A different read

This novel by Andre Dubus III is "The Garden of Last Days." The setting is Florida in September of 2001. The characters are April, her 3 year old daughter Fanny, her landlady and babysitter Jean, AJ, a regular at the strip club where April works and Bassam, her last customer on a fateful night. Jean suffers what she thinks is a heart attack leaving April without a sitter for Fanny. She calls the strip club and is told that the manager would keep an eye on her and let her stay in the office and watch Disney videos and sleep until April gets off work. AJ is a man newly separated from his wife and child and hanging in the strip club making time with one of the strippers. He's thrown out for holding her hand. He's drunk, angry, and lonely. Bassam is a Mideasterner on a mission in a few days time and deciding to enjoy himself at the "gentleman's club." He pays for April to attend him in a private room. He's throwing money around and she grabbing it up. These elements lead to a page-turning narrative. It's set in the seamy underside of American life at the moment before the world changed. If you loved "House of Sand and Fog," you'll love this one.