Jacob is an Anglo-Dutch trader and adventurer, with a smallholding in the harsh North. Despite his distaste for dealing in 'flesh', he takes a small slave girl in part payment for a bad debt.
This is Florens, 'with the hands of a slave and the feet of a Portuguese lady', who can read and write and might be useful on his farm. Florens is hungry for love, at first from the older servant woman at her new master's house; but later, when she's 16 from the handsome blacksmith, an African, never enslaved who comes riding into their lives.
A Mercy reveals what lies under the surface of slavery, but at its heart, it is the disturbing story of a mother and a daughter in a violent ad-hoc world - a world where acts of mercy, like everything else, have unforeseen consequences.
First comment ... 'This should be renamed A Misery'.
That just about summed up our club's view of Toni Morrison's latest novel. There were few of us who found anything but heartache, despair and injustice in the lives of Morrison's characters, and felt that they had heard it all before, the wretchedness of slavery.
But several of us did try and struggle to the other side of this book and found a powerful vehicle for female relationships (particularly mother and daughter), and saw the place of pure vulnerability that all social levels found themselves. Then followed a discussion on choices and freedom, what they were, both within the book and in general. Very interesting and engaging talk that involved even those that decided not to read this book.
It was also mentioned that the prose lacked fluidity, was jerky and hard to read, but in contrast to this ... 'paints a vivid, powerful picture', 'interesting historically' and very believable, to the extend of being distressing.
We have read two other Morrison novels throughout the years and knew that she can present a challenge. She demands the readers' full attention, which is the only way to get the most of her stories.
So, looking for a challenge? A Mercy will give it to you!
This is Florens, 'with the hands of a slave and the feet of a Portuguese lady', who can read and write and might be useful on his farm. Florens is hungry for love, at first from the older servant woman at her new master's house; but later, when she's 16 from the handsome blacksmith, an African, never enslaved who comes riding into their lives.
A Mercy reveals what lies under the surface of slavery, but at its heart, it is the disturbing story of a mother and a daughter in a violent ad-hoc world - a world where acts of mercy, like everything else, have unforeseen consequences.
First comment ... 'This should be renamed A Misery'.
That just about summed up our club's view of Toni Morrison's latest novel. There were few of us who found anything but heartache, despair and injustice in the lives of Morrison's characters, and felt that they had heard it all before, the wretchedness of slavery.
But several of us did try and struggle to the other side of this book and found a powerful vehicle for female relationships (particularly mother and daughter), and saw the place of pure vulnerability that all social levels found themselves. Then followed a discussion on choices and freedom, what they were, both within the book and in general. Very interesting and engaging talk that involved even those that decided not to read this book.
It was also mentioned that the prose lacked fluidity, was jerky and hard to read, but in contrast to this ... 'paints a vivid, powerful picture', 'interesting historically' and very believable, to the extend of being distressing.
We have read two other Morrison novels throughout the years and knew that she can present a challenge. She demands the readers' full attention, which is the only way to get the most of her stories.
So, looking for a challenge? A Mercy will give it to you!
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