<![CDATA[A Complicated Kindness]]>

false <![CDATA[A Complicated Kindness]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166552037m/13374.jpg 13374 17 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. "Miriam Toews has written a novel shot through with aching sadness, the spectre of loss, and unexpected humor.... It might seem an odd metaphor to use about someone who has authored such a vivid, anguished indictment of religious fundamentalism, but Miriam Toews writes like an angel." -David Rakoff, author of Fraud "Nomi Nickel is a sassy 16-year-old whose mother and sister have bolted from their Mennonite community, leaving Nomi with her off-kilter father in a repressive town where rebellion is severely punished." -O, The Oprah Magazine "Miriam Toews's brilliant third novel, A Complicated Kindness...is told in Nomi's cocky, brooding voice." -New York Times Book Review "There have been a lot of Holden Caulfield knockoffs since 1951, but few authors have been as successful as J.D. Salinger in channeling adolescent angst in a way that's as charming as it is profound. Miriam Toews hits that elusive mark with her new novel. In fact, A Complicated Kindness just may be a future classic in its own right." -Philadelphia Inquirer "At times [Nomi is] all bravado and sardonic wit regarding her faith, but beneath that is a 16-year-old who's spent sleepless nights praying for her family's salvation. By way of Jesus Christ or John Lennon, she's never quite sure." -Ruminator Review "In Toews's canny hands, Nomi is as vivid and exasperating as any teenager running amok." -Seattle Times "The wry 16-year-old, trapped in a tiny Mennonite community in southern Manitoba, earns readers' sympathy and adoration from her first angst-drenched rage." -Bloomsbury Review "Offering incisive reflections on life, death and Lou Reed, the black-sheep Nomi is clearly wise beyond her years, and her voice is unique. The road to anywhere else may be rough for her, but her angst-ridden journey is unforgettable." -People Magazine 970518 17 8 2005 A Complicated Kindness total:1348|5:290|4:461|3:388|2:147|1:62| 1348 4814 1929 246 4 1 false false Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 20 07:15:05 -0700 2009 Fri Nov 20 04:36:29 -0800 2009 The Rumpus.)

I started reading A Complicated Kindness on my last day in Barcelona. I ran away to Barcelona because of a girl. Also I’d been grumpy and mopey for the previous month or so, due to the whole uncertain future thing, so rea...more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu May 31 06:47:18 -0700 2007 Thu May 31 06:54:40 -0700 2007 The Catcher in the Rye, since Nomi is frustrated with her life and her environment and tries to deal with...more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Nov 14 12:22:42 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 10 07:05:18 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 1 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 23 05:00:25 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 23 05:04:57 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jan 03 12:57:48 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 03 14:55:08 -0800 2009
Written in the voice of Nomi, it follows her t...more...]]> 1 0 false false Mon Oct 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 09:40:19 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 09:40:19 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 05 12:45:58 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 05 12:46:24 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sat Jun 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 09:13:13 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 25 07:46:13 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 08 06:28:58 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 08 06:28:58 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Dec 12 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Tue Mar 24 00:05:55 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 04 15:57:15 -0700 2009
The narrator and main character Nomi, expresses very well the conflict and confusion she feels as a youth growing up in this ruled society. The clarity of writing is amazing and you are able t...more...]]> 5 1 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 04 11:04:54 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 11:13:01 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Fri Mar 16 16:28:44 -0700 2007 Fri Mar 16 16:30:27 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Mon Jan 12 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 07 11:28:07 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 13 20:20:06 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 17 15:37:04 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 17 15:38:48 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Wed Sep 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 19:47:44 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 20:02:05 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Jun 27 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat May 10 18:08:53 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 29 10:59:16 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon Aug 17 10:50:50 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 10:51:04 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Aug 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 16:30:21 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 16:18:52 -0700 2009 - Ray Nickel, Nomi's dad, and especially the way he leaves notes to himself on top of his shoes to remind him of things he has to do. Things like "find new life strategy". No big deal.
- Nomi's and Travis's fashion statement - a thin piece of ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Nov 24 11:35:55 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 24 11:49:11 -0800 2008 The book is about this girl named Nomi whose mom and sister just left randomly one day. As you read the book, you realize over time there are some secrets in...more...]]> 1 1 false false Tue Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sat Jan 19 10:59:13 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 19 11:00:29 -0800 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=13374