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Mercy
Arthur Baladino is out of jail again.
Next door to the home to which he's returning, a little boy in a baseball uniform asks his father, "What happens when you die?' It's a question the father will soon confront in a terrible and surprising way.
Just down the street, a young woman is trying to figure out how to re-start her life after her husband has lost his money, and hers, and the home in which they were living by day-trading in the basement.
Elsewhere in the neighborhood, several women and a couple of men - two of them accomplished arsonists who've worked for Arthur Baladino from time to time - dream of what might have been had they been wiser, more patient, or luckier in a past long dead everywhere but in their imaginations.
On a landscape more often than not indifferent, these people seek mercy, if not in love, than in the sometimes rickety, temporary connections they can find with their fellow seekers.
Next door to the home to which he's returning, a little boy in a baseball uniform asks his father, "What happens when you die?' It's a question the father will soon confront in a terrible and surprising way.
Just down the street, a young woman is trying to figure out how to re-start her life after her husband has lost his money, and hers, and the home in which they were living by day-trading in the basement.
Elsewhere in the neighborhood, several women and a couple of men - two of them accomplished arsonists who've worked for Arthur Baladino from time to time - dream of what might have been had they been wiser, more patient, or luckier in a past long dead everywhere but in their imaginations.
On a landscape more often than not indifferent, these people seek mercy, if not in love, than in the sometimes rickety, temporary connections they can find with their fellow seekers.
242 pages, Paperback
First published July 29, 2022
13 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 22, 2023
Bill Littlefield’s latest novel, Mercy, draws you right in. Vibrant conversations unfold across a neighborhood of luxury homes in suburban Anytown, USA. Chatting over coffee, walking the dog, or peering out the window, their lives are deftly entwined all the while demonstrating our universal need for forgiveness and compassion.
I have been a longtime admirer of Bill’s knack for storytelling; Mercy is a shining example.
I noted from the "About the Author" section that Bill has devoted his talents to the Emerson Prison Initiative helping incarcerated men complete college degrees. I could readily imagine those relationships informed his sensitive portrayal of some of Mercy's residents, family members, and neighbors.
I have been a longtime admirer of Bill’s knack for storytelling; Mercy is a shining example.
I noted from the "About the Author" section that Bill has devoted his talents to the Emerson Prison Initiative helping incarcerated men complete college degrees. I could readily imagine those relationships informed his sensitive portrayal of some of Mercy's residents, family members, and neighbors.
July 19, 2022
This is a very well written book. I was drawn into the characters and felt like I was sitting with them as they told me about their lives (even though its clear lots of them would not have shared their thoughts/experiences). I loved that the theme of forgiveness and mercy went through the book, and connected all the different tales together. It also described being released from prison as an act of mercy. Overall I loved this book, it made me laugh out loud at times and I'd love to read another book by this author.
Please note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for providing an unbiased review.
Please note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for providing an unbiased review.
July 8, 2023
Bill Littlefield’s MERCY is a wonderful read, beautifully written and paced. It is set in a town where houses are being razed and replaced with new homes on steroids, a place where people live to feel safe. In the center of the story is a dying gangster, allowed to die at home due to a compassionate leave program. He probably deserved little compassion but Littlefield creates a community where folks need not only compassion but mercy because every day everywhere, even the swelling suburbs, can suddenly be a matter of life and death.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews