A Kindness explores the changing roles of two main characters, Anne and Chip Becker, as they interact with three minor characters as partners in love relationships of various types. Chip is the person the reader comes to know best, as he serves as narrator for most of the story. It is through his voice and eyes that the reader views the novel's events. His mother Anne is defined as a stereotypical impractical artist with no sense of money or management. It is because of her ephemeral character that Chip, at age sixteen, has already assumed a major portion of the duties necessary in running a household, including grocery shopping, meal planning, and distribution of money. Their personalities and concerns seem as different as night and day. While Anne lives in her world of paints and illusion, Chip takes a very practical view of life...