Tom Lowe Jr.

Such Kindness centers around Tom Lowe Jr., a white working-class man living in a public housing complex in Amesbury, Massachusetts. For many years, Tom worked as a carpenter, eventually building a home for himself, his wife Ronnie, and their infant son, Drew. He took out a risky adjustable rate mortgage in order to pay for the home; after suffering a fall during a job, Tom became unable to work and thus unable to make mortgage payments. He developed an opioid addiction, sometimes enlisting his young son to help buy drugs. Ronnie left him for another man, and Tom—poor and disabled—went to live in the 8, a collection of public housing units. He continues to suffer from chronic pain, often thinking of the “fires” (6) in his hips and pelvis.

In the novel’s opening scene, Tom, Trina, and Jamey steal trash from Mike Andrews (the loan...