TCCDM Dig and Flip: "The Garden Of Last Days" (2008)

"The Garden Of Last Days" - Andre Dubus III (2008)
Hardcover, 535 pages

NO SPOILERS:
The story reads fast.  But this is not a fast-paced story.  It's a few days before 9/11 at a prominent boobie-bar in sunny Florida.  It is there we're introduced to three strangers whose paths briefly cross.  A single-mom, strip club dancer.  A construction worker recently separated from his wife with a restraining order hanging over his head.  And a young jihad terrorist with life-changing plans.

The story is told from multiple POVs and although none of these people are especially likable, the author does a great job of letting us into their heads.  Of helping us understand the choices they are making.  Andre Dubus III knows how to bang out entertaining sentences, for sure, however when the last page arrives...you're left feeling a bit cheated.  Like when you're binging on a tv series and the show gets abruptly canceled.  Huh?  What?  Still, I don't regret picking this book up. I might forget the story, but the characters in this novel are going to hang around awhile.

"Thorn Tree In The Garden" - Derek & The Dominos / "Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs" (1970)

Good stuff.

 Casey Chambers
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