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When I came to learn slavery was focal to A Mercy, I envisioned just another slave story taking its place among the books I have read. The method provides her with room to add depth to characters, and facilitates her attempts to show all sides of slavery. The plot is a scenario involving characters, and the characters follow a plot, this closeness causes them to be generally reliant upon each other for their overall quality. After completion of the ninth grade, my interest in stories dealing with slavery was greatly reduced. However, after reading Toni Morrison's newest novel, A Mercy, I have come to realize the necessity of taking the cliché, "Don't judge a book by its cover" seriously.
Had I not been required to read the novel, my preconceived notions of Morrison's work would have outweighed any interest, and concealed the book's powerful story, and characters. To the reader of today who is more desirous of an action-packed plot in his novel, A Mercy may not be the proper choice. Though people may make efforts not to apply this practice to other people, books being inanimate, often continue to receive this treatment. However, as I have suggested, this novel was anything but "just another slave story".
Thankfully, Morrison does not fail in providing the interesting characters called for by the plot and desired by readers. With time to develop many characters Morrison builds unique personas who aid in progressing the story, as well as the novel's themes. Those slavery novels we were exposed to were not horrible, but reading them caused me to associate predictable plots and ideas with their genre. A Mercy takes place in the American colonies before their unification, in the late 17th century. However, as one could expect A Mercy is not aimed at this type of reader.
Possessing preconceived notions about a novel is difficult to avoid, as it stems from the general habit of people to reach an opinion of something or someone based on little information. Actually, with the approach she takes in storytelling, Morrison leaves herself little room to have stale characters. Though presenting parts of the story with focus on each main character is no new approach, Morrison's use of this technique works only to her advantage. Revealing the lives of slaves, masters, and indentured servants in the dawn of the slave industry in the United States allows her to accomplish such a task in the novel. It is in this environment that Morrison makes use of her trademark style, and crafts an engrossing plot that examines all sides of slavery. Instead, it is aimed to please an audience willing to wade through uncertainty, as a young slave girl embarks on a quest both to satisfy her mistress and herself. For I had unwisely formed a jaded view of Morrison from opinions voiced by others, and a glimpse at the synopsis led me to believe it would be just another of her slavery novels.
If a reader is willing to disregard any preconceived notions about Morrison, or a novel largely about slavery and women, he will find a story wandering amidst the issues of morality, love, and dominion in the 17th century. Though slavery would have been in practice for nearly a century, the relative newness of the trade creates an interesting environment. In order to weave an engrossing story, rich and interesting characters are required, because these elements are so intertwined. Morrison's work can be at times slow, and is largely devoid of physical conflict. A Mercy, could be said to be many things as Morrison maintains many motifs and themes throughout, but above all it is a novel that is a pleasure to read due to its well formed components.
I had to reread the first chapter until I got familiar with the language used. I am so glad I took the time to adjust. After the first chapter I couldn't put it down. The story is wonderful and insightful.
Like other reviewers, I admire Toni Morrison, but I just hated this book. The storytelling is muddled and the book does not seem to really go somewhere. I understand the point about woman s condition, but this is not the standard I have come to expect from the author. Read BELOVED if you are a new reader, not A Mercy - I had a very hard time finishing this book and it is only 165 pages long*
A bloody deed. "Beloved" is a favorite too. Almost as if she wants us to be co-conspirators, or witnesses to her crime. She tells of how she plans and plots her way to YOU, as she refers to the reader's conscience, as I understand it. A strong admonition that nonetheless needs to be heard, and heeded.
The chapter you must read twice, in order to get it, that the story opens up as Jacob Vaark, the "white-man's conscience" in the story makes his entrance and stirs things up a bit. The injustice wrought on her and her people throughout many generations. The task, the errand at hand she has been sent to carry out in the name of justice. You are one of the literary greats of our time and I love your work. Without question, in my view, it is very much a contemporary classic work which resonates, not only with sophistication, but wisdom as well, after all it has been 39 years since the writing of her first novel and Morrison's insights into human nature, especially within the context of race relations, is quite profound.
Two decades after her first novel "The Bluest Eye", had been published in 1970, Toni Morrison disclosed in an Afterword that she was dissatisfied with the book's language and its structure, and that it 'required a sophistication unavailable to me', she had confessed. Certainly her rich family ancestry has passed on to Morrison, many of the stories she so vividly talks about in all her books. I just don't agree that it should be delivered so transparently in a work of fiction. A message of her pain and the long-suffering among Blacks in a predominantly White world. Confusing because the narrative, its syntax that is, is somewhat unusual, because of the narrator's awkward phrasing, and necessary because Morrison knows how to involve her readers-her audience in a partnership. It is all very intriguing and as always, Morrison's plots are very active and take many turns and multiple points of view, which adds a wonderful texture to her writing.If I had one tiny criticism, which I've justified in my own mind, it is that the ending sounds a bit preachy and authorial.
But of course, the very astute Morrison gives Vaark a formidable handicap: He is just as human as any other white man and therefore just as greedy, despite his admonition: "His distaste for dealing in flesh".Morrison goes on and makes wise use of her invisible, sinister, narrator that opens the story, by using this narrator to begin many other chapters, slowly and methodically cluing us in on her devious plot. At first, this is a confusing, albeit a necessary ploy on Morrison's part. Morrison has certainly put to good use her fertile mind, her imaginative ideas, and her passion to tell a story, a history of slavery that to her has always been too close for comfort but always within reach--emotionally within her grasp. Seeds that when sown inside your heart, grow magically and eternally into something profound. We'll see).The characters in this novel are also delineated superficially, which is most likely intentional, as the plot and it's main theme, namely, injustice, are at the center of this powerful and beautifully written story.If you're a newcomer to Morrison's writing, any of her great novels is a good place to start enjoying everything she has to offer. (Could Toni Morrison be testing the waters for her take on an upcoming non-fiction account of slavery. She's a master at getting her readers to participate and become an active part or a willing character in her stories and I believe she succeeds brilliantly in this case.But it is after that short, poetic, first chapter. (Meaning, "my mother" in Portuguese).
Something beautiful.Thank you for the courageous words, Toni Morrison, they are well-received. Be that as it may, whether that was the case or not, I believe her first novel stands on its own merits, although, the sophistication she referred to, if you will, can be found in her newest work, "A Mercy". So far her last story, but hopefully, not her last book.Reading this novel was like discovering an old 17th century relic that contained an important message with valuable seeds inside of it. Start with her first, as mentioned, "The Bluest Eye", and work your way up, one by one, up to "A Mercy". A message that Morrison has penned in subtler ways since her first novel. I applaud you and your wonderful words. I can't wait for your next one. The many heartfelt tales her wonderful characters portray and live out throughout her novels, in one form or another, are as breathtaking as they are heart-breaking, and more so, is the story told by Florens in this story.An unknown character, who we soon learn, named Florens, opens this tale with a confession.
I bid you peace and much love, Toni Morrison. In the name of her mother, a minha mae. Maybe even hard-hitting to those who receive the character's (and consequently, the author's) brave message. (By-the-way, I bought and read this book right after its publication and wrote this review shortly thereafter, but for some reason hesitated posting it on Amazon. Toni Morrison Set: "Song of Solomon," "Jazz," "Beloved," "The Bluest Eye."
I have a real love/hate relationship with Ms. A Mercy falls in the latter category. Morrison. I love The Bluest Eye, Sula, and Song of Solomon, but the last few works of hers that I've read have left me baffled. I didn't get it, couldn't follow it, and was glad when it was over. 2 stars.
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