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estewanii's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
theseventhl's review against another edition
4.0
I started Andre Dubus III's HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG years ago and had to put it down because well, library needs their books back. I did not get to finish it, but I'm glad First Reads gave me the chance to read (and actually finish!) a book by him, because he is a brilliant author and well worth the wait.
DIRTY LOVE, Dubus' latest novel, is a collection of stories that are marginally related - characters who were the center of one story are referenced in other stories' periphery. It's a seemingly claustrophobic world where love is complicated, people are inherently flawed, and life is never fair. There are some characters you find yourself feeling sympathy for even as you despise their every action. There are other characters that you wish would somehow walk into a better, brighter world than the one they currently live in, because they deserve better.
I found Dubus' study of human relationships and romance to be an incredibly emotional and at times difficult read. A lot of the stories left me melancholy and undone, helped by the fact that stories just ended, lacking actual closure for any of the characters involved. Some people walked away from their problems. Some people plunged further into the abyss. Others closed their eyes and hoped for the best. No one emerges from Dubus' writing unscathed, untouched by the events of their own stories.
I can see why some people might not enjoy DIRTY LOVE as much as I did. There aren't many likeable characters, some of the events seem hopelessly melodramatic, and the lack of actual resolution can throw some people off. But if you come into DIRTY LOVE expecting a dark, jaded view on love and sex and human nature, then you'll probably come out of it satisfied with what you've found.
Note: This book is an advance reading copy (ARC) and was given to me through W. W. Norton & Company and the Goodreads' First Reads program. I received no monetary compensation for the writing of this review.
DIRTY LOVE, Dubus' latest novel, is a collection of stories that are marginally related - characters who were the center of one story are referenced in other stories' periphery. It's a seemingly claustrophobic world where love is complicated, people are inherently flawed, and life is never fair. There are some characters you find yourself feeling sympathy for even as you despise their every action. There are other characters that you wish would somehow walk into a better, brighter world than the one they currently live in, because they deserve better.
I found Dubus' study of human relationships and romance to be an incredibly emotional and at times difficult read. A lot of the stories left me melancholy and undone, helped by the fact that stories just ended, lacking actual closure for any of the characters involved. Some people walked away from their problems. Some people plunged further into the abyss. Others closed their eyes and hoped for the best. No one emerges from Dubus' writing unscathed, untouched by the events of their own stories.
I can see why some people might not enjoy DIRTY LOVE as much as I did. There aren't many likeable characters, some of the events seem hopelessly melodramatic, and the lack of actual resolution can throw some people off. But if you come into DIRTY LOVE expecting a dark, jaded view on love and sex and human nature, then you'll probably come out of it satisfied with what you've found.
Note: This book is an advance reading copy (ARC) and was given to me through W. W. Norton & Company and the Goodreads' First Reads program. I received no monetary compensation for the writing of this review.
lilcoop71's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. The stories were all very good, but only one really sticks out for me. I would have preferred a novel of that one story.
thesarahdox's review against another edition
4.0
This is my first Andre Dubus III book so I had no idea what to expect.
I loved it. I didn't necessarily love the hollow feeling it left in my heart as I read through each person's story. I don't necessarily love the images that are so permanently etched into my brain by a perfectly executed combination of words by the author. I didn't love the hatred I felt for some of the characters.
But I DID love the ride. I don't always get so wrapped up in a book that I'm DYING to know what happens next. This one had me there. You know what I liked most? A character would think something and I was, at first, appalled by....then I realized that deep down, I might feel the same way but would never admit it. Talk about authenticity!
My only problem now is what to follow it up with......
I loved it. I didn't necessarily love the hollow feeling it left in my heart as I read through each person's story. I don't necessarily love the images that are so permanently etched into my brain by a perfectly executed combination of words by the author. I didn't love the hatred I felt for some of the characters.
But I DID love the ride. I don't always get so wrapped up in a book that I'm DYING to know what happens next. This one had me there. You know what I liked most? A character would think something and I was, at first, appalled by....then I realized that deep down, I might feel the same way but would never admit it. Talk about authenticity!
My only problem now is what to follow it up with......
nixieknox's review
4.0
Loved these stories! All connected, just loosely enough, and in different ways. Enough redemption without going over the top.
ivanssister's review
3.0
Average people behaving badly. Interesting that since the stories in the book were linked, you sometimes got a different character's perspective on something that you just read about. Andre Dubus III is definitely a type - it's not surprising at all that these characters were written by the same person who wrote The House of Sand and Fog!
readingwithhippos's review against another edition
4.0
I had so much fun falling back in love with the short story genre that I had to keep the party going with this book. The author (what do I call him here? Dubus? Dubus III? Triple Threat? Diddy T? AD3?) was interviewed by Diane Rehm on NPR the other day, and their discussion piqued my interest. I haven’t read any of AD3’s other work (including The House of Sand and Fog), but after reading these stories, I may need to make it a priority.
The book is a series of four very loosely connected stories/novellas, all featuring characters who are struggling, in one way or another, with relationships. A man discovers his wife of many years is cheating, but the revelation serves to highlight his own culpability as well as hers. A frumpy, shy woman named Marla finds love, but also finds that it doesn’t solve her loneliness. A bartender with a wandering eye betrays his pregnant wife to disastrous results, and struggles to determine if he is worthy of trying to reclaim his life. And in the final, eponymous story, a teenage girl tries to reinvent herself after a very public humiliation on social media, aided by her elderly great-uncle, who understands her failures through the lens of the darkness of his own past.
If that all sounds a little heavy, well, parts of it are. However, I really encourage you to try it out, because it’s literature like this that makes reading worthwhile. It illuminates the universal, holding life and love up to the light until we can recognize ourselves in it. You may not have had these exact experiences, you may not have felt exactly this way before, but I promise, something deep will resonate.
You will enjoy this collection most if you approach it from this emotional angle, and not with an expectation of a tidy beginning, conflict, and resolution. All of the stories’ endings are ambiguous, without clear declarations about what ultimately happens to the characters or what choices they eventually make. That’s because this isn’t an Agatha Christie novel where the plot resolves and the mystery is explained thoroughly. These stories are much more like life: messy, unpredictable, and constantly subject to change.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
The book is a series of four very loosely connected stories/novellas, all featuring characters who are struggling, in one way or another, with relationships. A man discovers his wife of many years is cheating, but the revelation serves to highlight his own culpability as well as hers. A frumpy, shy woman named Marla finds love, but also finds that it doesn’t solve her loneliness. A bartender with a wandering eye betrays his pregnant wife to disastrous results, and struggles to determine if he is worthy of trying to reclaim his life. And in the final, eponymous story, a teenage girl tries to reinvent herself after a very public humiliation on social media, aided by her elderly great-uncle, who understands her failures through the lens of the darkness of his own past.
If that all sounds a little heavy, well, parts of it are. However, I really encourage you to try it out, because it’s literature like this that makes reading worthwhile. It illuminates the universal, holding life and love up to the light until we can recognize ourselves in it. You may not have had these exact experiences, you may not have felt exactly this way before, but I promise, something deep will resonate.
You will enjoy this collection most if you approach it from this emotional angle, and not with an expectation of a tidy beginning, conflict, and resolution. All of the stories’ endings are ambiguous, without clear declarations about what ultimately happens to the characters or what choices they eventually make. That’s because this isn’t an Agatha Christie novel where the plot resolves and the mystery is explained thoroughly. These stories are much more like life: messy, unpredictable, and constantly subject to change.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
abrswf's review
5.0
This is a heartbreaker of a book. Love is at the center of these stories, some of which overlap, but it is never clean or fresh. These are beautifully written tales of human failure and destruction instead.