Kindness, Empathy, and Generosity

Much of the plot of Such Kindness centers on Tom Lowe Jr.’s growing comprehension of the importance of small, relatively random acts of kindness. Dubus draws the novel’s title from a superficially unimportant moment in which Dawn helps Tom make a phone call. Tom notes that “hearing this woman say the name of Ronnie’s second husband is like finding out I have a friend I didn’t know I had, or that I have a bank account with money in it I never bothered to check. She turns to me, her phone still pressed to her ear, and points to the full mug of coffee, then at a bowl of creamers and packets of sugar. Such kindness” (144). Dawn’s gesture here is relatively small; she assists Tom in making a phone call to ex-wife and then gives him a coffee...