Mercy Me

by Margaret A. Graham

Esmeralda, a high-spirited widow in her sixties in the small South Carolina town of Live Oaks, leaves an unforgettable impression on readers with her unpretentious, down-to-earth manner. Her unabashed faith shines through as she shares details of her life as an adviser to her best friend, Beatrice, and as a voice of reason to her women's Sunday school class, the Willing Workers. The pettiness of the women at the Apostolic Bible Church gets under Esmeralda's skin, but when she rallies them to the side of an impoverished mother with AIDS, the very best of human love and compassion is portrayed.
Told in delightfully eccentric first-person narration, this story will inspire, uplift, amuse, and move readers to tears. Despite Esmeralda's lack of education and sophistication-or perhaps because of it-she is used mightily by God and meets everyday challenges with gumption, humor, and grace. Her struggle to maintain her faith in the midst of pain and suffering is a timeless and universal theme with which many will identify, and the love and mercy the story unfolds will delight both young and old.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian

214 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2003

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have met a few Esmeraldas in my life. The author is able to weave religion into the story without it being overwhelming. This is a good quick read.

[Kaitlyn Krispense · Rating 5 out of 5]

RTC

[Karen L Sisco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwarming story with lots of lessons.

Enjoyed the characters, storyline and biblical lessons included. Very sweet story. Starting the second book in the series right now.

[Vanessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story was written. In Southern woman slang. Yes there is such a thing. No, I don't understand it.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. It was humorous, spiritual, uplifting, encouraging and motivational. Best book I have read in a long time!

[TJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as other Christian fiction I have read but a good quick read

[Karen Anderson]

Wonderful! Esmerelda sounds like a real person that you would like to know.

[Steven Groner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice colorful characters but story line was a bit choppy. I enjoyed Margaret Graham's follow up book- "Good Heavens" much more. "Mercy Me" is a good introduction to her cast of characters.

[Tammy McDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author wrote this using delightful language and I loved the way she interwove biblical lessons into the storyline!

[Dottie Parish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read and reread this entertaining novel about a country church and the friendship of two women. Think Jan Karon without so many characters to remember. Esmerelda, the main character, shares her wisdom, quoting "Splurgeon" [Spurgeon] and eager to help others. She and Beatrice are members of the Willing Workers Sunday school class. Then Beatrice moves away to find employment and their friendship continues with letters and phone calls. There are many other delightful characters and the plot is full of surprises. The story is touching, real and fun. This is the first in a series of three novels about Esmerelda. Each one is delightful. I own all three and have loaned them to a number of friends.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a very quick read. The main character, Esmerlelda is a no nonsense lady. She is a member of a church group the "Willing Workers", they are a bunch of ladies who try to be helpful, but do about 50percent good, and 50 percent stiring up trouble. I like Esmerelda's faith and the fact that she seems to be a wonderful Christian and then she (you) learns towards the end that maybe she wasn't all that wonderful and that experiences good and bad have an lasting impact on you faith maturity.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! First christian lit that isn't all jubilee, koolaid, and kumbay.
Spunky Spunky old lady reminds me so much of the dear ones i have lost this year and will lose sooner or later.
And it's about prayer and actually having faith.
And the real kicker, historical cerealkillers!
love it

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light reading, great for a road trip, which is when I read this. Main character Esmerelda is a more spiritual Miss Julia character with more Southern over-the-top colloquialism and bad grammar than is necessary to be "charming", but is still very likable. I got a kick out of all of her "Splurgeons."

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

My grandma gave me this book to read after she finished it. :) It's a story about a southern town woman who ends up in the middle of everyone's business even though she tries to mind her own. The story takes an unexpected turn when she learns of a secret that someone in her town is keeping.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this once I got into it but did find the religious indoctrinationa bit tedious. I liked the main character and loved the way of writing as I could really hear the characters speak but just too much religious hype for me to stomach

[Mary K Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Interesting Small Town Story

Esmeralda is an interesting character. She's part of small town life and her character is special. She's rather pushy, but means no harm. She's worth following through the next 2 books.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why I like the Esmeralda books so much

I really like these books so far! There is absolutely no cussing,suggestive content or any other controversial subjects. This book series is a good,clean,Christian book series. I can't wait to start reading the next book in the series!

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in a southern dialect. A slice of life lived by doing for the Lord. Enjoyed!

[Kitty Tomlinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esmerelda, a Christian woman from South Carolina, is advising her friend, Beatrice, on life and is also helping her local minister and church family.

[Pam June · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got bored with it and moved on to Tiger's Quest.

[Lynne Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved the humor and the story.

[Crystal ritz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mercy Me, what an uplifting book!

Mercy Me, if you are looking for a book to lift your spirits and make you think.... this is the book for you!

[Deb Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun!

This was a fun, easy to read Christian book. The characters came to life and you become a member of Esmeralda's family as you read her story. Loved it!

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

peru trip -- fun book

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Usually, I enjoy books set in small towns. It's interesting to learn about the residents (especially the inevitable quirky ones). My problem with Mercy Me is that we only saw the surface of most of the characters, and many of them were quite unlikable (noisy, argumentative, gossipy). It was like wading through a series of squabbles that made me feel uncomfortable. Still, there were parts I enjoyed--and I'll probably give the next book in the series a try soon. Two stars.