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A profoundly moving exploration of our capacity to heal one another.
Ellie and Eric Nyland have moved their two sons back to Eric's childhood farmhouse, hoping for a fresh start. But there's no denying it, their family is falling apart, each one of them isolated by private sorrows, stresses, and missed signals. With every passing day, Ellie's hopes are buried deeper in the harsh winter snows.
When Eric finds Hannah Finch, the girl across the road, wandering alone in the bitter cold, his rusty police instincts kick in, and he soon discovers there are bad things happening in the girl's house. With nowhere else to send her, the Nylands reluctantly agree to let Hannah stay with them until she can find a new home after the Christmas holidays. But Hannah proves to be more balm than burden, and the Nylands discover that the only thing harder than taking Hannah in may be letting her go.
About this Author
Fran Kimmel is the author of The Shore Girl, which was named a CBC Top-40 Book and won the Alberta Readers' Choice Award in 2013. Fran's short stories have appeared in literary journals from coast to coast and have twice been selected for The Journey Prize Stories anthology. Born and raised in Calgary, Fran now writes and teaches in Lacombe, AB.
Reviews
"Nuanced characters and attention to detail make what could have been a saccharine story a deeply moving one instead. Highly recommended." -- Booklist
"Kimmel's novel has only a few characters, but they all possess presence and depth and experience honest changes. The strong sense of place serves as an additional relationship for the characters to negotiate." -- Library Journal Starred Review
"Quietly powerful ... In less careful hands, this story could have come across as sentimental or melodramatic; instead, it takes shape as a guardedly hopeful tale of resilience." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Moving ... The seemingly mundane scenes -- a family dinner, for example -- are the most powerful in the story and demonstrate our capacity to heal one another through compassion and kindness." -- Canadian Living
"The humanity in Fran Kimmel's No Good Asking is as big as the hearts of her arresting characters. In genuine, unaffected prose, this story builds from the first page to its satiating finale. An achingly good story." -- Lee Kvern, author of 7 Ways to Sunday
"Intimate and arresting, honest and profound. From one of Canada's finest voices in fiction, No Good Asking is a soaring read that explores the messy bonds of family life with humanity and heart." -- Ali Bryan, award-winning author of Roost and The Figgs
"Quiet and honest, No Good Asking is deeply rooted in western community, and in the small virtues that have large significance for people's daily lives. With grace and clarity, Fran Kimmel shows how the ordinary milk of human kindness, given the minor catalyst of a child's despair, can generate new life." -- Marina Endicott, author of Good to a Fault
"No Good Asking is a complex, emotional exploration of the deeply personal aspects of existing within a family. With care and sensitivity, Kimmel excavates the hopes, dreams, secret desires and profound wounds of a winning cast of characters. This is a novel filled with poignant insights into the truth of human hearts. As I read it I kept it close--like a friend I wanted to get to know better. When it was over, I felt bereft for days. I look forward to what Kimmel writes next." -- Marissa Stapley, bestselling author of Mating for Life and Things to Do When It's Raining
"Kimmel's writing is lovely and exact. What I most enjoyed about this book is how the setting became a character in and of itself. No Good Asking absolutely nails the sense of isolation and doom, coupled with the timeless, otherworldly quality of a week spent 'snowed in'." -- WordMothers blog
"A fine stocking stuffer." -- Toronto Star
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