A Complicated Kindness: A Novel Style

A Complicated Kindness: A Novel Style

Point of View

This story is told from the viewpoint of a sixteen-year-old Mennonite girl. She shares the story of the destruction of her own family based on her own limited experience and understanding of what has actually happened. The story is told from the first person point of view of Nomi. This point of view is appropriate because it tells the story of a teen who is beginning to realize the shortfalls of a religion in which she has been immersed for all of her life. In addition to her awakening to the cruelties of her religion, Nomi is also beginning to realize what the Mennonite beliefs have done to her family specifically. As the novel progresses, Nomi puts together the clues that tell her exactly what has happened to make both her sister and her mother abandon their family.

Nomi is not necessarily an unreliable narrator but she does tell...
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