Home, Exile, and Belonging

Good Morning, Midnight (Reginald Hill Edition)

The Kafkas’ different attachments to Britain and America turn the idea of home into a private and political conflict.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Childhood of Moving A Childhood of Moving from "Good Morning, Midnight". A Childhood of Moving Temporary homes Kay grows up moving whenever her father abruptly changes jobs. She learns that a home may disappear without warning.

A Childhood of Moving from "Good Morning, Midnight". A Childhood of Moving Temporary homes Kay grows up moving whenever her father abruptly changes jobs. She learns that a home may disappear without warning.

A Childhood of Moving Temporary homes Kay grows up moving whenever her father abruptly changes jobs. She learns that a home may disappear without warning. A chosen identity After her parents die, she invents a plan to settle in Hartford rather than accept others’ decisions. Her early independence makes belonging something she must create herself.

Tony’s Inherited Debt Tony’s Inherited Debt from "Good Morning, Midnight". Tony’s Inherited Debt A father’s sacrifice Tony’s father survives World War II because an American sergeant carries him to safety and dies.

Tony’s Inherited Debt from "Good Morning, Midnight". Tony’s Inherited Debt A father’s sacrifice Tony’s father survives World War II because an American sergeant carries him to safety and dies.

Tony’s Inherited Debt A father’s sacrifice Tony’s father survives World War II because an American sergeant carries him to safety and dies. The story leaves Tony with a lasting sense of obligation to the country. Service and belonging Tony understands patriotism as a debt that can never be fully repaid. His identity is also complicated by his family’s concealed history and its changed name.

Britain as Kay’s Home Britain as Kay’s Home from "Good Morning, Midnight". Britain as Kay’s Home A life established Kay builds a home in Mid-Yorkshire with Tony and Helen.

Britain as Kay’s Home from "Good Morning, Midnight". Britain as Kay’s Home A life established Kay builds a home in Mid-Yorkshire with Tony and Helen.

Britain as Kay’s Home A life established Kay builds a home in Mid-Yorkshire with Tony and Helen. The place becomes more meaningful as Helen grows up and starts a family. A different attachment Tony remains connected to America through his work and sense of responsibility. The same household holds two different ideas of where a person belongs.

A Question After September 11

A Question After September 11 Tony’s unease Tony feels that the attacks make America the place where a good American should be. He considers returning without knowing whether Kay would follow. Home divided Kay loves her American origins but cannot identify a place there that feels like home. Her commitment is now to Britain and to the family growing around Helen.

A Missing Husband A Missing Husband from "Good Morning, Midnight". A Missing Husband No arrival home Tony fails to arrive in the United States and disappears from Kay’s daily life.

A Missing Husband from "Good Morning, Midnight". A Missing Husband No arrival home Tony fails to arrive in the United States and disappears from Kay’s daily life.

A Missing Husband No arrival home Tony fails to arrive in the United States and disappears from Kay’s daily life. The absence revives the insecurity she learned in childhood. A threatened household A caller tells her to remain quiet for the sake of the people who depend on her. The warning threatens not only her marriage but the home she has chosen.

Kay’s childhood

Tony’s youth and adulthood

After the 1992 marriage

After September 11, 2001

March 23, 2002, night