Why Is 'Before We Forget Kindness' Controversial Among Readers?

The novel 'before we forget kindness' sparks controversy because it deliberately blurs moral boundaries in a way that unsettles many readers. The protagonist isn’t your typical hero—they’re a former criminal who stumbles into redemption not through grand acts of sacrifice, but through small, messy gestures that sometimes backfire. Some readers adore this realism, calling it a breath of fresh air in a genre often packed with sanitized morality tales. Others, though, can’t stomach the idea of rooting for someone who’s done terrible things, even if the story frames their journey as one of growth. The book doesn’t offer tidy apologies or dramatic turnarounds, and that ambiguity leaves people divided. It’s the kind of story that lingers, not because it gives answers, but because it forces you to sit with uncomfortable questions.

The setting itself adds fuel to the fire. The story unfolds in a dystopian city where kindness is literally a currency—people trade favors like cash, and the protagonist’s past exploits involved exploiting this system. Critics argue this premise romanticizes manipulation, while defenders counter that it’s a sharp critique of transactional relationships. The most heated debates center on the ending: a deliberately unresolved moment where the protagonist walks away from a chance to ‘settle debts,’ leaving readers to argue whether it’s growth or cowardice. The writing style leans into this tension, with sparse prose that refuses to judge the characters for you. Love it or hate it, the book’s refusal to play by traditional narrative rules is exactly what makes it so talked-about.