Andre Dubus III
Paging director Alejandro Inarritu. If you are looking to make a new movie, this story could be right up your alley.
The Garden Of Last Days weaves together several narrative threads – a device Inarritu used in 21 Grams (2003) and Babel (2006) – to tackles issues such as terrorism, parenthood and gender relations from the perspectives of several protagonists.
April is a protective young mother who becomes a stripper to pay the bills, Bassam an enigmatic cash-rich foreigner on a holy mission and AJ a short- tempered fellow with a large chip on his shoulder against the world.
Their paths cross in sometimes unexpected ways at the Puma Club for Men when April is forced to take her three- year-old daughter to work.
The use of short chapters and the constant shifting of viewpoints make for a compelling page-turner and suggest a ready-made cinematic sensibility.
But despite Andre Dubus III’s efforts, his characters manage to feel only slightly more sturdy than cardboard. Perhaps this is because they seem vaguely familiar, as if one has encountered them in previous books or films.
Some of the novel’s energy also dissipates towards the end and the writing starts to come across a little repetitive.
Still, this is an ambitious effort and the author’s refusal to give us neat, tidy endings and easy, comforting answers is to be lauded.
If you like this, read: House Of Sand And Fog by Andre Dubus III. The battle for ownership of a house between a young woman and an immigrant Iranian family was adapted into an Oscar-nominated film.
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