Good to a Fault

Marina Endicott’s contemporary novel Good to a Fault (2008) follows one woman who explores what it means to be good, and how we can strike a healthy balance between helping other people and looking after our own welfare. It received a nomination for the prestigious 2008 Scotiabank Giller Prize, and it won the 2009 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. Critics praise it for its insightful and humorous look at life, death, and love. Endicott is a bestselling Canadian author. Before writing novels, she acted and directed plays across Canada. Good to a Fault is her second book.

Forty-three-year-old Canadian Clara Purdy works as a loss adjuster for a local insurance firm. She has been in the same job for 20 years, and she lives in her late parents’ house. Clara’s mother was ill for many years before she passed away, and Clara dedicated her life to looking after her.

Now that her mother is gone, Clara doesn’t know how to move on with her own life. When she is not at work, Clara goes to church because her mother loved it. She hasn’t cleared out the house and made it her own because she doesn’t want to disturb her parents’ memories. There is no romantic partner on the horizon, and she doesn’t have any friends.



One day, on her lunch break, she heads to the bank. On the drive over there, she crashes into the Gage family car. No one is seriously injured, but Lorraine Gage, the mother, sustained numerous bruises. Clara insists that Lorraine goes with her to the hospital for an examination; when the doctor meets with them, it turns out that Lorraine has more serious health problems than anyone realized.

The doctor runs blood tests on Lorraine, diagnosing her with late-stage cancer. Learning that she won’t live much longer, Lorraine doesn’t know what to do. She has three children and the only other person who can look after them is their eccentric grandmother, because their father, Clayton, is flighty and irresponsible. Although Clara knows she is not to blame for Lorraine’s illness, she cannot help feeling responsible for what happens to the family next.

Clara makes a bold offer. She invites Lorraine and her family to move in with her. There is plenty of room and the children will have a stable roof over their heads for as long as they need it. What’s more, Clara knows how to look after terminally ill people; she wants to make Lorraine comfortable for however long she has left. Unable to believe her good fortune, Lorraine moves the family into the Purdy house.



Before long, Clayton wants to move in. Lorraine has misgivings, but Clara allows him to stay as long as he doesn’t cause any trouble. However, unable to handle the reality of Lorraine’s condition, the idea of death terrifies him. He disappears again and it is unlikely he will ever come back.

Meanwhile, Clara fully embraces the role of pseudo-mother and carer. She invites the family to church to meet the local clergyman. The clergyman offers to meet with Lorraine and her children whenever they need someone to talk to because nothing is easy about death. He praises Clara for her virtue, although he cannot help wondering if she knows what she is doing. Looking after another family is a huge responsibility and no one but Lorraine seems very grateful for it.

For a time, Clara doesn’t listen to the clergyman. She feels guilty that she is healthy and well off when she doesn’t even have a family with which to share it. She asks the clergyman why God is so unfair. The children don’t deserve to lose their mother. He explains that God works in mysterious ways, and she isn’t less deserving of health just because she is single and childless. He urges her to stop beating herself up for things she can’t control.



After a while, Clara wonders if the clergyman is right. Clayton steals her car because he has access to the house. Clayton’s mother, Gran, refuses to speak to Clara, making her feel uncomfortable in her own home. Lorraine’s brother comes to stay because he wants to be with his sister. And, all the while, Lorraine’s children run circles around Clara. Not listening to her, they do what they want all the time. Although Clara enjoys having a family around her, she doesn’t enjoy feeling like a pushover.

Everything changes when Lorraine dies. As Lorraine reminded Clara repeatedly, the kids are not Clara’s. They belong to Gran and Clayton. After Lorraine’s funeral, the kids leave to stay with Clayton. Clara feels hollow and empty for a while, but she soon realizes that it is time to rebuild her life and stop living in the past.