what I've been reading

Recently when I was decluttering, I came across a book by Andre Dubus III called "House of Sand and Fog".
It was a book I had enjoyed reading so I had been saving it, thinking I would read it again someday...but I decided to donate it to the library instead, and try a different book by this author.

So I chose this one, "The Garden of Last Days".  It's fiction.

The story's main character is April, a young mother of a four year old daughter.

April has struggled to make it on her own, without help from the father of her daughter, or from her own family.

Unfortunately, the only way she can earn enough money is by working in Florida's strip clubs.

One afternoon April's elderly babysitter has a heart problem and ends up in the hospital.  With no one else to depend on, April feels she has no choice but to take her daughter to work with her (at the strip club) and have her stay in the office of the "house mom", who promises to keep an eye on her while April dances and works the customers.

Sometime during April's shift, her daughter goes missing.

Other main characters in the story are the elderly babysitter, a bouncer at the club, and two customers at the club...one, a young Saudi Arabian man, and the other, a young father who is in the midst of a bitter divorce.

The events are told alternately, from the viewpoint of these main characters, and a few minor ones too. 

The reader is aware of each character's thoughts and motives.

  Just like in real life, no one is all good or completely bad.

Mr. Dubus is a good writer and a good storyteller. This book seemed to drag on a bit in the beginning but after the daughter went missing the pace picks up and you want to keep turning pages to find out what happened.

I didn't like this book as well as "House of Sand and Fog", but it was pretty good. 

I'll probably put another book by this author, " Bluesman" on my reading list.