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Myths of a Merciful God
A heartbreaking tale that never loses sight of hope, or our remarkable ability to access and claim our own resilience.
Poignant and riveting, Myths of a Merciful God takes us on the unforgettable journey of one woman's quest to overcome unimaginable loss. At the heart of the story is a profoundly difficult question: How does one come back from a tragedy as unspeakable as the death of a child?
Through the literal and figurative journey upon which this child's mother embarks in the aftermath of this loss, and the people she encounters along the way, Myths of a Merciful God explores the concepts of divine retribution and intervention versus the gaping silence of an indifferent universe, moral turpitude versus the virtue of well-kept secrets, and whether religion - or its absence - helps, hinders, or makes no difference in one's ability to find a way back toward wholeness.
Poignant and riveting, Myths of a Merciful God takes us on the unforgettable journey of one woman's quest to overcome unimaginable loss. At the heart of the story is a profoundly difficult question: How does one come back from a tragedy as unspeakable as the death of a child?
Through the literal and figurative journey upon which this child's mother embarks in the aftermath of this loss, and the people she encounters along the way, Myths of a Merciful God explores the concepts of divine retribution and intervention versus the gaping silence of an indifferent universe, moral turpitude versus the virtue of well-kept secrets, and whether religion - or its absence - helps, hinders, or makes no difference in one's ability to find a way back toward wholeness.
268 pages, Paperback
First published March 21, 2014
1 person is currently reading
412 people want to read
About the author
Cynthia Ceilan
6 books13 followersCynthia Ceilán is a native New Yorker who was dragged by the hair kicking and screaming by her otherwise well-intentioned parents to live on a lovely island in the Caribbean when she was in high school and, therefore, too young and obstinate to appreciate that she was in Paradise. The distraught, uprooted teenager argued that, according to all the Catholic literature, flesh-blistering heat and the blinding white-hot glare of the sun were essential characteristics of Hell. The argument fell on deaf ears.
For the next eight years (which will forever be known to her as The Decade of Darkness), she waited for the circus to come to town so she could run away with it.
The Flying Wallendas did, in fact, show up once, but before Cynthia could learn to balance a beach ball on the tip of her nose, Karl Wallenda plummeted to his death with a horrible splat while trying to walk a tightrope between two fancy hotels in the heart of San Juan's tourist district, despite dire warnings from the locals that the trade winds could be quite treacherous. The surviving Wallendas didn't have the heart to replace poor old Karl right away, not even with a pseudo-acrobat willing to work for the price of a plane ticket off the island. So much for seeking asylum with circus folk.
Cynthia added the news clips of the Wallenda tragedy to her collection of weird death stories and got a job right after college, like a regular person. She figured it would take five or six years to save up enough money to finance her move back to the mainland, or a couple of months if she gave up piña coladas and sangria by the pitcher on Friday and Saturday nights. As luck would have it, her employer's home office was in Atlanta, not on another island. She finagled herself an interview, secured a new job, and off to the Bible Belt she went to write mind-numbing technical manuals for imminently obsolete computer products.
Atlanta was very pretty (in a beige, cookie-cutter sort of way), and on occasion presented its share of challenges to the recalcitrant transplant. Sadly, she never acquired a taste for grits or chicken-fried steak, and was utterly unable to twist her mouth in all the right ways to correctly pronounce words like "y'all" and "corndawg." People told her she talked funny, after which they usually asked what church she belonged to. Her un-Christianlike responses sent many of them scurrying to hide the children. On at least two occasions, complete strangers stood on her doorstep and asked if they could pray for her. She replied, "Sure. What the hell," and politely closed the door on them so they could do so in private.
Cynthia spent the next few years in Atlanta searching for liberals, scaring the Baptists, and quietly pushing unsolicited okra to the edges of her plate. Just as she decided that she had reached the end of her Southern Experience, she met a strange and eloquent young man with an easy smile and very little shame. He told her they would leave Atlanta together, "in a another year or two." Three years later they were married, and still living in Atlanta. Four and a half years after that, she left without him, for reasons that had almost nothing to do with okra.
Cynthia finally made her way back to her home town. She bought an apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side and nailed everything down to the floor. She is never leaving again.
Meanwhile, her collection of weird death news stories turned into a couple of books. Thinning the Herd was published in 2007, and Unlucky Stiffs in 2010. In between the publication of the death books, she was inspired to write about psychotic love. Weirdly Beloved was released in 2008.
In something of a departure from her penchant for dark humor, Cynthia returned to her first true love, literary fiction, and penned the novel Myths of a Merciful God. She is currently at work on a second novel.
For the next eight years (which will forever be known to her as The Decade of Darkness), she waited for the circus to come to town so she could run away with it.
The Flying Wallendas did, in fact, show up once, but before Cynthia could learn to balance a beach ball on the tip of her nose, Karl Wallenda plummeted to his death with a horrible splat while trying to walk a tightrope between two fancy hotels in the heart of San Juan's tourist district, despite dire warnings from the locals that the trade winds could be quite treacherous. The surviving Wallendas didn't have the heart to replace poor old Karl right away, not even with a pseudo-acrobat willing to work for the price of a plane ticket off the island. So much for seeking asylum with circus folk.
Cynthia added the news clips of the Wallenda tragedy to her collection of weird death stories and got a job right after college, like a regular person. She figured it would take five or six years to save up enough money to finance her move back to the mainland, or a couple of months if she gave up piña coladas and sangria by the pitcher on Friday and Saturday nights. As luck would have it, her employer's home office was in Atlanta, not on another island. She finagled herself an interview, secured a new job, and off to the Bible Belt she went to write mind-numbing technical manuals for imminently obsolete computer products.
Atlanta was very pretty (in a beige, cookie-cutter sort of way), and on occasion presented its share of challenges to the recalcitrant transplant. Sadly, she never acquired a taste for grits or chicken-fried steak, and was utterly unable to twist her mouth in all the right ways to correctly pronounce words like "y'all" and "corndawg." People told her she talked funny, after which they usually asked what church she belonged to. Her un-Christianlike responses sent many of them scurrying to hide the children. On at least two occasions, complete strangers stood on her doorstep and asked if they could pray for her. She replied, "Sure. What the hell," and politely closed the door on them so they could do so in private.
Cynthia spent the next few years in Atlanta searching for liberals, scaring the Baptists, and quietly pushing unsolicited okra to the edges of her plate. Just as she decided that she had reached the end of her Southern Experience, she met a strange and eloquent young man with an easy smile and very little shame. He told her they would leave Atlanta together, "in a another year or two." Three years later they were married, and still living in Atlanta. Four and a half years after that, she left without him, for reasons that had almost nothing to do with okra.
Cynthia finally made her way back to her home town. She bought an apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side and nailed everything down to the floor. She is never leaving again.
Meanwhile, her collection of weird death news stories turned into a couple of books. Thinning the Herd was published in 2007, and Unlucky Stiffs in 2010. In between the publication of the death books, she was inspired to write about psychotic love. Weirdly Beloved was released in 2008.
In something of a departure from her penchant for dark humor, Cynthia returned to her first true love, literary fiction, and penned the novel Myths of a Merciful God. She is currently at work on a second novel.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 6, 2017
Good book. It started out heartbreakingly sad, though.
October 26, 2020
This is an incredibly touching book that had many places where I was actually waiting to see how the main character would react to her situation. I am so glad that I read this beautiful book.
October 21, 2014
NOTE: A COPY OF THIS ARC WAS GIVEN TO ME THROUGH NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.
This was a relatively quick read - finished in a few nights. The story revolves around Sarah, a 30-something woman who, after a terrible tragedy, decides to run away from everything and head to California, to see the Pacific Ocean. Along the way she meets various people who help her to start healing; one of those people is a man named Jackson. Jackson invites himself to have lunch with Sarah when he sees her sitting alone in a diner, somewhere in the middle of the US. A friendship is developed when they start texting and talking to each other at night. Sarah makes it to the Pacific but you'll have to read the book to find out what happens next.
I enjoyed reading this and it really was a good story. The characters were real enough because I did get angry with Sarah on numerous occasions.
This was a relatively quick read - finished in a few nights. The story revolves around Sarah, a 30-something woman who, after a terrible tragedy, decides to run away from everything and head to California, to see the Pacific Ocean. Along the way she meets various people who help her to start healing; one of those people is a man named Jackson. Jackson invites himself to have lunch with Sarah when he sees her sitting alone in a diner, somewhere in the middle of the US. A friendship is developed when they start texting and talking to each other at night. Sarah makes it to the Pacific but you'll have to read the book to find out what happens next.
I enjoyed reading this and it really was a good story. The characters were real enough because I did get angry with Sarah on numerous occasions.
April 1, 2014
This is a fabulous first novel by author Cynthia Ceilan. Whatever your religious/spiritual questions or convictions about God, you will be moved by this poignant and riveting account of a mother’s loss of her young child to death and her personal journey to carry on amidst enormous pain and grief. It’s extremely well written, moving, and enjoyable from start to finish. Ceilan will most assuredly touch a nerve, if not your heart, with her amazing and expert skill in articulating very descriptively and eloquently about a thought, a feeling, place or event. You’ll want to curl up with this one over a quiet, relaxed weekend, allowing yourself to revel in a full gamut of genuine and raw emotions to which you will undoubtedly relate as I did. Kudos to Ms. Ceilan for this outstanding novel.
November 15, 2014
In Myths of a Merciful God you are brought along Sarah’s journey of love, loss, and healing. Her daughter Tessie died suddenly, and Sarah is left grappling with the loss. After the funeral, Sarah decides she needs to leave everything behind and look to the ocean for healing – and sets out on a cross-country roadtrip toward California.
Along the way she finds more than she bargained for – a tornado, an owl friend, a mysterious diner, and tries to find what she desires most – closure.
Cynthia Celian did a great job capturing love and loss in Sarah’s story.
Along the way she finds more than she bargained for – a tornado, an owl friend, a mysterious diner, and tries to find what she desires most – closure.
Cynthia Celian did a great job capturing love and loss in Sarah’s story.
March 24, 2014
This is one of the books I've gotten for free from First Reads. It's probably not a book I would have picked up myself, but I enjoyed reading it. There are parts that I think would have been good if she had expanded on them more (like the shadow people she sees or the history with Liliana and Lily). Like real life, though, not every question has an answer. The writing style gives you the feel of Sarah's grief as well.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews