A MERCY by TONI MORRISON.
On the day that Jacob agrees to accept a slave as payment for a debt, little Florens's life changes. With her intelligence and passion for wearing the cast-off shoes of her mistress, Florens has never blended into the background and now, aged eight, she is taken from her family to begin a new life. She ends up part of Jacob's household, along with his wife Rebekka, their native-American servant Lina and the enigmatic Sorrow, who was rescued from a shipwreck. Together these women face the trials of their harsh environment as Jacob attempts to carve out a place for himself in the brutal landscape of the north of America in the seventeenth century.
....... From the outer back cover.
FIRST SENTENCE: Don't be afraid.
MEMORABLE MOMENT: He believed we would love God more if we knew the letters to read by.
At only 165 pages long this should have been a quick read and yet I found it to be anything but - re-reading most pages several times, I found myself looking for a deeper meaning in the words.
A bit like the folks in the story of THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES I so wanted to see something beautiful, something of merit and yet, to be honest, I just didn't.
Try as I might, I just couldn't find anything exceptional in the plot and as for the characters? I felt I should have felt something for the women and yet, truth be told, I just couldn't bring myself to care for them.
A real disappointment, I somehow can't help but feel guilty that given the subject matter I should have been moved by A Mercy and it's tale of humanity.
A Mercy was a book club read.
9 comments:
Nice review. I don't think we get these books in India.
another brilliant review! i'll have a look at this book soon. (i still have two books to finish up)
p.s. rated R means R21. people who are 21 and above are the only ones who are allow to watch.
xo
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Thar first paragraph pulled me right in. I'm grateful for your take on it. It sounds like the writer couldn't reach the reader in the reader';s heart?
Last night I saw the movie THE ROAD. I was sad and slow moving yet something kept me hooked. The ending was ultimately satisfying, way more than the ending I was envisioning.
Oh goodness...too bad on the disappointing read. It happens to the best of us and the books we have the highest hopes for sometimes. *pats on the back*
Perhaps this weekend will bring you a fresh crop of GREAT reads...here's wishing anyway. Have a great weekend! ^_^
Great review, lovely work. Well done :)
I listened to the audio version of this book and it didn't really draw me in the way I hoped it would, either. Audio books can be hit or miss though - depends so much on the actor who records them.
Petty,
This is the way I feel about most of her books. They are very dense and yet don't say anything to me.
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