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Our Common Novel: 2004-2005


The Common Novel is a longstanding and beloved RIT tradition upheld by the Department of Language and Literature. For over twenty years, Writing and Literature students, faculty, and community have been united in the common experience of reading a novel and engaging in lively discussion and debate. Classroom activities and faculty lectures complement the Common Novel program, which culminates in a campus visit by the author. Students get plenty of face time with the author, who fields questions and signs books in classroom visits, and addresses the Institute at large in a specially prepared lecture. Past Common Novel authors include such greats as Toni Morrison, William Kennedy, E.L. Doctorow, and Michael Ondaatje.

The House of Sand and Fog

By: Andre Dubus III

Andre Dubus III

Andre Dubus III is the author of a collection of short fiction, The Cage Keeper and Other Stories, and the novels, Bluesman and House of Sand and Fog. His works has been included in The Best American Essays of 1994, The Best Spiritual Writing of 1999, and The Best of Hope Magazine. He has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, The National Magazine Award for fiction, The Pushcart Prize, and was a Finalist for the Prix de Rome Fellowship from the Academy of Arts and Letters.

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BookBrowse Bio

Used with permission from Judy Lubershane Agency

  • "What's so exciting and terrifying about the writing process is that it really is an act of exploration and discovery. With all of us, not just writers, there is a sort of knowledge of the other. We have a lot more in common than we realize, and I think writing is really a sustained act of empathy." - Andre Dubus, Bold Type Magazine Interview

  • "It is rare these days to encounter a novel that follows the rules of Greek tragedy…Dubus is a taker of risks, and here he ups the ante by making his protagonist, an immigrant trying to establish a foothold in America…A craftsman of character and dialogue, Dubus has dared to push his limits." - San Francisco Chronicle

  • "This is a story, told in highly visual, descriptive language, about how people you might choose to be your neighbors are repeatedly trapped by circumstances and transformed by events until finally they can-and do-destroy one another." - The New York Times Book Review

  • "I've Never Read A Book Like This!" Using words like "brilliant," "unbelievable" and "incredible," Oprah Winfrey lauded the newest book by author and Tufts lecturer Andre Dubus III. "This author just won our hearts and minds with his story," Oprah told her audience. "This is one of my favorite reads of all time." Complete review at Tufts E-News
  • "A mesmerizing tale of the American Dream gone terribly awry....The son and namesake of one of our most talented writers has embarked on a dazzling career in his own right." -Publishers Weekly.

House of Sand and Fog: DVD copies of the motion picture are available at the Library's Reserve Desk
(1st floor) and also located in the Media Resource Center (A-Level, Building 5).

Racism

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