The Garden of Last Days: A Novel (ISBN 0393335305)

When will this end????:
Ok....let's assume the hijackers were either a: confused little boys that were all so mixed up about sex, or b: well, those other three or four guys we never really meet in the book, or c: ok, the one that partakes in the "pleasures" of this earth, but really has his mind set on the "after life" or whatever it is they are searching for. Then, let's assume this stripper is somehow this virtuous woman that really, really cares about nothing but her kid. Then, let's assume that the bouncers that work in the strip joint are really just nice kids that want to do good. Then, let's assume that the drunk, wife abusing looser is really this extremely nice guy that will only do what is right. Then, let's assume that the landlady is somehow incapable of acting like a normal human being, but, at times does...just not when it counts. Well, if you accept all this, then you have a book. This thing is long, boring, unbelievable and totally a piece of junk. If this is the best Mr. Dubus can do, then he needs to take his celebrity (from House of Sand and Fog) and go off and try to write another good book. Not this junk. What a waste of 500+ pages. Hire an editor! Jeesch, hire a ghost writer and get this thing down to a size that, at least, makes it bearable. You won't care about April/Spring....you could care less about Jean, AJ is some kind of joke, his mother is barely recognizable as a human (oh, I forgot her trama), and the terrorists??? Well, they are such idiots you have to believe that there was absolutely no one watching anything for them to get away with this horrible crime. Silly book. Don't waste your time.

The need for patience and reading between the lines ...:
Undeserving, I think, of much of the harsh criticism I've been reading up to this point. The character development and three-dimensionality of the book's major characters is key to the story. April, AJ and Bassam are all seriously flawed and have questionable motives and goals. Are they good people or bad? Have they made good choices or questionable ones? Are they lying to themselves about their true motives? Are they hypocrites? I think the real point here is the ability to see life in shades of gray rather than in black and white. I think the slow development of the characters in this book is key to its success. I gave this book four stars rather than five because I don't think it's as good a book as House of Sand and Fog ... but as far as forcing the reader to think about the purity of motives, it's pretty darned good. And I couldn't put it down.

Purchase Review:
Book arrived promptly. Most importantly the book was in way better condition than described. I had to look for the tear that seller said the dust jacket had. Would certainly buy from this seller again.

Mixed bag:
This was a mixed bag. Parts of the book were so fascinating I could hardly put it down. Character development was very strong. The thoughts and past of several characters were highly detailed. That was also the weakness of the book. The rambling thoughts of the characters went on and on. I used a lot of speed reading to get through them. There were diverse characters-a young child, a naked dancer, an old lady with heart problems, a bouncer and a terrorist. You get to know them all. The expected big payoff at the end, was not in the book. It happened, as they say, off screen. The moral decline of the terrorist was interesting to observe. It was also interesting to listen to his rationalizations as to why his behavior did not affect his status as a holy person. The naked dancer managed to keep her dignity trough frequent humiliations and a brutal rape. One would think the rape would be highly traumatic, but strangely, it did not seem to have hardly any effect. The author was excellent at telling a story,but did not seem capable of bringing out the emotional impact on his characters.

Can't understand this book being on Top of 2008 lists:
Why is this book on so many national and regional Best of 2008 lists? It professes to be a preface of our 9/11 world, with one of the hijackers being a character visiting the strip club that is the center of the novel, but to me the story just didn't really deliver on it's promises. Better editing could have reined this book in a bit as I felt as if there were constant repetition of action and thought processes. There were many times I just wanted to scream, "Get on with it." And then once it did it just fell flat. It's an all right book but I can not recommend it to you.