SUNDAY, JULY 26
A stripper with a toddler and a
terrorist with a catalog of repressed desires that would make Freud blanch are
the main characters of The Garden of Last Days,
the latest novel by Andre Dubus III. It takes place in the days
before 9/11 and revolves around the fateful way their lives intersect, an
unpredictable and, needless to say, awkward encounter that Dubus portrays with
authoritative finesse. As in his previous novel, The House of Sand
and Fog, which became an Oprah Book Club pick and a movie with Ben
Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly, he manages to make you feel pity for characters
who seem to have lost their souls and look with at the world through
venom-coated glasses. The literary luminary will read at Newtonville
Books (296 Walnut Street, Newton, 617.244.6619) at 2 p.m. as part of
the bookseller’s free Books & Brews series. Meet the author, pick up his
book, and guess who’ll play who in the movie.
