Pleasure and Disquietude in House of Sand and Fog | Pleasure and Disquietude in House of Sand and Fog

In Andre Dubus III's novel, House of Sand and Fog, the concurrence of pleasure and disquietude causes a perplexity in the reader's mind which serves several purposes to the progression and quality of Dubus' story. The coexistence of these two contrasting sensations allows the genre of the novel to teeter convincingly between romance (pleasure) and thriller (disquietude) by providing examples of the extremes of both genres. Also by being subjected to a sense of enjoyment and anxiety, the reader is allowed to comfortably and fluidly read the novel, even though it is told from the two different perspectives of the primary characters Kathy Nicolo and Colonel Behrani. And, although in some parts of the novel the quantities of pleasure and disquietude become unsatisfactorily unbalanced, for the most part Dubus succeeds in using this story-telling technique effectively.

Disquietude is instilled in the reader when the tension between Kathy and Lester, and the Behrani family is particularly observable, especially during the turbulent final one-third of Dubus' novel. The events leading up to this final confrontation, including Kathy's experiences with her lawyer, Connie Walsh, and Kathy's unscheduled visits to her former house, produce disquietude in the reader by manipulating them with a sense of anticipation and anxiety. The ending of the novel puts a stop to the tension, and the reader is left feeling neither pleasure nor disquietude.

House of Sand and Fog is difficult to classify as a genre. Pleasure is derived from the relationship involving two central characters. The sentimental passion between Kathy Nicolo and Lester Burdon may lead the reader to consider the book a romantic novel. The couple's frequent and often nauseating love-scenes are so over-the-top, that certain paragraphs could be considered erotica, never mind romance. Apart from for these rather lascivious extremes, Dubus establishes that the bond between Kathy and Lester is genuine and sincere. The progression of their relationship instills a positive feeling in the reader, who takes pleasure from watching two characters find true love. The "disquietude" storyline is arguable more compelling than the "pleasure" one, and the romance between Lester and Kathy seems almost a superficial device used to distract the reader from the core of the story: the battle for the "house of sand and fog."

Dubus' use of pleasure and disquietude is also effective in allowing the reader to not be confused or annoyed by the fact that the story is told from two very different and combating points of view. Both Kathy and Colonel Behrani both have the same ultimate goal in mind: to occupy and own the house. Both feel it is rightfully there's, and both are willing to go to extremes to obtain and keep it. This cleverly constructed struggle ensures that if one character is satisfied, the other is discontented. If one is succeeding at owning the house, he or she is feeling pleasure, while the other is left feeling disquietude. This makes certain the concurrence of disquietude and pleasure, as both must logically exist at the same time, since both Kathy and Colonel Behrani want the same thing, but only one of them can have it. Kathy's legal victories and defeats, and Colonel Behrani's confidence and anxiety cause the two sensations never to be in balance.

House of Sand and Fog, by Andre Dubus III contains examples of pleasure and disquietude which allow the novel to be unclassifiable as to what kind of fiction it is. The coexistence of the two emotions also provides a constant and never balanced struggle between the novel's two primary characters, Kathy Nicolo, and Colonel Behrani. Dubus uses this sense of pleasure and disquietude almost perfectly, and it is the driving force of the novel, and without it, the story would not be nearly as compelling.