Viska mitt namn

by Ronlyn Domingue

I 1920-talets New Orleans är den smarta, orädda Raziela Nolan mitt uppe i enunderbar kärleksaffär när hon plötsligt dör i en tragisk olyckshändelse. Direkt eftersin död väljer hon att stanna "mellan", den sfär som existerar efter livet men förevad som ligger bortom det. Från denna märkliga utkiksplats berättar Razi historienom sin förlorade kärlek, och om Amy och Scott, ett ungt par vars hus hon sjuttio årsenare spökar i. Deras prövningar tvingar till sist Razi att långsamt nysta upp mysterietmed vad om hände hennes första och enda kärlek, Andrew, och att möta ensedan länge dold hemlighet.

Karaktärerna i denna ambitiösa och originella debutbok sjunger av liv och sydstatscharm.Från den modiga, framsynta Razi, som gömmer förbjuden information ompreventivmedel i biblioteksböcker, till den hippa webbdesignern Amy, som hållerpå att gå under av sorg, och Eugenia, som varit fångad "mellan" sedan inbördeskriget.Viska mitt namn väver samman två tragiska och försonande kärlekshistorier,som ger eko genom tre generationer och kulminerar i ett överraskande slut.

Ronlyn Domingues debut är en härlig, fantasirik roman, som på ett underbart sättfångar kärlekens natur och hur den tar sig över alla barriärer - till och med döden. Den frambesvärjer kärlekens, minnets och tidens omdanande kraft.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Book Club, Romance, Ghosts, Fantasy, Paranormal

346 pages, Hardcover

First published September 13, 2005

About the author

Ronlyn Domingue is the internationally published author of The Mercy of Thin Air and the Keeper of Tales Trilogy (The Mapmaker’s War, The Chronicle of Secret Riven, and The Plague Diaries). Her short work has appeared in print and online publications including New England Review, Lion’s Roar, and New Delta Review. CRONE ENERGY, her newsletter, is on Substack.

She writes about deep, sensitive people in strange, transformative circumstances. Through sense-filled storytelling, Ronlyn’s visionary fiction and essays explore profound themes grounded in beauty, wonder, and compassion. Her layered stories entertain at the surface and inspire at the depths. Readers will feel enchanted and transported as they enter new relationships with themselves and the world.

Reviews

[Tomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't even finished this book yet and it's already one of my all-time favorites (and that's quite a bold statement for me if you know how much I read). The language in this book is some of the most beautiful I have ever read, next to Gabriel Garcia Marquez - it is lyrical and somehow sparkles on the page. It's simply gorgeous. Now, I have an Advanced Readers Copy, which I picked up at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville two years ago, so I'm not entirely sure it is exactly the same as you'd find on the bookshelves, but in my experience the copies don't differ very much, if at all. Please, read this book.

UPDATE: I cannot ever remember a book haunting me the way this one has. I just finished it on Sunday and am already ready to read it again, which I can say in all the years I've been reading, the thousands of books I've read, that has NEVER happened. It is in my Top 5 Favorite Books Ever, if not my favorite.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Razi, the narrator and protagonist of The Mercy of Thin Air, is dead. The story moves back and forth between memories of her life before she drowns in the late 1920s and her observations on the present, over seventy five years later, where she lives "between" life and death. In common parlance, Razi is a ghost--she has no physical form, but she can see, hear, and smell everything around her in the living world, as well as moving objects and herself telekinetically.

At the beginning of the novel, Razi takes up residence with a young couple, Scott and Amy, by following a bookcase she knows from her life move from an estate sale into their home. As Scott and Amy's story unfolds in the present, so do Razi's memories of what happened between her and her fiancé, Andrew, in the years before her death. Slowly, the connection between Razi's past and her "present" become clear both to her and to the reader.

The Mercy of Thin Air is a good book. It's a bit reminiscent of The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, which I loved (and, I'm told, Alice Seibold's The Lovely Bones), in subject matter and in its deft navigation of the line between being a believable love story and just being goopy. It's a book about the supernatural in which the supernatural is not the point, and I like that. It's a quick, easy read (took me two days), good for a plane, the beach, or before bed down time. Not something I'd recommend a chapter-a-night approach to, though, as I found it very difficult to put down.

The Mercy of Thin Air is Ronlyn Domingue's first novel.

[Melodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Razi( love that name!) a young woman who meets an untimely death, has never been a rule follower. She has bucked the traditional all her young life,studying with the intent of becoming a physician, distributing birth control information to women when it was not just "unnatural" but illegal. A true free spirit.And madly in love with her soul mate Andrew.
So when she finds herself dead after a freak accident,she again makes the unconventional decision to not move on to her forever afterlife, but to remain "in-between". The years roll on and she has made a life for herself and even mad friends with some like-minded souls.But she is always looking for Andrew, unsure of what became of him.
She latches onto a young couple,Scott and Amy. She sees something familiar in them. And she sees what they do not immediately. That they are embarking on a slow inexorable drift away from one another.Can that drift be arrested, turned back? And can Razi ever find what became of her one true love?
This is not a book for the linear thinker. The story line meanders to and fro,hither,thither and yon.If you love complex puzzles this book is for you. And if you are open to all the possibilities, you will be rewarded.The language is sensual,the characters complex,and the timing at times too slow, too fast and occasionally just right.It was truly an experience to read.

[Katalin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished.... I am crying... It was so beautiful... So heartbreaking .... So deep....

It has been a while I have liked a book as much as I have liked this one... While trying to decide if I want to read Fifty Shades Of Gray (I will most likely not) and trying to make up my mind if I even like love stories at all after reading this book I have realized my problems are not with love stories, but with cheap and trashy love stories. There are so many of them that sometimes I feel like they even want to trick the readers and appear to have some literary value while they do not. Constantly researching good books to read I almost feel like I have to watch out not to be sucked in Twilights and Fifty Shades.

I was reading the review of another book, which I don't even remember what it was, but I know that book was also written from the point of view of a character who is dead, the reviewer compared the two and was talking in superlatives about The Mercy Of Thin Air.... how correct he was!

I don't mind any topics really, though I don't rush to the bookstore to buy the latest vampire story or time travel story, but I will read them if I think they will be worth it other than the subject matter. So I was with reading a book from the point of view of a dead girl. It was poetic, it was sexy (yes, there were some sex scenes, not many, very tasteful), and it was smart. It was about women, especially women's movement in the 20's, but it was also about men, men with souls and real feelings. And yes there was even a twist in it a little mystery. I was impressed how it was all pulled together with thoughts and ideas that I didn't think earlier in the book to be important nicely linked back to the end or the beginning... All through the book I was thinking, beautiful, I can't have enough, but she is going to screw it up at the end...or soon... definitely at the end.... and she didn't...

It also helped that I loved the characters... I would love to be like Razi, maybe I am a little bit and oh yes I would like to find a guy like Andrew even though I am a happy single girl... I loved their strength, the way they communicated.... original, funny, smart, tolerant and radical at the same time. and the rest of the characters are the same way.

It was an added plus that I live in the area where the story takes place... it is not important, it just made it more interesting to me.

But what I loved the most was the language... the dreamlike beautifully weaved sentences... in a way it was like a painting with lots of colors and details... a time travel ..... a melody that will definitely stay in my ears for a long long time.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of this book I didn't like. I found it convulted, hard to follow and over-written. However, towards the end when all the pieces start coming together, I liked it better. This is the story of a woman who tragically dies and then is caught in the "in between" world. She can't stop obsessing what happened to her love and ends up "haunting" a young couple who eventually bring her the answers she needs.
The concept is great and the perspective is unique yet I found that I never bonded with the characters. I found the great love between the ghost and the man she left behind too flowery, too unbelievable. And through it all, the writers weaves another theme of women's suffrage and right to abortion...it all felt a bit forced.
I gave it two stars overall but I think the ending deserves three stars (because it all finally made sense). I read it based on the very enthusiastic recommendation of someone I had just met (I probably should have done some research first) but I myself cannot recommend it.

[Lisa Reads & Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an unexpected gem. I enjoyed the writing and structure of the narrative, but readers who are confused by nonlinear timelines may find this novel a challenge. The characters were well drawn--both male and female. I loved the sensual descriptions--just below my tolerance for overwriting, yet better as a first person narrative than any novel I've read this year.

I'm not a romance reader (romance novels generally lead to yawns or laughter), and while I wouldn't call this a romance novel, it is about love, which is something else altogether. The emotions are intense, but, interesting conflicts come from brave and unconventional (for the times) choices. Are there dreams and goals more powerful than love? Our culture would have us believe love trumps all, and love usually is so physically and emotionally powerful, that all else pales. However, in a repressive society, the greater struggle is sometimes to break social barriers. What if the two goals are in conflict? A woman during the 1920s decides to follow her longtime dream of going to medical school instead of postponing or giving her dream up for a man whom she loves intensely.

The fun aspect of the book is that the narrator is a woman in between life and whatever comes after. She is a poltergeist with limited abilities to effect matter. Her explanation of what she is and what she can do, is scientific rather than spiritual-oriented. The rules of inbetween-ness are interesting, and consistent.

So, I'm surprised none of my GR friends have read this. Either I'm rating the book highly because I'm in a good mood, or people have unfortunately let this one slip by. I'll certainly check out more titles by Ronlyn Domingue.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wasnt expecting to like this book. The premise reminded me of The Lovely Bones which I didnt really enjoy.
However it was very entertaining. My only complaint was that I found it challenging at times to change from past to present.
The writing for the most part, was lovely. The characters were interesting and the story was intriguing and emotional. I am very glad I picked up this book at a sale.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't expect to like this book nearly as much as I did. I love the portrayal of college girls in the 1920s, the very Southern flavor to the speech and behavior of the characters and the twists and turns in the story. If I find myself slowing down and hoping to catch a few red lights to I can hear a little more, you know that's a recommendation.

[Caroline · Rating 1 out of 5]

When there's something strange sleeping in your bed, who ya' gonna call? Not Ghostbusters. Call Ronlyn Domingue. Wow...stilted dialogue (really, no one talks like any of these people. Has the author ever listened to a real conversation? EVER?), one-dimensional characters, too-good-to-be-true (or too-mushy-to-be-men) men, sex scenes that forever join two souls -- written in a style that pays inadvertent homage to Ms. Danielle Steel, and ghosts who surf the Internet (no, really. They can also WRITE LETTERS! AND HAVE SEX! WITH LIVING PEOPLE! ZOMG!). It doesn't get much worse than this. Actually it does, but I haven't seen the likes of it since I edited my college's literary journal back in the day. P.U.

[Karyl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book. It shouldn't take me five days to read a book that's just about 300 pages long, but that's exactly what happened. I found myself finding other things to do instead of reading because I wanted to prolong the joy of reading it. I slowed down and savored each word, each sentence. I just didn't want it to end.

But all good things must come to an end, and last night I finished it. And I mourned, just a little bit.

Razi is a feisty, unconventional girl of the 1920s. Her goal in life is not, as society dictates, to find a husband and bear children. She wants to be a doctor, not a nurse, and be worthy in her own right, not because she's married to someone. She even becomes involved in disseminating information about birth control, an illegal topic in the 1920s and liable to send her to jail if she's found out. But then she dies in a tragic accident and fails to go on to whatever is next after we die. Instead she becomes, for all intents and purposes, a ghost. When her boyfriend's old bookcase is bought at an estate sale seventy years after her death, she follows the piece of furniture to its new home, introducing us to Amy and Scott, a married couple with secrets and problems of their own.

The novel switches back and forth between Razi's life in the 1920s and Amy and Scott's lives in the 90s, and it works. I was never left feeling like I wanted to stay in one time period over the other; I was hungry to know what happened next. Somehow Domingue weaves both time periods together beautifully.

This is not a novel about the supernatural. It just seems to be a plot point, not the whole reason for the novel. Razi is just as believable as a specter as she is in the flesh.

I admit I was taken wholly by surprise by the twist near the end. I didn't see it coming, the way in which Amy and Razi were connected. But I was happy to see it work out that way.

Domingue's writing is just so lyrical. Reading the words she lays down is a joy, and they are just so very evocative. It's like watching an old film unfold in your head while you read. I can see myself reading this book again soon, and I'm not the type to re-read novels anymore -- there are far too many books I want to read.

[Jacki · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, this book was just ok. When I read the back, I was really intrigued. A book written from a ghost's point of view, yadda yadda. Sounds good to me.

Eh. The writing was only so-so, kind of shallow and the dialogue was pretty bad. People don't really talk like that. I also didn't like the author's idea of ghosts. To me, the 'rules' and the little 'quirky' things about the spirit world just sort of annoyed me.

What I did like was the story of Scott & Amy, the modern couple sided up with the story of Razi & Andrew, the couple from the 20's. I liked how their stories paralleled and because of that how lessons were learned by all.

Sometimes I accidently read too many books about death in a row and it becomes overwhelming. That's happening to me right now, so I need to go find something happy!

[Hillari Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

Oh boy, here we go. This book took me quite a while to finish and quite a while to like. In the sake of time for all my thoughts about this text, I am going to try and simply bullet my thoughts (sorry if that makes my feelings seem even more cold).

(How does one freaking bullet in Goodreads?)

*This book is not linear. And that seriously bothers me. Who has time to keep track of multiple storylines bouncing here, there, and everywhere?! (can you see my eye roll here?).
*The first 100 pages for me were awful! I had to piecemeal reading (like 5 pages per night) and of course by doing that, it made the story even more disjointed (i.e. when? where?).
*The writing style took some time to get used to - there was much that was alluded to, but very little that was spelled out.
*Storylines! Oy! In general, I am not bothered by having so many people and so many things happening at the same time, but when the book isn't written linearly, the multiple storylines really matter.
*This book makes you feel like the story is about our main character, Razi, but really, so much of it is about the supporting characters. I don't know if that is a good or bad thing necessarily, but it did make you feel like you knew those characters better perhaps, and that maybe they even grew more than Razi did.
*Razi's last visit with Andrew was rather obnoxious. For spoilers sake, that is all that I will say.

And maybe some slightly more happy thoughts ..

*After page 100(ish) I became quite a bit more engaged. I really liked Andrew's story, and Amy and Scott's.
*Although I complained above (twice) about the book not being linear and following a continuous timeline, I do understand why this is. Our main character, Razi, is dead (not a spoiler) and so the thought would be that as a spirit, she herself and her thoughts would not always follow a linear pattern. I am going to guess since this does maybe make her story more believable, that it will work better for some readers than it did for me.
*Domingue seems to have a knack for getting her audience to appreciate her secondary characters more than normal. Most of this stems from so much of the storyline being about them.
*The connections at the end were intriguing. I just almost wish that it hadn't taken so long to hear about them.

SO, this book wasn't 100% for me, but as it concluded it became slightly more positive than how it started. I will say, however, that I probably won't pick up another Ronlyn Domingue book for quite some time, if ever.

[Tiff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a beautifully painful story as well as interesting seeing the point of you of an individual both living and dead.
Also learning the "rules" of living in between and what it can do to the living if you don't.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raziela Nolan dies at a very young age and is caught between. She can not 'follow' her loved ones, instead she watches Amy and Scott. Amy has bought a bookcase that once belonged to Raz's boyfriend. The story interweaves the stories of Amy and Scott with Raz's own story.

Raz is in her senior year at Tulane in the 1920's when she dies. She has been brought up in a very forthright manner. Her mother was a suffragette. She is involved in supplying birth control to women(an illegal activity). Raz hopes to be admitted to medical school in the fall. This causes some discord with her boyfriend(Andrew) as he wishes to marry her not have a long distance relationship.

Amy is having difficulties coping with the death of her fiancee. She must come to terms with her grief and her love for Scott.

The concept for this book was different. The stories were well told and I loved the twist at the end. The story grabs you as you want to know what happens and what happened.

[momruncraft · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best, most unique books I've read in a long time. I have never read anything like it. Part Ghost Whisperer, part Dr. Ruth *yes, Dr. Ruth*, and part romance novel.

A spirited, liberal, strong woman in a time when women were looked down upon for being so, Razi dies suddenly in a tragic accident. Her life, her love affair...all unsettled. Her body gone, in the physical sense, she finds herself stuck "between". From here, she narrates the novel. While guiding newly dead betweeners through the "rules" she makes new friends and finds herself drawn to one particular young couple who buys an antique piece of furniture that used to belong to her one true love. Through their story and her own, she discovers what has been holding her back from passing through to beyond. And finds that she wasn't merely drawn to this couple by chance. How much should one sacrifice for love? Everything? Nothing?

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book captivated me. The overlapping stories fully sucked me in. I love the the vision of the afterlife imagined here—and I love the integration of historical detail that does not feel like someone just dropping their notes in.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raziela Nolan…what do I think about you? I just finished reading your story mere minutes ago and it will most likely haunt me forever. What a love you experienced and what a loss you had to endure long after your young life ended. You will be a character that I won’t soon forget. And Amy, what do I think about you? Such a tortured girl you are. You remind me a bit of myself; not letting people who care about you in, not knowing who to trust, not trusting yourself. Your relationship with Scott will be etched in my memory for a long time.

I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to make of this book after reading the synopsis on the back cover. I’m partial to the 1920’s era, and New Orleans is one of my favorite cities in the U.S., so I was mildly interested to say the least. And the fact that the story included a ghost had me intrigued. But what came between the pages of this novel surprised me. The author’s writing style was beautiful and I loved the way the words seemed to flow throughout the story adding layers and creating a moving picture of the life and loves of Raziela Nolan, a young girl in the 1920’s, and Amy, a distant ‘could-have-been’ relation in the 1990's. How their lives would intertwine was a great mystery to unravel.

Ronlyn Domingue crafted a strong, independent, brazen woman of the 1920's into Raziela who wasn't afraid to be herself and who wanted to make her own way in life even though she was living in a repressed society. A beautiful love story was written between Raziela (Razy) and Andrew, the man she falls in love with, and the struggles they both go through to be together yet live their lives the way they both wanted to. The way Ms Domingue chose the perfect illustrative language for how Razy felt when she was with Andrew, and what it felt like when they kissed and when they made love - this was breathtaking to me. There's no other way to put it. It was simple, yet lovely.

I have to admit that I'm not a big 'crier' but I did tear up several times in this novel, and felt that pain in my heart when someone suffers great loss. The truth is that this book was sad; sad in the fact that there is tremendous loss throughout most of the pages. But with that sadness comes love, and learning, and hope. Something that I had lost sight of until the last several pages. I cannot wait to read more of the authors' works and will wait for something just as wonderful as this journey turned out to be.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I really enjoyed this book and absolutely fell in love the characters from the 20’s, especially Razi, and I did enjoy the story overall, I was a little annoyed with the book at times. Yes, I agree with all points made regarding reproductive health and education but I guess that I am just not a person who lives and breaths my beliefs and political stance. It was an interesting portion of the story and in most parts I found it to be important to character development and understanding the fabulously brave and lively Razi but at other times I felt as if the author were pushing an agenda and when the subject matter was carried forward decades in the story with new characters it left a slightly unpleasant taste in my mouth. The connections between generations would have been strong without having this in common and it was at that point in the story that I had to sigh and roll my eyes a bit.
This did not ruin the story for me mind you. I read it in a day and am left with that sad feeling I always get when I have finished a book and am going to miss the people that I have gotten to know and love within its pages. I just felt as if the author was trying to hard in places.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, I absolutely loved this book to pieces. It had all the qualities to a great novel; romance, mystery, self-discovery and acceptance. It tells the story of Razi, who is left in the "between" worlds, and her love affair with Andrew. While unraveling the mysteries of their relationship, Razi follows Amy and Scott through their turbulent relationship.

What I loved about this novel was the slow unraveling of a mystery. Nothing in this novel is revealed in it's entirety or in chronological order. Clues are revealed when necessary through important events throughout Razi's or Amy's life. I enjoyed this because it made Razi's story telling more authentic. If it were told in chronological order per say, it would have felt like she was just going through the motions of life.

Finally, I enjoyed the intertwining of Amy and Scott's relationship throughout the novel. It allows for a beautiful comparison and provides a more "modern" take on relationships. It shows how the love between two people does not change over the evolving generations.

This novel is a fast read (I read it in less than a day) and it makes you believe in everlasting love.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from my friend Sandra, and am glad I did. The main character, Raziela Nolan, has a passionate love affair with Andrew O'Connell in the late 1920s. Beautiful, intelligent, and determined to go to medical school during a time when women were expected to just be wives and mothers, Raziela has her entire life ahead of her. On the cusp of telling Andrew she intends to marry him, Razi dies in an accident. She spends the next 70 years "in between," roaming the earth as a ghostly presence. Scared to find out what happened to Andrew after she died, Razi is never quite at ease.

She haunts a home owned by a couple, Amy and Scott, after Amy purchases a desk once owned by Andrew. Razi comes to realize there is a connection between Amy and herself. Razi continues to search for clues about Andrew as she confronts her past.

This was a quick, terrific read. At the heart of it, it's a novel about how love endures in death.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part mystery, part love story, part ghost story, part history lesson: The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue offers something for every reader. Narrated by the spirit of Razi, who has been in the “in between” more than 70 years, the reader is drawn into both the story of Razi herself and the young couple with which she is currently sharing a house. At its core this novel examines the choices women have been faced with for decades, as well as the unknowable question of what happens to us after we die. Domingue masterfully leads the reader through converging storylines with skill and efficiency. The combination of opaque and thought provoking subject matter in lesser hands could end up alternately confusing the reader or bogging down the text; this is not the case, in fact the reader become so engrossed in the characters’ lives that the pages fly by! Both the characters and the ideas presented in the novel will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned.

[♏ Gina☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raziela Nolan is in the midst of a beautiful, intense love affair when she unexpectedly dies. Bad timing. Just when things are getting hot, when love is hers, when she has everything to live for, she dies.

She realizes she is dead, but where is she? Turns out she is "between" - sort of living in a world not of the living, yet not of the dead either.

Seventy years later, she is happily haunting the home of a young couple, Amy and Scott. Enjoying herself immensely (playing little "tricks" on them for her own amusement) she realizes she needs to know what happened to her love, Andrew, and that she needs to find out more details about her own death.

The concept is quite intriguing and the book is well written. I love that it is told from Raziela's viewpoint 70 years after her death, and that she still is very much smitten with her first and only true love - enough to finally know what became of him and why she died so young.

[Janene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finally finished this. Was very anxious to start this book...but once I got going, had a really hard time getting into it. This book jumped around too much for me. I had to hesitate at the beginning of each chapter and think, "OK, are we in the past or present?" It lost me so much that I had to go back & re-read the ending, just to try & figure out what happened.

[LeeAnn Atwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like ghost stories? Historical fiction? Time-travel? Strong women? The Mercy of Thin Air has it all. This book melded past with present in a way that was evocative and mesmerizing. Can't wait to read the next Domingue book.

Read it over a year ago and have recommended it to countless friends. Worthy of being made into a movie--highly recommend.

[Stef · Rating 4 out of 5]

“One lifetime isn’t enough to make all the trouble of which I am capable.”

This is, without a doubt, one of the most beautifully written books I’ve ever read. I have so many bookmarked quotes; there are more accurate descriptions of emotions in a single paragraph than I could attempt in an entire lifetime. Its pace is slower than what I’m used to, which is why I often struggled to read more than a few pages at a time. I periodically thought to myself “what is the point of this story,” but then toward the very end it all clicks, and the way everything fit together left me in tears. “…why, it beats so I can love you.” 😭💔

I’m also partial to all the mentions of familiar local favorites in both New Orleans and Baton Rouge- Commander’s, Tulane, LSU, and (!!!) Louie’s. iykyk

Here’s to living fearlessly and being more like Razi. 🥂

[Book Concierge · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the book jacket New Orleans, 1920s. Raziela Nolan is in the throes of a magnificent love affair when she dies in a tragic accident. In an instant, she leaves behind her one true love and her dream of becoming a doctor – but somehow, she still remains. Immediately after her death, Razi chooses to stay between - a realm that exists after life and before what lies beyond it. From this remarkable vantage point, Razi narrates the stories of her lost love, Andrew, and the relationship of Amy and Scott, a couple whose house she haunts almost seventy-five years later.

My Reactions
This is an ethereal novel that moves back and forth in time as Razi’s spirit watches over Amy and Scott, but then takes time to recall her youth in 1920’s New Orleans. Through the flashbacks we learn that she was a well-loved and nurtured child, with parents who applauded her successes and encouraged her dreams. She was a free spirit and liked being a little naughty as well (sometimes going about “without any dainties” under her clothing. Her awakening feminism fueled her desire to be a doctor, and also resulted in conflict between her and her beau, Andrew. But their love was stronger than the expectations of society and they were looking forward to a long and loving relationship when she died.

Amy and Scott happen on an estate sale and buy an old bookcase for their home, and that is how Razi comes to haunt them. For the bookcase was Andrew’s and still carries his scent. Razi has always wondered what happened to Andrew and now she cannot let that puzzle go. As she watches them, Razi realizes something is wrong in their marriage and she begins to play pranks (moving things about, pulling photos out of albums, dropping marbles) to bring them closer together. It’s not working, though. Amy has own tragic past she is struggling to overcome. And then Amy goes to visit her great aunt Twolly, and Razi begins to finally put together the puzzle of what happened to Andrew.

I liked Razi as a young feminist struggling to find her place in a world that had very clearly defined, and somewhat narrow, expectations for a young woman of her social class. I enjoyed her spirit, tenacity, intelligence, and courage. I thought her behavior as a ghost was somewhat out of keeping with the vibrant young woman she had been in life. Amy was a complete puzzle to me. I didn’t understand her long-standing grief or why she completely shut her husband (and anyone else) out of her turmoil. I felt the way in which her story line was concluded was abrupt. I think the dual plot lines got away from Domingue. Still, this is her debut novel and she shows promise.

I started out listening to the audio version, capably performed by Rebecca Gayheart. Her voices for Razi, Twolly, Andrew, Amy and Scott were believable and easy to differentiate. However, somewhere in the middle of disc two I was feeling lost in the plot and somewhat disconnected from the characters. Going to the text version to look up a certain passage I realized that the audio was abridged! Something that is not announced on the jacket, nor in the introduction to the novel. I hate when that happens! I finished the book reading the trade paperback.

[Tierney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the best novels I've read in a while - it got me out of a major reading slump :) The book is told from the perspective of a young woman named Raziela Nolan who died tragically in the 1920s in New Orleans; she has been living as a kind of ghost for the last 80+ years on earth. Razi was a forward-thinking feminist in her day, illegally distributing birth control information and planning her career as a doctor - but she also fell deeply in love with a man named Andrew, and her ghost is haunted by their separation and the business between them that was left unfinished when she died suddenly. At present, Razi is living in the home of Amy and Scott, a young couple to which she feels an unusual connection. The two are happily married, but their happiness is threatened by Amy's unresolved memories of her first love - a young man who, like Razi, died suddenly in a tragic accident. The author weaves together these characters and their private pains and joys in a beautiful way, painting a moving picture of true love and what it feels like to lose it. Definitely a tear-jerker, I would recommend this for fans of Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones or the film Ghost.

[Daisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

New Orleans in the 1920s--that's all it took for me to decide to read this. I never read past the first line of a book description because I don't want to know too much.
This is a parallel/mirror story of Raziela (what kind of name is that and how do you pronounce it anyway? Rah-zee-la or Rah-zee-ella?) and Amy. One in 1929 dies and grieves for the love she left behind and the other in the present day is alive and grieves for the love who left her behind. It's a wispy, romantic, sentimental story that tries to be upright with characters who fight for women's rights and birth control availability and the right to choose. There are predictable women's themes of birth and babies, and there are cloche hats and antique peridot necklaces. From the middle of the book is this chain, heavy with Symbolism: Emmaline's cakes are called ambrosia which is food for the gods which imparts immortality. Aha!
Anyway, it's interesting enough to want to finish but I don't think its ghost will stay with me as long as Razi's lingers in the novel.

[Sterlingcindysu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a very hard time keeping track of the characters, locations and time. This is Domingue's first novel, so I think an editor should have done more to alert the readers to time changes. The problem wasn't just past and present, I thought at the beginning the main characters were in high school because they were applying for college--then later it said they *were* in college and applying for law/medical school. All the characters have very odd names, and I couldn't keep track of who was a friend, a relation, a ghost and the generations. I thought it took place in New Orleans, but then someone would say, you're visiting New Orleans? so they couldn't have been living there.

I didn't get the premise either--why was Razi hanging around as a ghost if she didn't know what happened to Andrew? And, as a ghost, she was able to search on the computer, write letters and do physical things? Why would she make the electricity turn off and make the houses cold? Unlike Caspter she sure wasn't a friendly ghost even if her intentions were good.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

The day before I started this book, I was looking through some old photos that my mom had found in her basement...an album that belonged to my great-aunt, who was a young woman in the 1920s. The album was full of pictures from the 1920s-1930s, pictures of family, vacations, houses, and of my great-aunt and her friends. As I read about Razi and her life in the 1920s, I kept imagining these photographs and wondering what life was like for my great-aunt in those days. I would love to think she was like Razi in some way. The Mercy of Thin Air is a great read, I found it to be such a unique story line and I loved the way it jumped around in time. I don't know that I've ever read of two people more in love than Razi and Andrew...it was both heartwarming and heartbreaking.