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A review by readerofthings
The Kindness by Polly Samson
2.0
2.5 stars.
Originally, I was going to give it just two stars, but the ending was interesting. The first two thirds are depressing and slow. The first large chunk of the book is told from the perspective of Julian, a man whose partner has left him and removed all traces of herself from his house. He had a 3 year old daughter with her and it is not initially clear if the daughter died before she left or if she took the child with her. He is working his way through grief for this family he clearly loved. We learn a little bit about their history through flash-backs. There is also a bit about the slightly complicated relationship with his mother and her partner, as well as this woman Katie who is always hovering around Julian and just reeks of desperation.
About halfway to 2/3 through, we jump forward in time and the story is told through a different person's perspective. It was here that I thought it finally got interesting. While emotional, it wasn't told through a haze of grief. Secrets were revealed that shed light on why people did or did not do certain things in the past.
The very end of the story leaves things open-ended. You find out how a few of the characters reconnect, but are left hanging without knowing if others ever do or how they would react to each other.
I did like the neat turn of perspective. It just goes to show that there are always two sides to a story and that no one on the outside can ever truly know all that goes on in a relationship. It was well-written, but was just a bit too depressing to me and did not have enough of a hook in the first half to keep me avidly reading until the very end when the narrator changed.
Originally, I was going to give it just two stars, but the ending was interesting. The first two thirds are depressing and slow. The first large chunk of the book is told from the perspective of Julian, a man whose partner has left him and removed all traces of herself from his house. He had a 3 year old daughter with her and it is not initially clear if the daughter died before she left or if she took the child with her. He is working his way through grief for this family he clearly loved. We learn a little bit about their history through flash-backs. There is also a bit about the slightly complicated relationship with his mother and her partner, as well as this woman Katie who is always hovering around Julian and just reeks of desperation.
About halfway to 2/3 through, we jump forward in time and the story is told through a different person's perspective. It was here that I thought it finally got interesting. While emotional, it wasn't told through a haze of grief. Secrets were revealed that shed light on why people did or did not do certain things in the past.
The very end of the story leaves things open-ended. You find out how a few of the characters reconnect, but are left hanging without knowing if others ever do or how they would react to each other.
I did like the neat turn of perspective. It just goes to show that there are always two sides to a story and that no one on the outside can ever truly know all that goes on in a relationship. It was well-written, but was just a bit too depressing to me and did not have enough of a hook in the first half to keep me avidly reading until the very end when the narrator changed.