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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Oct 2004, 448 pages
Paperback:
Aug 2005, 448 pages
A family saga that is timely in its examination of some of the most important issues of our era, and timeless in its exploration of the strange and unexpected places where we find love.
For ten summers,
the Seton family—all three generations—met at their country home in New
England to spend a week together playing tennis, badminton, and golf, and
savoring gin and tonics on the wraparound porch to celebrate the end of the
season. In the eleventh summer, everything changed. A hunting rifle with a
single cartridge left in the chamber wound up in exactly the wrong hands at
exactly the wrong time, and led to a nightmarish accident that put to the test
the values that unite the family—and the convictions that just may pull it
apart.
Before You Know Kindness is a family saga that is timely in its
examination of some of the most important issues of our era, and timeless in its
exploration of the strange and unexpected places where we find love.
As he did with his earlier masterpiece, Midwives, Chris Bohjalian has
written a novel that is rich with unforgettable characters—and absolutely
riveting in its page-turning intensity.
The sun was up over
Washington, Lafayette, and the trio of nearby cannonball-shaped mountains that
were called the Three Graces, and Nan Seton—elderly but far from frail—sat
sipping her morning coffee on a chaise lounge on the Victorian house's
wraparound porch. She noted how the sun was rising much later now than it had
even two or three weeks ago: It was already the twenty-eighth or twenty-ninth of
July (it disturbed her that she couldn't grab the precise date right now from
the air), and her children would be arriving tomorrow. Friday.
A golden retriever—old like her but not nearly so energetic—lolled near her
feet on the outdoor rug.
She had been on the porch close to half an hour and even the coffee in the
stovetop percolator she had brought outside with her was cold, when she heard
her granddaughters pound their way down the stairs. The older girl, Charlotte,
was twelve; the younger one, Willow (a name that drove Grandmother crazy both...
Julia Glass, Winner of the National Book Award
Once again, Chris Bohjalian dares to tackle the complexities — and
complacencies — of modern society at its most vulnerable spot, where the
personal clashes with the political, where the private is forced to go public.
And once again, he forges a drama that will keep his readers on the edge of
their seats . . . perhaps their conscience as well. Richard Russo, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize
Chris Bohjalian's many fans will be glad to know he's back on the high
wire, expertly balancing topical issues with the more timeless concerns of the
human heart. His well- drawn, sympathetic characters deepen and intensify the
novel's gripping plot rather than simply serving it. Before You Know Kindness is
smart, first-rate storytelling.
If you liked Before You Know Kindness, try these:
by Liz Rosenberg
Published 2013
An exquisite tour de force, The Laws of Gravity is a testament to what it means to be a family, what it takes to save a life, and the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love.
by Nancy Reisman
Published 2005
Set in Buffalo, New York in the 1930s and '40s, The First Desire is a book of great emotional power that brings to life the weave of love, grief, tradition, and desire that binds a family together.
The Stone Home
by Crystal Hana Kim
A moving family drama and coming-of-age story revealing a dark corner of South Korean history.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
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