A Mercy
by Toni Morrison
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Book Summary Information
Author: Toni MorrisonEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Deckle Edge
Published: 2008-11-11
ISBN: 0307264238
Number of pages: 176
Publisher: Knopf
Book Reviews of A Mercy
Book Review: "A Mercy" offers an investigation of history outside the moral polarity
Summary: 5 Stars
Toni Morrison, author of "Beloved" is no stranger to the subject of slavery, or indeed the genre of historical fiction. But what keeps her newest work, "A Mercy" from falling into the trap of just another historical reimagination or (possibly worse) a regurgitation of previous themes and motifs (!) is the novel's emphasis of the tandem relationship between good and evil. Although notably short, at less than 200 pages, the "A Mercy" is hardly timid; a fast paced look at pre-independence America, the novel invites the reader to reexamine his/her understanding of not only morality and humanity but also gender, social systems, and politics.. just to name a few.
Upon first opening the book the reader is struck by the unsettling narration - "Don't be afraid," the nameless speaker says. "My telling can't hurt you in spite of what I have done." These lines are the reader's first introduction to who, they later learn, is Floren, a young slave girl haunted by (what she sees as) the abandonment she experienced by her mother. It is here that the story begins, but just as the reader becomes accustomed to Florens' choppy sentences and puzzling language they are thrown into another character's perspective. Rather than maintaining a traditional one-sided narration, Morrison instead presents a fractured narrative which alternates between the viewpoints of six independent characters. This duplicitous narration is the cog around which the wheel of the novel spins; by offering readers fluctuating viewpoints Morrison allows both a feeling of intimacy with and yet an unavoidable separation from the characters. You are propelled towards and yet constantly denied.
It is this duality which allows Morrison to present a multi-sided understanding of a series of events. The viewer is first introduced to Florens but quickly learns she is one of many characters. First, there is Jacob, a trader turned off shore plantation owner who shows both kindness and a heartbreakingly human desire for finery and status. Together, with his mail-order wife Rebekka, and his two servants (apart from Florens) Sorrow and Lina, he runs a small farm before beginning work larger, expensive estate.
Although Jacob remains an important presence, the majority of the plotline is devoted to the experiences of the women, Florens, Rebekka, Lina and Sorrow. Rebekka, after being essentially sold off by her family and moving to the "the new worl," finds love in both the wild landscape of Virginia and her hardworking husband. However her life is not without misfortune - eventually crippled by the loss of four children she begins a slow withdrawal into herself. Lina, both Rebekka's friendly companion and servant, is devoted the most narration time. As the lone survivor of a destroyed native American tribe, Lina experience a tragic life before eventually coming to live with Jacob. Her tale emerges out of a fierce devotion to not only her mistress, but Florens - whom she adopts as a semi-surrogate child. The last woman, Sorrow, is a young girl who lives up to the tragic implications of her name. After experiencing a life of abuse aboard a ship, Sorrow is found washed up on a shoreline and taken in by a less-than-understanding family. The family eventually convinces Jacob to take Sorrow as a partial payment for a debt. Although after moving in with the Vaarks quality of life certainly improves, she remains tragically misunderstood; arguably suffering from schizophrenia, her strange behavior is seen, especially by Lina, as a source of bad luck. Both alienated by the women and abused by men Sorrow lives a life of quiet tragedy. Although other characters (such as the blacksmith, with whom Florens is passionately in love) exist within the story, they remain decidedly detached. Never offered a chance to speak for themselves, these characters exist exclusively within the framework of the other characters who illustrate them according to their own understanding.
Although the characters live communally what ultimately unites them, especially the women, is a shared bond of abandonment - each being physically separated from any genetic family. The isolation of each character is stressed to such an extent that not even a child (apart from Florens) is allowed to enter the solitary domain. Both Sorrow and Rebekka's children die in unfortunate accidents, denying their mothers the possibility of creating a family of their own. As a result, the theme of "orphans" resonates throughout the text. Within each narrative and behind each conflict the question lingers - what is it that makes a family, and what is it that keeps them apart?
Boasting a fascinating structure, page-turning plot and characters you actually care about, "A Mercy" is a book you not only want to read, but reread. Although the frequently transitioning narrative may take some initial getting used to, the reader is rewarded for his/her efforts with the beauty and power of the novel. In giving each character a chance to speak Morrison denies the possibility of there being a right and a wrong; the reader is able to see the characters outside of the traditional polarity of good and evil, existing instead as a delicate fusion of the two. Allowing the reader to step back from the black and white Morrison creates a world of tantalizing moral ambiguity. A place where a man can be both friend and enemy; a person both free, and slave.
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