Monday, October 6, 2008

A Complicated Kindness

by Miriam Toews



Quickie Recap: A teenage girl named Nomi watches her family be pulled apart by the Mennonite community they live in and the choices they are forced to make between church and each other.



Quickie Review: I am painfully late reading this book, everyone and their pet rock already read it 3 years ago, so this review is just for me and I'm okay with that. I'm glad I didn't read this book before this because it heartens me to know that such things exist: that there are still beautiful words waiting on a shelf for me somewhere, if only I can discover them. This book does not fall short of brilliant. It aches with mundanity at times, pulses with a yearning that is surprisingly relatable to someone who did not grow up in a cult. Of course kindness is complicated. This book makes me really question whether anything has ever been simple.



Quickie Recommendation: Keep this one nearby, self, as you'll want to read it again.

1 comment:

Lorna said...

I did not like this book. Now I have to read it again.