Reviews

Such Kindness by Andre Dubus III

pomoevareads's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

It’s hard not to feel for the main character, Tom Lowe, in Andre Dubus’s new novel Such Kindness. Tom had a good thing going. A wife and young son, a booming business in carpentry, even building a beautiful house for his family. Then the combination of a subprime mortgage and falling off a roof and breaking a hip and becoming addicted to painkillers was enough to tear down much of what he had built. His wife left him, he lost his house and moved into subsidized housing, lost access to his son for a time and was pretty angry about it. He came up with a cheque scheme and invited some new friends to participate in the scam to try and bring themselves up. This is the point where we meet Tom as he is stealing garbage from the banker who sold him the variable mortgage. 

I’ll admit, the first half of this book wasn’t really doing much for me. I think I was looking for the plot. But as the story continued and we were reminded over and over of the raging fire in his hips and the plywood sofa, I began to get what I think/hope the author was trying to convey. The writing and descriptions were a reflection of Tom’s life and its dreary and mundane day to day scope. The feelings of helplessness and hopelessness that persevered Tom’s existence. Watching this person come to the awareness of his true situation and how his previous mindset did not move him further to any sort of freedom, I began to see the flickers of hope and determination required to lighten the weight of his burdens. 

The careful arc of Tom’s character felt very realistic and genuine. The side characters in the story all felt necessary and multilayered. While this is not a happily ever after story it showed that hope can exist in the deepest of valleys. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Addiction

andingj's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Some good nuggets and life lessons here that can border on being a bit too much at times.  Enjoyed reading it.  

mbfox's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

kooky_kayla's review against another edition

lost interest 

rachelparaski's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

hayleybeale's review against another edition

4.0

After a pretty grim first half-ish, in which everything that could go wrong for Tom Lowe Jr. does or has gone wrong, I was about ready to give up. But, as it's my book club book, I felt obliged to stick with it and was richly rewarded with a lovely turnaround that is full of grace and, yes, kindness.

noelle88's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Although a sad story, it isn’t one that’s overwhelming so I almost didn’t describe it that way. Just SUCH a great book. These characters will stay with me for a long, long time. 

beefmaster's review against another edition

3.0

I'd like to give this 3.5 but Goodreads, you know what I mean. Anyway, a pretty good novel about pain and disability and fatherhood and responsibility. I thought the prose was okay, maybe a little too sleek considering it's a first person narrator who, by his own admission, isn't a thinker, but a doer. I read the transcript of the NPR interview with Dubus and this gave me some welcome insight into the book: Dubus is himself a carpenter, and his famous father lost his leg trying to be a Good Samaritan, two facts I didn't know. There's something about both Dubus writers and their obsession with random acts of violence/trauma/meetings which become the primum movens of the plot. Often, idle story ideas pop into my head and after thinking on them for more than a minute, I realize they're just rehashes of "Killings," the standout Dubus II story or House of Sand and Fog, the outstanding Dubus III novel. They're both haunted by the crashing of different, flawed people stuck on their trajectories. The same thing applies here: different, well drawn people are crashing into each other, for good and for bad.

rmarcin's review against another edition

5.0

What a beautiful book!
Tom is disabled from a fall he took when he owned his own construction company. That fall began a fall of everything in his life. His marriage failed, he became addicted to painkillers, and his son became distant.
Now, his son, Drew, is turning 20, and Tom is trying to do everything he can to reach him to tell Drew that he loves him. But, life's circumstances keep getting in the way. Not until someone shows Tom some kindness does Tom realize that he needs to start opening up and letting kindness take over his life. He begins to accept his mistakes and make amends.
There was a bit of abuse and language in the book, but it seemed realistic and genuine. I will think about this book for some time.

kimbui's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A good book if you’re trying to find hope. A man finds his way through darkness.