Customer Reviews

Killing Miss Kitty and Other Sins

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

You would think that reading about other people's sins wouldn't be much fun, but Marion Dane Bauer's KILLING MISS KITTY AND OTHER SINS is a surprisingly pleasant and quick read. Set in the 1950s, we follow Claire, a young girl growing up in a small town in Illinois, through five stories spread out over about five years.

One of my few complaints is that at only 167 pages, including the foreword and afterword, the book is much too short. The five stories offer just a glimpse of Claire, a thoughtful but woefully awkward girl. I think that the author is great at illustrating Claire's charmingly adolescent need to define who she is yet her inability and lack of desire to understand anyone else. Only belatedly and temporarily does Claire see beyond her own little world. It's refreshing that Marion Dane Bauer's characters consistently put self-preservation before doing the right thing but have enough of a conscience to feel guilty, at least briefly, each time.

My favorite story is KILLING MISS KITTY. It will be hard for me to tell what's so great about this story without giving away the plot. This is the only story that is centered around family. This is also one of Claire's most imagined stories because she isn't actually a witness to a lot of the events that she recounts. It's ironic that the story in which her mother and her brother become most life-like is also the least "true." Because Claire is not there, it gives her enough objectivity to see her mother and brother as people instead of obstacles and the occasional aid.

KILLING MISS KITTY AND OTHER SINS is definitely not a novel, but the five stories are so interrelated that calling it an anthology or a short story collection would be a betrayal of its cohesive nature. Sometimes it seems as if the contents are lifted from the pages of Claire's journal. A journal that is both extremely private yet also begging to be read and understood.

Overall, Bauer paints a convincing portrait of adolescence that doesn't illuminate but points out and occasionally pokes fun at the trials and tribulations in the inevitable stumble towards growing up.

Reviewed by: Natalie Tsang

Bauer pulled me into every story with her honest exploration of human motivation. She writes beautifully about our awkward attempts to reach out, find belonging, wrestle with our consciences and ultimately, come face-to-face with ourselves. I agree with the previous reviewer that one of the greatest strengths and most unique aspects of the book is the exploration of conscience and definition of sin. If you automatically associate the word "sin" with "preachy," you needn't worry about that here. Claire's honesty in her attempts to understand the religious milieu around her -- and her willingness to subvert the status quo as she tests that milieu's bounds -- prevent didacticism. Those who come to the book with an open mind will find themselves in its pages. Poignant, painful at times, funny at others, but most of all honest.

If your teen book group is looking for a book that will offer rich opportunities for discussion ... this is the right book. All the issues that concern teens are present here: the subtle ways in which we think as racists in spite of our intentions, matters of responsibliity and cruelty to animals, sexual uncertainties, relationships with teachers, and even something rarely talked about in books ... figuring out what sin means. In Bauer's graceful and highly readable prose, I found myself pulled from story to story about Claire, wondering how much of the book is based on the author's own memories. In fact, reading her website, it seems that a lot of the book is and yet it's fictionalized as well ... another topic for discussion. I've given this book to many of my friends, asking that they read it so we can talk about the stories and their implications. In fact, I've suggested that my adult book club read it. I think there's a great deal here that will resonate with Every Reader.