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Title: In the ruts and muck of humanity
Review: A woman in the habit of carelessness loses her house via county auction and a hardworking immigrant gets a bargain. Hey, can't we work something out? Not really. While Andre Dubus III takes his readers into the minds of Massoud Behrani, Kathy Nicolo and her hopeless lover Lester Burdon, he also sticks us in a rut that's knee-deep in self-deception, selfishness, prejudice. Face your demons, people! (Umph, it doesn't even dawn on them.) If that's the point, a work well done. The story is a downward spiral filled with characters who are always asking, 'why me?' and never looking beyond the muck of sand and fog. Massoud, Kathy and Lester work up a frenzy that gives humanity a black eye. While a few peripheral characters share tiny moments of kindness, their portrayals are left in the dust. The story left me agitated . . . albeit affected by how ugly we can be. -DJO'B
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