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A Mercy

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2008 novel by Toni Morrison
A Mercy
First US edition
AuthorToni Morrison
LanguageEnglish
GenreAfrican-American literature Historical Fiction
PublisherKnopf
Publication dateNovember 11, 2008
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback, large print), unabridged audio CD, audiobook download, eBook
Pages176 pp (hardcover edition)
ISBN978-0-307-26423-7
OCLC212855125
Dewey Decimal813/.54 22
LC ClassPS3563.O8749 M47 2008
Preceded byLove 
Followed byHome 

A Mercy is Toni Morrison's ninth novel. It was published in 2008. Set in colonial America in the late 17th century, it is the story of a European farmer, his purchased wife, and his growing household of indentured or enslaved white, Native American, and African characters. It made the New York Times Book Review list of "10 Best Books of 2008" as chosen by the paper's editors. In Fall 2010, A Mercy was chosen for the One Book, One Chicago program. In 2024, it was ranked 47th in the New York Times list of the best 100 books of the 21st century.

Synopsis

Florens, a slave, lives and works on Jacob Vaark's rural New York farm. Lina, a Native American and fellow laborer on the Vaark farm, relates in a parallel narrative how she became one of a handful of survivors of a smallpox plague that destroyed her tribe. Vaark's wife Rebekka describes leaving England on a ship for the new world to be married to a man she has never seen. The deaths of their subsequent children are devastating, and Vaark accepts a young Florens from a debtor in the hopes that this new addition to the farm will help alleviate Rebekka's loneliness. Vaark, himself an orphan and poorhouse survivor, describes his journeys from New York to Maryland and Virginia, commenting on the role of religion in the culture of the different colonies, along with their attitudes toward slavery.

All these characters are bereft of their roots, struggling to survive in a new and alien environment filled with danger and disease. When smallpox threatens Rebekka's life, Florens, now 16, is sent to find a black freedman who has some knowledge of herbal medicines. Her journey is dangerous, ultimately proving to be the turning point in her life.

Morrison examines the roots of racism going back to slavery's earliest days, providing glimpses of the various religious practices of the time, and showing the relationship between men and women in early America that often ended in female victimization. They are "of and for men", people who "never shape the world, The world shapes us". As the women journey toward self-enlightenment, Morrison often describes their progress in Biblical cadences, and by the end of this novel, the reader understands the significance of the title, "a mercy".

Reception

On Book Marks, the book received "positive" reviews with twelve critic reviews and six being "rave" and four being "positive" and one being "mixed" and one being "pan". In Bookmarks January/February 2009 issue, a magazine that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a (4.00 out of 5) based on critic reviews with the critical summary saying, "Several reviewers ranked A Mercy near the top of Toni Morrison’s catalogue—an impressive feat".

Reviews

References

  1. "A MERCY". Kirkus Reviews. September 1, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  2. "The 10 Best Books of 2008". The New York Times. December 3, 2008.
  3. One Book, One Chicago.
  4. "The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century". The New York Times. July 8, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  5. "A Mercy". Book Marks. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  6. "A Mercy By Toni Morrison". Bookmarks. Archived from the original on 5 Sep 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2023.

External links

Works by Toni Morrison
Novels
Short stories
Plays
Non-fiction
Other
Adaptations
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