Kind of Kin audiobook

I am a reader that prefers depth to breadth. I want to be pierced. I want the universal and the personal to eat each other’s tails, to turn into an infinity sign. For this reason, I am sometimes not satisfied with fiction that takes a broad scope. Often what you get is wide but not deep, more sociology than fiction. Rilla Askew knows how to avoid this pitfall. Kind of Kin is deep AND wide—a big, multivocal book, full of characters who all seem like people I talk to everyday, real as real. Set in contemporary southeast Oklahoma where an anti-immigration law is creating crises for some and opportunities for others, Kind of Kin is full of characters who care to be good people, who try to understand their world and each other, who define honor for themselves on-the-fly and to their own surprise, who figure things out as they go along. The novel weaves together several characters’ lives, connecting them to a bigger, national picture, but it is a story about family, and home, and about the deeply personal moral decisions that people are forced to make in response to situations that they didn’t create and wouldn’t have chosen. It’s a crackling read, exciting from the get-go, deep and wide, lively and contemporary while also carrying the deeper rhythms of older stories, fundamental conflicts. Up until now, I would have put “The Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin at the top of my very short list of texts that deal with the pain and raw power that surround the issue of immigration. But I’m moving Kind of Kin to the top. That’s right, Rilla Askew beats Led Zeppelin. Kind of Kin

This was an outstanding book. Engaging, vividly written and thought-provoking. Kind of Kin is an all-around great read that bears keen social witness to a contentious issue of our day (the immigration debate). Rilla Askew handles the topic deftly, with sensitivity, humor, and conscience. A beautiful ending, to boot.

Askew writes a very compelling family drama that features a very hot subject these days--immigration, illegal and otherwise. Religion, civil rights, extended families, and the economic struggles of blue collar families all come into play in this multi-layered novel of life in Oklahoma.

*Check out http://www.infinitereads.com for other reviews and sundry thoughts!* Oklahoma's best-kept secret is at it again, as Rilla Askew steps out of her usual historical fiction with Kind of Kin, a novel that touches on both the timeless theme of family bonds and the timely theme of illegal immigration regulation.Bob Brown's arrest shocks the citizens of tiny Cedar, Okla. In Bob's estimation, he's "a felon because he's a Christian." In an exercise in radical discipleship, Bob agreed to hide a handful of frightened illegal Mexican immigrants in his barn, only to find himself betrayed to the law by someone close to him. In his absence, his daughter, Sweet, takes over the care of her orphaned nephew, Dustin, one more worry for her overtaxed nerves. Sweet's already dealing with a tight household budget, her husband Terry's bedridden great-grandpa, Terry's constant out of town trips for his job with the gas company and a son even she admits is turning into a bully. When Dustin runs away, Sweet finds herself in the middle of a media circus involving a rabidly ambitious state representative just as Dustin's older sister comes to her seeking shelter for her husband, an illegal alien who has returned to the U.S. after his deportation to Mexico. The center cannot hold, and Sweet's life spirals out of control--straight into a standoff involving a vicious sheriff and Sweet's pastor and church congregation.Oklahomans will recognize the Sooner State on a deep level in Kind of Kin; this is much more than a few mentions of Oklahoma City's Penn Square Mall or the Choctaw Nation to set the scene. Vividly authentic, Askew's portrayal of small-town, working-class Oklahoma encompasses its gossipmongering and fear of the unknown without mockery, as well as renders its core values, tenacious spirit and bone-deep sense of hospitality without becoming trite or twee. Rather than make a simple political statement, Askew has crafted an uncannily real cast of characters whose attempts to go about their daily lives and care for their families intersect with issues of church and state, conservative versus liberal politics and the choice between the right way and the easy way. A winner for book clubs, Askew's foray into contemporary fiction is the perfect vehicle to introduce new readers to this talented and under-recognized voice. Her sensitive and humanizing treatment of this hot-button issue is sure to provoke thought and discussion no matter what readers' political leanings may be.***This review originally appeared in Shelf Awareness. Sign up for this free and awesome newsletter at http://www.shelf-awareness.com for the latest news and reviews! This review refers to an ARC provided by Shelf Awareness.***

This is a very unusual book with the primary themes of religion, politics and societal values. The author keeps your interest while juggling multiple stories and shows that what is legal and what is right are not always the same. The major issue is the arrest of a Christian grandfather, Robert John Brown, who was sheltering a group of illegal immigrants in his barn. This is the beginning, but it is only the first domino to fall in a whole series of chains. The message that I took away from this tale is that we all make choices and we should make positive choices. Choose to be for something or someone not against, kind of a glass half full way of living life.

The text of House Bill 1804 or, to give it its proper name, the ‘Oklahoma Taxpayers and Citizens Protection Act of 2007’ might come as a bit or a shock to anyone whose prior knowledge of Oklahoma was simply that it is the place where ‘the wind comes right behind the rain’ (Oklahoma, the Musical).In 2007, Oklahoma was the first US State to pass strict local immigration laws because it did not feel that enough was being done by the federal government initially to control movement across the Mexican border, and then to enforce laws to prevent access to employment for illegals. It became an offence to harbor or in any way aid an ‘undocumented worker’ – and provided for the deportation back to the Mexican border of anyone illegally in the State (whether or not they had actually come from Mexico in the first place!). Spot checks based on racial profiling were, and are, prevalent.This is the context in which Rilla Askew’s extremely well written and researched latest book, Kind of Kin, is set. Ms Askew is an Oklahoman who clearly loves her State, its people, and a great deal of what they stand for. The essential dilemma of her book is the contradiction many experience between their Christian beliefs (‘welcome the stranger’) and their desire to be law abiding citizens. Bob Brown, the father and grandfather of two of the main characters, helps immigrant workers hide in his barn – and is then described as ‘a Christian and a felon – and a felon because he is a Christian’.There is a good and well described range of characters. Bob Brown, the born again Christian, his daughter Sweet who struggles to hold a dysfunctional family together, her son Carl Albert, her nephew Dustin, her husband Terry. Plus her niece, Misty Dawn, and her ‘illegal’ husband Juanito. Plus Luis, an ‘undocumented worker’ who escaped the raid on the barn. And, representing the less sympathetic viewpoint, the carpet bagging Monica Moorehouse focused on driving the Act through the Legislature to her greater glory – and Logan Morgan, a local TV news reporter, whose key purpose in life is to make sure the unfolding events take place on a time schedule that makes certain she stars on the 6.00PM news. Finally there is Arvin Holloway, the bullying and egocentric sheriff who was as unpleasant a child as he has turned out to be as an adult.The book is set in real places that exist in South East Oklahoma – the descriptions of Wilburton (population 2,843) and Latimer County (11,155) ring very true of small town America. Attitudes, positive and negative, towards the illegals have echoes of 40 years earlier when the culture clash was then between black and white. In many ways Kind of Kin reads as a contemporary novel that is set in the past – it does not always feel like a book of the 21st century.Ms Askew has a real personal interest in the storyline of the book. Her niece married an ‘undocumented’ of Mexican origin who had grown up in the States. He was arrested for a minor traffic offence in Tulsa – and then deported to Mexico… being told that he would have to join a twelve year line to get back into the US. She does, though, absolutely not preach against the legislation – but rather, in the book, takes a very balanced position between understanding the reasons for the Act being in place – and the impact it inevitably has on lives at a very human level. Her characters also manage to point out that being for or against the Act is not a straightforward class or political decision. The richest (right wing) industrialist in Oklahoma is against the Bill because of the effect it will have on his labour costs – and many otherwise conservative citizens are also against the Bill because they know, and have grown up with, ‘undocumented workers’ and their families – and see them as integral parts of their communities.All in all, a very good read that sympathetically explores one of the very major social issues of modern America.

What happens to a family when one member falls in love with someone not exactly like themselves? The family dynamic tends to shift. Long held prejudices are challenged within the family and members tend to act and feel differently about those beliefs over time. Some are able to come around to the side of the family member who has brought in this “outsider” while others will cling even tighter to the way things used to be and resent the new norm even more. The main character in Kind of Kin, Sweet, is caught literally in the middle of this repeating saga, only the drama winds up playing out in very loud and public ways, due to immigration reform laws taking place in her state of Oklahoma. Her family is deeply affected by these laws on several fronts and lines get drawn in the sand between Sweet and her husband. Some issues are just plain complex. The millions of people living in the United States right now without having the necessary paperwork to be considered legal residents represent one of those issues that has no easy answers. The sheer fact that this issue is as old as it is has complicated matters further, because now families, children and young adults— who never even had a choice originally in how they wound up in their individual situation—are involved.This emotional and gripping tale has the reader sympathizing with the main character one minute and screaming at her the next. It is a page turner that is hard to put down.

Georgia “Sweet” Brown’s life is spiraling out of control. Her daddy, a preacher, is in jail for harboring illegal Mexicans because her no-good husband, Tee, turned him in to the pompous, celebrity wanna be sheriff. Her niece’s husband, also an illegal alien, is deported and the niece need’s Sweet’s help. Her son is beating up her nephew, Dustin, who had been living with her daddy, but comes to stay with her and Tee. Dustin runs away and Sweet suddenly feels the weight of the world upon her. Can she find her nephew? Can she get her daddy out of jail? Will Jesus help her if she prays to him?Kind of Kin is a story of loss and despair, what is right and wrong, but it is also about finding love and faith with plenty of humor thrown in for good measure.Sweet is strong, but also vulnerable and Askew has filled the town of Cedar, Oklahoma, where the story is set, with quirky, yet believable characters. She has also written a wonderfully descriptive story with current social and political issues that are taking place in communities all along the U.S. border with Mexico.I found Kind of Kin to be a fast read and I think it would be a great book for discussion groups. I think it would appeal to readers who enjoy the works of Barbara Kingsolver and Adriana Trigiani.I received an advanced reader's copy of this book from the publisher.

Rilla Askew is an Oklahoma author who not only understands her people but also paints them in true colors on the pallete of her pages. Kind of Kin is an easy read, much easier than Fire in Beulah or her seminal The Mercy Seat , but this breezy narrative, nonetheless, is powerful and her voice is emphatic.Sweet, the heroine, is Askew's signiture dutiful mother/wife/daughter trying to hold her world together against growing odds and is presented with the problem of an aging father taken to jail for harboring alien-immigrants. In attempting to sort this out, Sweet's life is upended and her entire community is drawn in to the dilemma.The climactic scenes in the small Baptist church are perfect in every detail from cradle roll to hymnal and the absolutely true-to-type reactions of the pastor and congregation. Pure Oklahoma. The reader will recognize kin in more characters than one, and may even find themselves somewhere in that church yard. Kinship, after all, is the theme and the message of the book.Immigration law is taken on, unabashedly, and the reader has no difficulty discovering where this Oklahoman stands.Excellent read from a great Oklahoma-Proud author.--mary--

If I was an editor, Rilla Askew’s Kind of Kin is a book I would hope to cross my desk. Contemporary, funny, dramatic and, at the same time, as socially relevant as they come, Askew manages to juggle the multiple perspectives surrounding the immigration debate with both humor and compassion. While brutally honest about the political (and personal) imperitives behind legislative decision-making, Kind of Kin provides just enough humanity to both sides that it doesn’t come across as excessively preachy. The novel is full of interesting characters caught up in the pure momentum of the situation and though it opens and is sprinkled throughout with the first-person accounts of ten-year-old Dustin Lee Brown (whose grandfather has been arrested for harboring illegal immigrants and who finds himself traveling with the only man to escape the round-up,) it is his Aunt Sweet who eventually steals the show, transforming from daughter, sister, wife and mother to a woman standing on her own.

This is a wonderfully told story about both sides of the illegal immigration debate. It has the story from many points of view from the immigrants themselves to the families and communities that are torn apart when they become involved. Mr. Brown, a well respected community member, is asked to house some illegal workers for a day and ends up arrested for his kindness. His grandson, whom he's been raising, is then caught up in the fury of other people's hatred and his own confusion. He sets out to help a man who he finds in his grandfather's barn and unknowingly sets off a chain of events that will change his community.

This is the kind of book I love--a contemporary theme that really matters; a setting that is not completely alien but far enough removed from me that I feel as if I have entered a new world; vivid and loveable characters (some hatable ones too); a gripping plot, a lack of the annoying detached irony you find in so much contemporary fiction; finally, true sympathy for people who find themselves screwed over for no fault of their own. If you like those kinds of novels too, I recommend you read this one.

This book focuses on the themes of family, relationships, faith in God, friendship, trust, loyalty, etc. and how they all worked together to stand up against a law which affected their way of peaceful way of life in Ohklahoma. Though, I didn't find it comical...it was indeed an intense novel as the author builds the suspense for the faith of the characters. It could have been shortened and still maintain it's meaningful plot. Otherwise a good read.

This is the best novel I've read in three years. It's brilliant, compassionate, funny, and quite serious about putting its very real characters through an all too plausible hell. And Rilla Askew is kind enough to see these people through that hell to the other side, in style. I love it when a major work of fiction is also good for a few laughs and a lot of rapid page-turning. Don't wait. Read it. Then spread the word.

This is a great book that deeply expresses the power of family and community in the context of illegal immigration. Though the book has a message about Mexican immigrants it is written in a way that isn't preachy and lets us make up our own mind. Great book for book clubs!