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A Mercy
Availability:
In Stock
Price:
$23.95
$4.95*
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| Part No: | 0307264238 |
| Manufacturer: | Knopf |
| MFG Part: | |
| Customer Rating: | 3.5 / 5.0 |
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A powerful tragedy distilled into a jewel of a masterpiece by the Nobel Prizeâwinning author of Beloved and, almost like a prelude to that story, set two centuries earlier. In the 1680s the slave trade was still in its infancy. In the Americas, virulent religious and class divisions, prejudice and oppression were rife, providing the fertile soil in which slavery and race hatred were planted and took root. Jacob is an Anglo-Dutch trader and adventurer, with a small holding in the harsh north. Despite his distaste for dealing in âflesh,â he takes a small slave girl in part payment for a bad debt from a plantation owner in Catholic Maryland. This is Florens, âwith the hands of a slave and the feet of a Portuguese lady.â Florens looks for love, first from Lina, an older servant woman at her new masterâs house, but later from a handsome blacksmith, an African, never enslaved. There are other voices: Lina, whose tribe was decimated by smallpox; their mistress, Rebekka, herself a victim of religious intolerance back in England; Sorrow, a strange girl whoâs spent her early years at sea; and finally the devastating voice of Florensâ mother. These are all men and women inventing themselves in the wilderness. A Mercy reveals what lies beneath the surface of slavery. But at its heart it is the ambivalent, disturbing story of a mother who casts off her daughter in order to save her, and of a daughter who may never exorcise that abandonment. Acts of mercy may have unforeseen consequences.
| A Merciful Review | 2010-03-12 | 4 / 5 |
| Possessing preconceived notions about a novel is difficult to avoid, as it stems from the general habit of people to reach an opinion of something or someone based on little information. Though people may make efforts not to apply this practice to other people, books being inanimate, often continue to receive this treatment. However, after reading Toni Morrison's newest novel, A Mercy, I have come to realize the necessity of taking the cliché, "Don't judge a book by its cover" seriously. For I had unwisely formed a jaded view of Morrison from opinions voiced by others, and a glimpse at the synopsis led me to believe it would be just another of her slavery novels. Had I not been required to read the novel, my preconceived notions of Morrison's work would have outweighed any interest, and concealed the book's powerful story, and characters.
After completion of the ninth grade, my interest in stories dealing with slavery was greatly reduced. Those slavery novels we were exposed to were not horrible, but reading them caused me to associate predictable plots and ideas with their genre. When I came to learn slavery was focal to A Mercy, I envisioned just another slave story taking its place among the books I have read. However, as I have suggested, this novel was anything but "just another slave story". A Mercy takes place in the American colonies before their unification, in the late 17th century. Though slavery would have been in practice for nearly a century, the relative newness of the trade creates an interesting environment. It is in this environment that Morrison makes use of her trademark style, and crafts an engrossing plot that examines all sides of slavery.
In order to weave an engrossing story, rich and interesting characters are required, because these elements are so intertwined. The plot is a scenario involving characters, and the characters follow a plot, this closeness causes them to be generally reliant upon each other for their overall quality. Thankfully, Morrison does not fail in providing the interesting characters called for by the plot and desired by readers. Actually, with the approach she takes in storytelling, Morrison leaves herself little room to have stale characters. Though presenting parts of the story with focus on each main character is no new approach, Morrison's use of this technique works only to her advantage. The method provides her with room to add depth to characters, and facilitates her attempts to show all sides of slavery. Revealing the lives of slaves, masters, and indentured servants in the dawn of the slave industry in the United States allows her to accomplish such a task in the novel. With time to develop many characters Morrison builds unique personas who aid in progressing the story, as well as the novel's themes.
To the reader of today who is more desirous of an action-packed plot in his novel, A Mercy may not be the proper choice. Morrison's work can be at times slow, and is largely devoid of physical conflict. However, as one could expect A Mercy is not aimed at this type of reader. Instead, it is aimed to please an audience willing to wade through uncertainty, as a young slave girl embarks on a quest both to satisfy her mistress and herself. If a reader is willing to disregard any preconceived notions about Morrison, or a novel largely about slavery and women, he will find a story wandering amidst the issues of morality, love, and dominion in the 17th century. A Mercy, could be said to be many things as Morrison maintains many motifs and themes throughout, but above all it is a novel that is a pleasure to read due to its well formed components. |
| great story | 2010-03-08 | 5 / 5 |
| | I had to reread the first chapter until I got familiar with the language used. I am so glad I took the time to adjust. After the first chapter I couldn't put it down. The story is wonderful and insightful. |
| A Mercy this book is so short | 2010-02-13 | 1 / 5 |
| | Like other reviewers, I admire Toni Morrison, but I just hated this book. The storytelling is muddled and the book does not seem to really go somewhere. I understand the point about woman s condition, but this is not the standard I have come to expect from the author. Read BELOVED if you are a new reader, not A Mercy - I had a very hard time finishing this book and it is only 165 pages long* |
| A Found Treasure | 2010-01-03 | 4 / 5 |
| Two decades after her first novel "The Bluest Eye", had been published in 1970, Toni Morrison disclosed in an Afterword that she was dissatisfied with the book's language and its structure, and that it 'required a sophistication unavailable to me', she had confessed. Be that as it may, whether that was the case or not, I believe her first novel stands on its own merits, although, the sophistication she referred to, if you will, can be found in her newest work, "A Mercy". Without question, in my view, it is very much a contemporary classic work which resonates, not only with sophistication, but wisdom as well, after all it has been 39 years since the writing of her first novel and Morrison's insights into human nature, especially within the context of race relations, is quite profound.
Morrison has certainly put to good use her fertile mind, her imaginative ideas, and her passion to tell a story, a history of slavery that to her has always been too close for comfort but always within reach--emotionally within her grasp. Certainly her rich family ancestry has passed on to Morrison, many of the stories she so vividly talks about in all her books. The many heartfelt tales her wonderful characters portray and live out throughout her novels, in one form or another, are as breathtaking as they are heart-breaking, and more so, is the story told by Florens in this story.
An unknown character, who we soon learn, named Florens, opens this tale with a confession. A bloody deed. She tells of how she plans and plots her way to YOU, as she refers to the reader's conscience, as I understand it. Almost as if she wants us to be co-conspirators, or witnesses to her crime. At first, this is a confusing, albeit a necessary ploy on Morrison's part. Confusing because the narrative, its syntax that is, is somewhat unusual, because of the narrator's awkward phrasing, and necessary because Morrison knows how to involve her readers-her audience in a partnership. She's a master at getting her readers to participate and become an active part or a willing character in her stories and I believe she succeeds brilliantly in this case.
But it is after that short, poetic, first chapter. The chapter you must read twice, in order to get it, that the story opens up as Jacob Vaark, the "white-man's conscience" in the story makes his entrance and stirs things up a bit. But of course, the very astute Morrison gives Vaark a formidable handicap: He is just as human as any other white man and therefore just as greedy, despite his admonition: "His distaste for dealing in flesh".
Morrison goes on and makes wise use of her invisible, sinister, narrator that opens the story, by using this narrator to begin many other chapters, slowly and methodically cluing us in on her devious plot. The task, the errand at hand she has been sent to carry out in the name of justice. In the name of her mother, a minha mae. (Meaning, "my mother" in Portuguese.) It is all very intriguing and as always, Morrison's plots are very active and take many turns and multiple points of view, which adds a wonderful texture to her writing.
If I had one tiny criticism, which I've justified in my own mind, it is that the ending sounds a bit preachy and authorial. Maybe even hard-hitting to those who receive the character's (and consequently, the author's) brave message. A message that Morrison has penned in subtler ways since her first novel. A message of her pain and the long-suffering among Blacks in a predominantly White world. The injustice wrought on her and her people throughout many generations. A strong admonition that nonetheless needs to be heard, and heeded. I just don't agree that it should be delivered so transparently in a work of fiction. (Could Toni Morrison be testing the waters for her take on an upcoming non-fiction account of slavery? We'll see.)
The characters in this novel are also delineated superficially, which is most likely intentional, as the plot and it's main theme, namely, injustice, are at the center of this powerful and beautifully written story.
If you're a newcomer to Morrison's writing, any of her great novels is a good place to start enjoying everything she has to offer. Start with her first, as mentioned, "The Bluest Eye", and work your way up, one by one, up to "A Mercy". So far her last story, but hopefully, not her last book.
Reading this novel was like discovering an old 17th century relic that contained an important message with valuable seeds inside of it. Seeds that when sown inside your heart, grow magically and eternally into something profound. Something beautiful.
Thank you for the courageous words, Toni Morrison, they are well-received. I applaud you and your wonderful words. (By-the-way, I bought and read this book right after its publication and wrote this review shortly thereafter, but for some reason hesitated posting it on . I bid you peace and much love, Toni Morrison. You are one of the literary greats of our time and I love your work. I can't wait for your next one.
"Beloved" is a favorite too.
Toni Morrison Set: "Song of Solomon," "Jazz," "Beloved," "The Bluest Eye." |
| | I have a real love/hate relationship with Ms. Morrison. I love The Bluest Eye, Sula, and Song of Solomon, but the last few works of hers that I've read have left me baffled. A Mercy falls in the latter category. I didn't get it, couldn't follow it, and was glad when it was over. 2 stars. |
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