Customer Reviews

The Kindness of Strangers

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I had little idea what this book was truly about when I picked it up but I am glad I did. I loved it. LOVED IT!!!! As a therapist I work with children who have been sexually abused and I also work with sexual offenders. The author did her homework people! It was accurate and I have a deep appreciation for the realism and not the sensationalized versions I so often see in fictional books. I was in supsense, sick to my stomach, angry, saddened, relieved, and touched by the entire book. I lost sleep but not because I was thinking but because I couldn't put the book down! If I never read another book again I can be proud I read this one. AMAZING!!!

THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS by Katrina Kittle
March 16, 2007


Rating: 4 Stars

I actually read this book last year, but never got around to doing the amazon review. KINDNESS OF STRANGERS was one of my favorite books from 2006, a book that some will find the subject matter a little hard to take. It centers on one family, and a boy that they take in because his parents are accused of sexually abusing him. The story is something out of today's sordid headlines, but I felt the author did a good job at telling the story and keeping the focus on the family and the boy, and not on the actual acts that were committed on the boy and many others.

The story begins in the present in happier times. But then the reader is taken back to the past with the story of Jordan, the young boy that is being abused, as well as the story of Sarah Laden and her family, and how they cope with the death of their father. They are already going through a lot before they take in Jordan, a boy they had known for a long time but never knew what went on behind closed doors.

What makes things worse is that Sarah had been best friends with the next door neighbors, and to learn of the possibility of sexual abuse was something Sarah refused to believe.

THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS was such an engaging novel that I finished it one day. The viewpoints alternate between various characters, giving the reader different sides to the story. Well-written with characters that felt realistic and three dimensional, I highly recommend this book.

THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS is one of the best books I've ever read. Like Jodi Picoult's MY SISTER'S KEEPER, Ms. Kittle's book haunts you for days after you've finished the last page. I started reading THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS one afternoon and only put it down to sleep and eat, finishing it the next afternoon. The subject matter is tough to read about, yet you cannot stop because you quickly grow to care about all of the characters, especially Jordan. It's horrible that we have such monsters among us--people who prey on innocent children, people who are so sick they make US sick. Bravo, Ms. Kittle. You've written a story every person who cares about children should read.

Katrina Kittle can write. In addition to a fantastic plot and expert pacing, she gives us dialogue that reads like the way people really talk. It's particularly refreshing to experience eleven-year-old characters who, though intelligent, actually talk like eleven-year-olds and not like very short adults.

Please don't avoid this book because of its disturbing subject matter. THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS is well worth it.

This novel does work with powerfully emotional subjects - loss, death, grief, child molestation... But ultimately, The Kindness of Strangers is a novel about surviving the terrible things that happen to individuals and families. Many people may avoid this book because of the subject matter; please don't - it's a beautifully crafted piece of fiction that handles difficult emotions without messy pathos, and shows us characters who move on and thrive after experiencing some of the most terrible things that can happen. I find the "literature of dysfunction" utterly tedious, and Ms. Kittle's novel rises far above that banal genre. Yes, horrible things happen to good people, but a hell of a lot great things happen too.
Another reviewer complained about time inconsistencies, which I have re-checked in the first edition copy at hand. The reviewer apparently didn't realize that the narrator was speaking from a perspective in the future in the opening chapter, which takes place some 12 years after the main plot events. As John Irving wrote, "...you should either stop reading books, or try a lot harder. "

This a haunting, compelling, beautiful, disturbing, impossible to put down book on a very difficult subject. I was awake at night until 2am because I just could not stop reading. As a victim of similar abuse, I was moved by how Katrina managed to depict the events and characters without alienating the reader. Having seen Katrina recently at a book signing, I learned that this book took her 8 years to write--she definitely put her heart and soul into it, which is apparent from page one! I cannot adequately praise her incredible writing, character development, and research. She also shared that her editor convinced her to write the prologue and epilogue, which take place many years later. The purpose of these chapters is to show the reader some "mercy" and let them know that even though they are embarking on a very difficult journey with her through the book, everyone comes out OK. Unfortunately, atrocities against children happen in our own neighborhoods and are usually family members or trusted adults. I recommend this book for anyone--my husband is reading it now and cannot put it down either.

THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS by Katrina Kittle / William Morrow Press / 2005 / 978-0-06-056474-2 / 390pps / $24.95

When an elementary boy tries to kill himself, people look for reasons. What they usually find is horrendous.
Jordan is the quiet, skinny, pale boy who is best friends with the youngest of Sarah's two sons. Sarah is recently widowed and runs a catering business out of her home. She has catered "parties" for Jordan's parents on numerous occasions. She is close friends with Jordan's mother. When police investigate Jordan's reason for attempting to take his own life, the small town where they all live is thrown into a confusing denial. None more so than Sarah.
How could a child pornography ring have possibly been operated right under their noses? And by such respected, outgoing members of their community as Jordan's parents? Hindsight leaves everyone feeling nauseated, terrified and incredibly guilt-ridden. Nearly every child in the neighborhood has had contact of some sort with the Kendricks. Nearly every one of them were being groomed for future "parties." This is not a Stephen King novel. There is nothing sci-fi or fantasy-based. In near graphic detail, we are filtered into Jordan's life via his own suppressed memories and through the collected DVD's found in the police search. This is not a pretty picture.
His father skips town, his mother is thrown in jail, and Jordan has nowhere to go from the hospital so is foster-placed with Sarah. What evolves is a long, hard, tumultuous journey into trust and eventual love. With incredible insight, Kittle writes through the voices of Sarah, her son's Nate and Danny, and through Jordan with pure emotions and concise legalities. Revelations bring a family on the brink of their own destruction back into a tight, supportive unit that helps each other heal and move slowly, but surely, forward.
What started out as (I thought) a sappy story soon became an amazingly illuminating read that could easily serve as educational, were it actual nonfiction. In honesty, I could not put it down..even so much as taking it to lunch with my husband and reading it before the food arrived. Painful, poignant, promising....and, unfortunately, more than possible.
Kittle writes from Dayton where she also teaches middle school theater and English. This is her third novel.

This book took hold of me and I couldn't put it down. Although the subject matter may be a bit much, it is told with such class and style you can't help but dive into it.

We have a woman who lost her husband two years ago. Still dealing with that pain, Sarah drives by her "best friend's" son walking in the rain, late for school. She decides to stop and give him a ride. He says he has to use the restroom and runs to a port-a-potty. After a few minutes of waiting, Sarah discovers that Jordan has tried to take his own life. She rushes him to the ER. There they discover an abused young man. Sarah still has Jordan's backpack, full of discs documenting the sexual abuse.

Her son Nate, whom she is having troubles with surprises her, and befriends Jordan. He is the one that suggests Jordan come live with their family while the trial is going on for Jordan's parents.

What happens is heartbreaking but Sarah and the boys make it through. Read when you have time to finish it in one sitting.

This was a gripping story of an already traumatized family working through another tragedy. The main characters are so well developed, interesting and highly relatable. I was wishing this book was longer from the beginning - partly because not a word is wasted - everything that happens matters and contributes to the story, and secondly because I found I like the characters so much and wanted to know more about them. I know it will be a while before I find another novel that I just can't put down.

This novel definitely deals with heavy stuff and may not be for the faint of heart, but MUCH care was taken in presenting it in the mildest way possible. Truly, only the bare minimum was presented in order to provide structure for the plot...regardless, the issue is a huge reality today, whether it is discussed or mostly ignored.

As an aside, I am not sure where the below reviewer got the timeline on which his/her opinion is based. Nowhere does the book state the novel begins in 2006 (when has a publication date ever been the determinant of that?). It is obvious that the story happens sometime in the future from the reviewer's observations. I'm not prepared to do the math based on the birth of Harry Potter though! "Sloppy" is the last word I would use to describe such a well written book.

Kittle takes on a very difficult topic here -- the incestuous sexual abuse of children -- and does a fairly good job with it The story itself was compelling, and, for hte most part, the main characters were well drawn, although I would have liked to read more about Danny's character and motivations; mostly he just feels like a 2 dimensional character thrown in for plot purposes. The 'reveal" at the end does fill in some gaps on the character portrayal, but it comes a bit late.I did, however, enjoy looking for the parallels between The Kindness of Strangers and the Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire, the main one being, I suppose, that we depend on the kindness of others to overlook our flaws and sins to help us keep our social facades in place. "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." is a very famous line from Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire. The line is spoken by Blanche Dubois as she is led away to the mental institution to which Stanley has committed her (her breakdown being caused by Stanley raping her).Throughout Streetcar, Blanche puts up a grand facade, clinging to her mask of "Southern Belle" and hiding the fact that she is an alcoholic and that she has been fired from her teaching job because she had an affair with a 17 year old student. Her marriage has also been broken up due to her husband's having a homosexual affair -- her discovery of which leads to his suicide (in the play at least, it was glossed over in the movie). In the play, Blanche creates the self that she wants others to see through her words, jsut as Courtney does in the book, by telling people what she knows they want to hear. Both rely on our impulse to see the best in others in order to create the selves they the public to perceive and to make themselves less "guilty" in their own eyes.