Comments on: A Mercy by Toni Morrison http://calitreview.com/1895 Book reviews, essays, and author interviews. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 23:56:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Stephanie Govan http://calitreview.com/1895/comment-page-1#comment-50229 Stephanie Govan Tue, 05 May 2009 03:53:54 +0000 http://calitreview.com/?p=1895#comment-50229 David, Morrison's intentions are to enable the reader to embody the experieces of every character in her novel. Her writing style achieves this purpose and more. However, the reader must be willing to open their mind/body/soul to her story. That is how she captivates you. You have to let go of any expectations and be willing to sacrifice your time and effort to understand the definition of her characters. I get "hooked" on the characters, not what they do or don't do. An "engaging story" is never the purpose of her novels. It is the intricate details that shape each character and help the reader "experience" the story and become "hooked" on the message, not the book. Reread the story or read "Beloved" with a more compassionate approach. Her novels are psychosocial expressions, not just good fiction. David, Morrison’s intentions are to enable the reader to embody the experieces of every character in her novel. Her writing style achieves this purpose and more. However, the reader must be willing to open their mind/body/soul to her story. That is how she captivates you. You have to let go of any expectations and be willing to sacrifice your time and effort to understand the definition of her characters. I get “hooked” on the characters, not what they do or don’t do. An “engaging story” is never the purpose of her novels. It is the intricate details that shape each character and help the reader “experience” the story and become “hooked” on the message, not the book. Reread the story or read “Beloved” with a more compassionate approach. Her novels are psychosocial expressions, not just good fiction.

]]> By: David L. Carpenter, Boston http://calitreview.com/1895/comment-page-1#comment-39062 David L. Carpenter, Boston Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:35:09 +0000 http://calitreview.com/?p=1895#comment-39062 Elinor, Your review had the word reread more than once, yet you tell of being drawn in powerfully. In reading A Mercy I did not feel deeply drawn into the story. However I found the individual segments of narration captivating. I will reread the story hoping to get "hooked". Maybe it's just me, but if I wrote a piece in this manner and presented it to my writing group for review I know the group would tear me apart and comment "the story had interesting elements but the absence of an engaging story left us confused". Elinor, Your review had the word reread more than once, yet you tell of being drawn in powerfully. In reading A Mercy I did not feel deeply drawn into the story. However I found the individual segments of narration captivating. I will reread the story hoping to get “hooked”. Maybe it’s just me, but if I wrote a piece in this manner and presented it to my writing group for review I know the group would tear me apart and comment “the story had interesting elements but the absence of an engaging story left us confused”.

]]> By: John R. Guthrie http://calitreview.com/1895/comment-page-1#comment-38216 John R. Guthrie Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:31:39 +0000 http://calitreview.com/?p=1895#comment-38216 Hi Elinor -- I appreciated reading your finely wrought take on "A Mercy." For example, the following perceptive comment resonated with me; "... Morrison shows us not just a black, white or brown person’s experience, but the human experience of our American history..." Best, John R. Guthrie Hi Elinor –

I appreciated reading your finely wrought take on “A Mercy.” For example, the following perceptive comment resonated with me; “… Morrison shows us not just a black, white or brown person’s experience, but the human experience of our American history…”
Best,

John R. Guthrie

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