My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Garden of Last Days is the 2008 offering from Andre Dubus III. Regarded by some as one of America’s finest writers, Dubus does not disappoint with this tension-filled tale of choices and consequences.
When her landlady and babysitter is taken to hospital one steamy summer night in September 2001, single mother April has no choice but to take her three-year-old daughter to work. April is an exotic dancer. Among the men in the club that night is a young man who despises Americans and another who despises his life. The choices made by these two strangers threaten to rip April’s world apart.
From the first page Dubus pulls us into April’s world – her fears, her fierce love for her daughter and her determination for a better life. Subtly told, a sense of dread pervades each page as the characters reveal themselves. This is a tale where everyone believes they do right and where good and evil are in the eye of the beholder. Dubus never passes judgement.
The Garden of Last Days is not a pacey ride to the end and that, along with the depth of sympathy required for some characters, will influence whether some scenes feel a little too long. Regardless, the rising dread and tension, the fear of what might happen, make this a page turner that stays with you long after the book is closed.