--- product_id: 62527613 title: "A Complicated Kindness Paperback – 2 July 2015" brand: "miriam toews" price: "€ 0.06" currency: EUR in_stock: false reviews_count: 23 url: https://www.desertcart.gr/products/62527613-a-complicated-kindness-paperback-2-july-2015 store_origin: GR region: Greece --- # A Complicated Kindness Paperback – 2 July 2015 **Brand:** miriam toews **Price:** € 0.06 **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** A Complicated Kindness Paperback – 2 July 2015 by miriam toews - **How much does it cost?** € 0.06 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.gr](https://www.desertcart.gr/products/62527613-a-complicated-kindness-paperback-2-july-2015) ## Best For - miriam toews enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted miriam toews brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Full description not available ## Images ![A Complicated Kindness Paperback – 2 July 2015 - Image 1](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51HEuZWmFaL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐ A fast and engrossing read all about self-discovery and betrayal, family and escape. *by T***S on Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 May 2017* A Complicated Kindness is a coming-of-age story set in a Canadian Mennonite community, a reclusive and devout Christian sect that's similar in its ways to the more familiar Amish, much to the fascination of the visiting tourists. Mennonites reject the modern world and all its temptations, instead living like 18th century farmers. But with TVs. Sometimes. The town's main industry is the chicken slaughter place and the town's youth look forward to illustrious careers slaughtering chickens before being called up to Heaven in the rapture.The novel is narrated by 16 year old Nomi in a wry, deadpan style that's very endearing and often funny, in a bittersweet kind of way. She definitely has a sharp sense of the comedic tragedy of her life- musing on the bemused-looking mural of Jesus on the high street, why did their religious founder Menno Simons name his following after his first name? Why does he love damnation so much but isn't bothered about explanation? How is moving one's body to music a sin? Nomi's mother and sister have both left the family, separately and suddenly- but probably for the same reasons. Nomi recalls them in chunks, their reasons for their departures become more and more clear, and sadly inevitable as she offers her memories up to the reader. Her missing family haunt her, but Nomi's father is unable to give up the religion that he loves and that has formed him and Nomi finds herself unable to give up on her father. She is trying her hardest to hold everything together in a ramshackle house by the highway that is falling apart, and with a father with increasingly erratic behaviour. Though previously a devout believer and follower of her religion, Nomi is just beginning to question the lifestyle she has been brought up in in a traditional rebellious angsty teen style.She and her band of disillusioned teen exiles spend their weekends dressing up as pioneers and churning butter in the mocked-up 'Ye Olden Times' dioramas for tourists, then drive around in pickup trucks, smoking dope, listening to Lou Reed and reading hipster novels and beat poetry. In many ways she's very much an ordinary teenager- boys, music her parents disapprove of, barely noticeable acts of rebellion. Nomi declares her survival strategy to be using “drugs and my imagination”- her greatest weapons against a town and a religion so desperate to get a foot in the door of Heaven that they forget completely to live.I really liked Nomi as a character- she was kidding herself about ever leaving, and she knew that but she lied to herself anyway was a way to cope. She's smart, honest and naturally inquiring, all the things that hardcore religious communities seek to crush, and it's painful to watch her struggle to understand that and then to force herself to live with it. I loved the pitiful but loving relationship she had with her father too, the bond and the burden. They didn't speak much, but understood one another entirely, even if the motives and attitudes were completely different. The scene where she helps him clean up the rubbish at the dump is heartbreaking- this religion seems to have crushed them both.Though it's not a particularly plot heavy book, it's a fascinating character study of Nomi and her religion, which will be pretty alien to UK readers. It's beautifully written with a mastery of language and image that I haven't seen in a long time. As it's not driven by action, the characters and their lives have to be compelling, as Nomi was a truly arresting narrator. It's a fast and engrossing read all about self-discovery and betrayal, family and escape. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beautiful, sad, savage *by M***Y on Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 January 2015* A remarkable book about a young girl growing up in a repressive, deeply insular, religious community. Nomi, the main character is a wonderful creation, viewing her strange world and vanishing family with affection, savage anger and wry humour as she grows up and learns how deeply she has been betrayed and how completely abandoned. All the characters are brilliantly drawn, with absolutely no wasted words, through Nomi's acute and critical observations.I thought it was not so much a coming of age story as a one about the ways in which young people change on the way, described without sentimentality or melodrama, just lovely, subtle, understated truth. And though the weird community have profound effects on Nomi's development, the sorrows and joys and setbacks that she experiences, are universal.It's a very truthful book, neither sparing or condemning the community or Nomi's family - not even Nomi herself and in the end we are left understanding that only Nomi can help herself. ### ⭐⭐⭐ Mennonites *by P***M on Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 August 2014* Maybe because I read it on my Kindle but for whatever reason I didn't quite get into it. It is a detailed description of family life but only from one point of view - some memorable scenes but somehow I didn't get a real sense of the characters apart from the narrator. It's probably quite unfair of me to write this review as I can hardly remember it. 'my mom ' said 'I envy that dog its freedom and obliviousness ' but we never quite know why she feels like that and what happened to her. I bought this while I was waiting for Toews' next book All My Puny Sorrows which is brilliant - luckily this one didn't put me off. Toews is a fantastic writer but this one wasn't for me. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.gr/products/62527613-a-complicated-kindness-paperback-2-july-2015](https://www.desertcart.gr/products/62527613-a-complicated-kindness-paperback-2-july-2015) --- *Product available on Desertcart Greece* *Store origin: GR* *Last updated: 2026-04-23*