Miriam Toews '' A Complicated Kindness'

Fall seven times, stand up eight (Japanese Proverb). Miriam Toews' "A Complicated

Kindness" deals with Nomi Nickel, a young teenager who lives in the small, religious and tedious town of Mennonite whose older sister Tash and mother Trudie suddenly run away from home.

This novel introduces all the struggles that Nomi has to cope with but does not stop her from staying strong. Although Nomi's relationship with her boyfriend come to an end, her dreams to travel do not come true and she eventually loses connection with everyone in her family, Nomi continues to optimistically view these outcomes and her future believing that happy endings just do not come easily.

Nomi ends a relationship with her boyfriend whom she loved but that does not end her

Living in such a dull town, Nomi's biggest dream is to move to New York City and even better, along with her family.

Unfortunately, she never receives the opportunity to accomplish this dream. However, she continues to have perseverance and confidence into the idea that she can reach her purpose as she states, “I still believe that one day we’ll all be together, the four of us, in New York City.”

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(91). Nomi also says, "Truthfully, this story ends with me still sitting on the floor of my room wondering who I'll become if I leave this town." (246). Even though she still lives in this small town, her thoughts at the end of the novel evidently show that she does not intend on giving up on moving out of Easy Village and possibly to New York City.

Nomi's older sister Tash and mother Trudie become excommunicated for a reason that still remains unclear. From the beginning of the novel, Nomi has to manage in an empty family with just her father:

We were supposed to stay together, it was clear to me.

That was the function, the ultimate purpose, the entire premise for the existence of the Nickel Family. That we remained together for all eternity. And it was so

(17-18).

Nomi is distinctly hurt that her family has fallen apart. She says how close they were to staying together, yet this does not happen. She has not given up hope since she still believes that one day they will all meet again (91). By the end of the novel, her father Ray also ends up running away leaving his new suit, his dipping bird, his childhood bible and Nomi. She ends up