Specify Epithetical Books A Complicated Kindness
| Title | : | A Complicated Kindness |
| Author | : | Miriam Toews |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 253 pages |
| Published | : | August 17th 2005 by Counterpoint LLC (first published September 30th 2004) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Cultural. Canada. Contemporary |
Miriam Toews
Paperback | Pages: 253 pages Rating: 3.65 | 20684 Users | 1345 Reviews
Chronicle To Books A Complicated Kindness
In this stunning coming-of-age novel, award-winner Miriam Toews balances grief and hope in the voice of a witty, beleaguered teenager whose family is shattered by fundamentalist Christianity."Half of our family, the better-looking half, is missing," Nomi Nickel tells us at the beginning of A Complicated Kindness. Left alone with her sad, peculiar father, her days are spent piecing together why her mother and sister have disappeared and contemplating her inevitable career at Happy Family Farms, a chicken slaughterhouse on the outskirts of East Village. Not the East Village in New York City where Nomi would prefer to live, but an oppressive town founded by Mennonites on the cold, flat plains of Manitoba, Canada.
This darkly funny novel is the world according to the unforgettable Nomi, a bewildered and wry sixteen-year-old trapped in a town governed by fundamentalist religion and in the shattered remains of a family it destroyed. In Nomi's droll, refreshing voice, we're told the story of an eccentric, loving family that falls apart as each member lands on a collision course with the only community any of them have ever known. A work of fierce humor and tragedy by a writer who has taken the American market by storm, this searing, tender, comic testament to family love will break your heart.
Details Books Toward A Complicated Kindness
| Original Title: | A Complicated Kindness |
| ISBN: | 1582433224 (ISBN13: 9781582433226) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Travis, Naomi "Nomi" Nickel, Raymond "Ray" Nickel, Natasha "Tash" Dawn Nickel, Gertrude "Trudie" Dora Nickel, Hans "The Mouth" Rosenfeldt, Lydia "Lids" Voth |
| Setting: | Manitoba(Canada) |
| Literary Awards: | Scotiabank Giller Prize Nominee (2004), Governor General's |
| Literary Awards: | / Prix littéraires du Gouverneur général for Fiction (2004), Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award for Fiction Book (2005), Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award (2005), CBC Canada Reads (2006) McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award (2004) |
Rating Epithetical Books A Complicated Kindness
Ratings: 3.65 From 20684 Users | 1345 ReviewsCriticism Epithetical Books A Complicated Kindness
Meh... I know several of my esteemed colleagues highly rated this one but it just didn't do it for me. There were too many unanswered questions and not enough closure. So what happened to the mom and sister? What happened to father and her best friend? What did she end up doing with her new found freedom and life? And what was up with that thing from Mr. Quiring? I think I totally got lost on that part. I plodded along the book waiting for something to happen and it just didn't. I did enjoy herThis is a goddamn masterpiece and anyone who loves Catcher in the Rye will love this even more. Stunning. Toews murders on every page.
I fully expected to love this novel more than I did, especially based on the ratings and reviews of some of my closest Goodreads buddies. The story, however, never quite came together for me the way it did for everyone else, and if my real-life book club friends hadn't felt similarly, I would think I am just a broken reader. But, haHA, I am not alone!Nomi is the young protagonist of this novel, a 16-year-old girl living in a Mennonite community in Canada. Her life ain't easy, and she's not
(I read this novel for book club)A Complicated Kindness and a Complicated Book!The synopsis really appealed to me yet the only thing I truly enjoyed about this novel was that the author helped me to reminisce about my years in the 70's. I shared fond memories with the main character as she loved Jesus Christ Superstar and Love's Baby Soft.I found this story read like someone's disjointed diary.Too many unanswered questions and not enough closure left me bewildered at the end.
A Complicated Kindness is about a 16 year girl living in a repressive Mennonite community with her father. She has been left behind after the departure of her sister and mother. The novel felt charming at first, but the narrator's flippancy soon became grating. I was just relieved when it was over - too much teenage angst for me. I like Miriam Toews' writing though and plan to read "All My Puny Sorrows" at some point.
3.5 Toews groundbreaking novel about growing up in a Mennonite community in small town Manitoba is an emotionally gripping story told in quiet and subtle prose. Although I was impressed with much of the story told through the eyes of our teenage protagonist, Nomi Nichols, I found the writing at times too sleepy, a trait very common in the canon of Canadian Literature. Otherwise a compelling story and looking forward to Toews new book set to be released next month.
I'm going to refer to this as the 'chicken book' Required school reading And I have finally completed the chicken book. With books that I must read for school, Im often at a loss when Im asked how I feel about them personally. I dont know how I feel about the book, I dont know how I feel about the characters, and I dont know how I feel about the ending. But I do think we all have a bit of Nomi in us. Nomis a snarky, sarcastic, confused sixteen year-old girl whos just trying to find her
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