus III
I first learned of this title, a new book from the author of House of Sand and Fog, in a ringing endorsement written by Stephen King for Entertainment Weekly. In his essay called "Buzz Verses Hype", King writes "...this book is so good, so damn compulsively readable, that I can hardly believe it. The brooding cover — palm trees beneath a greenish sky that suggests bad luck, trouble, storms, perhaps total disaster — promises suspense; unlike most such covers, The Garden of Last Days actually delivers." Who could resist such a glowing review?
Not that I neccessarily trust Stephen King's recommendations. He wrote a similar review for a book called The Ruins by Scott Smith; it turned out to be one of the absolute worst books I have ever read. But I enjoyed House and Sand and Fog, so I reluctantly decided to give Mr. King a chance to redeem himself.
The Garden of Last Days is set in Florida during early September 2001. A single mother named April is forced to bring her three year old daughter to work after her babysitter/landlady Jean is sent to the hospital with chest pains. The problem is that April works as a dancer at a strip club, which is obviously no place for a child. While April is dancing in a private room for a foreigner with money to burn, little Franny quietly slips out of the club in search of her mother, only to be snatched by an unstable client.
There are over 500 pages in this book and many of them are about stripping. Dubus creates an interesting character in April, a smart girl determined to create a happy home for her daughter and survive the hard, lonely life she's living right now. Too bad most of the other characters aren't as interesting. I wish the story had focused more on April and was about a hundred pages shorter. This is an interesting story at times, but House of Sand and Fog is better.
I first learned of this title, a new book from the author of House of Sand and Fog, in a ringing endorsement written by Stephen King for Entertainment Weekly. In his essay called "Buzz Verses Hype", King writes "...this book is so good, so damn compulsively readable, that I can hardly believe it. The brooding cover — palm trees beneath a greenish sky that suggests bad luck, trouble, storms, perhaps total disaster — promises suspense; unlike most such covers, The Garden of Last Days actually delivers." Who could resist such a glowing review?
Not that I neccessarily trust Stephen King's recommendations. He wrote a similar review for a book called The Ruins by Scott Smith; it turned out to be one of the absolute worst books I have ever read. But I enjoyed House and Sand and Fog, so I reluctantly decided to give Mr. King a chance to redeem himself.
The Garden of Last Days is set in Florida during early September 2001. A single mother named April is forced to bring her three year old daughter to work after her babysitter/landlady Jean is sent to the hospital with chest pains. The problem is that April works as a dancer at a strip club, which is obviously no place for a child. While April is dancing in a private room for a foreigner with money to burn, little Franny quietly slips out of the club in search of her mother, only to be snatched by an unstable client.
There are over 500 pages in this book and many of them are about stripping. Dubus creates an interesting character in April, a smart girl determined to create a happy home for her daughter and survive the hard, lonely life she's living right now. Too bad most of the other characters aren't as interesting. I wish the story had focused more on April and was about a hundred pages shorter. This is an interesting story at times, but House of Sand and Fog is better.
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