A COMPLICATED KINDNESS

by Miriam Toews
 
If you are not Canadian (like me), you may not know who the Menonites are; but if you’re curious, I would not recommend this book as your answer.  Basically the Menonites are Canada’s version of the Amish, but with a bit less coherence to their religious fervor for shunning all things modern.
 
A Complicated Kindness follows a teenage girl who, along with her father, has been abandoned by her mother and older sister.  She is dealing with coming of age in a society that tells her pretty much everyone is going to hell.
 
My biggest issue with this book is the writing style which feels jumpy, meandering and oddly vulgar.  Toews never convinces me that I should care for anyone in the story, which makes the whole experience feel pointless.  Maybe that is the idea? (Lily)