Cover of A MercyI just finished reading Toni Morrison's novel A Mercy and thought I'd write a quick little review here. Why not?
When I sat down, book in hand, I had expected it to start with something horrible like her other novels do. I had prepared myself emotionally, but the beginning of the novel wasn't the same kind of jarring event. It was nothing like "They shoot the white girl first. With the rest they can take their time." On top of which, it takes off in the dialect of a character. That's not an unusual tack for her to take, but it made me concerned that the whole novel would be written in that dialect. Thankfully it wasn't, because I would have dearly missed Morrison's typically beautiful prose. (Pynchon's Mason & Dixon makes you work for every page and it took me about 2/3 of the book before I realized that the word phiz is face.)
The story was interesting, but I got lost as the point of view shifted from one character to another. I don't feel like I had enough time with each character to really understand what was going on with them before I had to move on to something else.
A Mercy was a good book, just not her best. If you've never read Toni Morrison before, this may be a good start, like easing into a slightly too-hot bath. If you're already a fan, you may miss some of the recurring character types and underlying themes, but it's still an engaging book. My favorite Toni Morrison novel is still Song of Solomon, but I recommend that one about as often as Gravity's Rainbow. Unless I'm sure you'll like it, I'll just keep it to myself.
