Have Mercy On Us

by Lisa Cupolo

"What exquisite stories these are, each of them immaculately composed, each of them powerfully transporting... This book deserves prizes." —Tim O’Brien, author of The Things They Carried

Each of the ten stories in Have Mercy on Us is an illuminating window into a human life. In the way of all the best fiction, these stories enlarge our understanding of what it means to be alive and to love, with characters who leap off the page. In this award-winning collection, the people are varied in age, race, and origin. An old man travels to a village in Kenya in an attempt to bring his estranged son home; against her mother’s wishes, a young woman attends the funeral of the father she never met, hoping to forge a relationship with her eight siblings; a woman long married to a renowned artist whose infidelity is nearly blatant, takes things into her own hands in a brilliantly realized moment of independence; in an imagined, loving portrait, the writer Zora Neale Hurston is shown near the end of her life in 1948, working as a maid in a motel in Ft. Pierce, Florida. These stories are spare and romantic without being sentimental.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

Published January 24, 2023

About the author

WINNER of the W.S. Porter prize

"I wish I had written all ten of these brilliant, tender, and beautiful stories. This book deserves prizes."
- Tim O'Brien, author of The Things They Carried.

Lisa Cupolo's work has been published in The Virginia Quarterly Review, Ploughshares, Narrative, The
Idaho Review, and others. She has lived all over the
world, but currently resides in Southern California, where she teaches
fiction writing at Chapman University.

Lisa has been a paparazzi photographer in
London, an aid worker in Kenya, a script
doctor in Los Angeles and a literary publicist at
HarperCollins in Toronto.

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the things I love about attending the LA Times Festival of Books is that often I get to meet and discover new authors. This year was no exception! My friend wanted to attend the short story panel on Saturday and being a fan of short stories I was happy to join him. Although I don't read shorts often, I do enjoy them and have a few stocked on my shelves at home - sometimes they are just what I need if I'm in between reads, or very busy or distracted. And I've always had enormous respect for short story authors who can wrap you up in a time and place and people's lives in a very limited number of pages.

I absolutely adored this slim book of 10 short stories. Each one is so different, not only the story but the characters and the different settings where each one takes place. I was so impressed by the way Lisa Cupolo was able to convey feelings and thoughts, mostly from a female's perspective, but even in the story Long Division - from a man's perspective - she nails it.

I understand that she is working on a full length novel and I certainly hope that is true. If so, I'll be running to one of my indie bookstores to pick up a copy as soon as it's off the press. I certainly hope I will the pleasure of meeting Lisa Cupolo again, as I did at the Festival of Books 2023. She's a funny and open individual and an absolutely incredible author. LOVED this one!

[Kerri Schlottman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous collection of stories that are each wholly unique but share common threads that brilliantly link them together. Lisa Cupola's mastery of language instantly transports readers to the various settings in the collection and into the hearts and minds of a colorful and unforgettable ensemble of characters.

[Jude Atwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

About 3/4 of the way through this lovely collection of stories, I thought about the fact that the book won an award: the W.S. Porter Prize for Short Story Collections. I wondered what it might have been like to read this anthology in the context of a competition, comparing it to all the other books entered.

I don’t think I could have done it; after the first piece, I just lost myself in each of Lisa Cupolo’s stories. Yes, the prose is elegant, but more importantly, the protagonists are going through some major stuff, and I continually found myself dying to know what happened next.

If you like literary fiction with some bite, and if you like it bite-sized, you’ll find a lot to love here.

[Mary Camarillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ten stories in Lisa Cupolo’s “Have Mercy on Us”are about what it means to be human. Cupolo’s characters leap off the page they are so real, as they search for connection and understanding. Her prose is spare, honest and wise and the stories are full of hope. I particularly admire Cupolo’s story endings—always surprising and satisfying. I agree with Tim O’Brien. I wish I’d written all of these tales.

[Royce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend this fantastic collection of short stories. These ten stories are tender and touching and heartbreaking without being overly sentimental.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was happy to receive an ARC and to speak with Lisa Cupolo on my podcast, Writers on Writing. A while back I read the first story in the collection, "Felt and Left Have the Same Letters," and I'm still thinking about it, the little American family headed up by a well-known English writer staying in a Greek village (and now that I'm thinking about it, I must read it again). Beautiful writing....poignant. The next story, "You're Here Now," about a daughter meeting her father's kids at the funeral--so good. "Fort Pierce, Florida," with a fictional Zora Neale Hurston working as a cleaning lady while a struggling writer needs her help. On and on. Great dialogue and great tenderness in all of these stories. A brilliant, heartfelt collection.

[Erin Giglia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am obsessed. Stunningly beautiful writing. Simply perfect. These stories keep coming back to me, and I wished they would keep going. I loved every second of these beautiful stories, and can't wait to read more.

[Candi Sary · Rating 5 out of 5]

“After thirty years of marriage, jealousy has few fangs.”
“Her long black dress took its time in a twisty saunter. Up the iron staircase she went, in liquid motion.”

I can’t stop talking about Lisa Cupolo‘s HAVE MERCY ON US, winner of the W.S. Porter Prize for Short Story Collections. I read the first story four times because I loved it so much. With its literary “Sex and the City” vibe and its fabulously original ending, I wanted to experience it again and again. It’s that kind of book! The writing is so vivid and real and full of personality and tension and wisdom. It’s both sensual and grounded, seductive and playful. I loved how each of the stories surprised me and how much is captured in so few words. Cupolo gathers the complexities of humanity and makes absolute music with it. Oh I hope you all read this book!

[Tim Cummings · Rating 5 out of 5]

A vivid collection of stories, kaleidoscopic in scope yet simple in their approach. These are lives, and moments, and feelings captured deftly, feministically, profoundly. I felt very present reading each story because author Cupolo has a knack for inviting you right into her subjects' hearts, minds, and living rooms.

BREAD is probably the story that will stay with me the most. It felt unexpected and real, foreign yet familiar, dusty like a strange dream. YOU'RE HERE NOW was touching and frustrating and full of filial yearning and identity and alienation with a strange sense of hope. ZEE HOUSE went right through my bones. I am a sucker for a tale of the creation of the perfect space/home, that ever elusive impeccably curated utopia that is always plundered by some negating but often necessary force.

Lisa Cupolo is a great writer. The prose is simple and astute, with flow and function. Her ability to capture varying voices in so many distinct situations is a superpower and I look forward to many more stories and writing from her. If you love short story collections and succinct glimpses into the myriad moments of life and love and hope and despair, you'll really enjoy this.

[Corinne]

I thought the writer’s ability to draw you into the story, to be great. A truly gifted writer of short stories. But time and again the subject matter was full of bleakness, disillusionment, pain and sorrow.
I’m glad she studied for a while at U of M, here in Memphis. But I don’t want to read more.

[Marjorie Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating stories take us into the lives of (mostly) women, mostly young and middle aged, struggling to connect, find a place, understand what the world - what love - wants to teach them. The worlds Cupolo takes us into are various, an author's wife in Greece, an aid worker in Kenya, a struggling Black woman writer who works as a hotel maid and has a conversation with a failing white male writer - one so obviously foolish and egotistic that we laugh out loud - while cleaning his room. There is a kind of brilliant light in these stories, a tender way with language, a discomfort with the ordinary life, the expected resolution. One ninja move: the opening story is about a woman married to a famous author (Cupolo is married to Richard Bausch), a story so outrageous in its parameters that Cupolo is playing us a little, I think, giving us two lenses, one being self-reflection on our assumptions, through which to see the story. Oh, we are such peeping Toms, we readers, loving to know others' lives, wishing to be relieved of our own. This collection took me away, taught me truths, put human complexity on the page, leaving me both yearning for more and satisfied.

[Joni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't prepared for the depth of emotion these short stories elicited. I vowed to take my time reading them and initially read one a night. I abandoned that effort today (a glorious sunny Saturday afternoon) in which I devoured the last five!! Each one of these stories creates a world, a voice, a personal challenge and an identity each emeshed in the messiness, confusion, regret and love that characterizes life.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

These beautiful 10 short stories brought me back to the time when I was in my early 20’s and had read “Nine Stories” by JD Salinger. I was so enchanted by his book of short stories just like I am today with Have Mercy On Us. 9 beautifully written short stories. A few feel like they could become a whole novel, as I was intrigued by the characters and was left wondering, “What’s Next”?

[Dr. Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author, Lisa Cupolo, transports you across the globe in her ten beautifully written short stories. In minutes she has you captivated by her well developed characters…you feel connection to them so very quickly! There is intimacy, vulnerability, surprise and humour in each deftly written story. Love this book!!!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful collection. These ten stories were all gems—lively, engaging, and filled with insight. The stories, places, and characters brought me into new worlds. The writing is straightforward and spot on.

[Christine Amoroso · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Lisa Cupolo's short story collection! I finished the book months ago (late with this review :-)) and it's still on my nightstand because I've started to reread some of the stories. Hey - we watch moves twice when we like them. Right? Highly Recommend this book.

[Staci Greason · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories in Lisa Cupolo’s debut collection are to be savored. Each piece is captivatingly beautiful, thoughtfully–written, surprising, tender, and honest.

I eagerly await her next book!

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice debut collection! My favorites were Fort Pierce, How I Became a Banker, and the title story.

[Constance B · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is such a treat to read book and be able to say, without reservation, that you found it truly wonderful. And I did! I really loved Cupolo's taut, incisive voice. It is quite sharp and opinionated, even acerbic at times. It can be hard, to peel away all the loveliness we try to bring to the world, to get at the feelings and emotions life actually triggers, inside. I feel like you’ve she's that here. These women are bold even as they grapple with all the various, conventional restraints. I loved so many of them, but especially Alina. The story felt so spot-on, so lived-experience, that I believed every word of it. I also admire the writer's courage in writing the Fort Pierce, Florida story. I thought she really pulled it off – not an easy feat. I believed in her Zora.

“Whisper Screaming” was especially impressive to me because I’ve struggled to write nearly that exact same story for years. It was one of the first short stories I ever tried to write, and I revised and revised it, but never could figure out a way to tell the story of a mother who tries to run away, doesn’t get too far, and comes back home. Bravo on pulling it off!

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

|| HAVE MERCY ON US ||
#gifted/@kayepublicity @regal_house_publishing
@lisa_cupolo
•
A tender, transporting collection of stories with relationships at its core.

I found these stories elegantly written, Cupolo has a natural way with language. Right from the start her prose were illuminating as we see into the inner hearts and minds of these characters. These stories really get into what it means to be human. Focusing mainly on women's lives from youth to middle age as they struggling to find their place and to connect. I was captivated with each one.

Short fiction can be so hit and miss, I think because its hard to write something impactful in short form but Cupolo is a natural, no wonder this is already a prize winner.


For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong

[Elizabeth Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lisa Cupolo’s new collection, Have Mercy on Us, compresses the vagaries and vanquishings of the human heart into its ten exquisite stories. Taking the reader from the funeral of an unacknowledged father to the author’s native Canada to humanitarian settings in Kenya, Cupolo delves deeply into the contradictions of resolve. I was particularly stunned by the story “Bread,” in which a married Canadian woman--newly pregnant with the words “with child” echoing in her mind--navigates the irreconcilability of relentless labor with the terrors of her personal longing. Indeed, like the Turkish Tarot card reader in that story, Have Mercy on Us at once tells us to “Take one direction,” while whispering to our other selves, “You have many directions, my friend.” A luxurious and heart wrenching read.

[Gloria Mattioni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been so pleasantly surprised by this book. It's so rare to find a debut author with such literary talent! Cupolo's choice of words is lyrical, seductive, playful and strong at the same time. She doesn't write the page, she writes the sentence. Each passage flows naturally downstream to an ending often unpredictable and daring. Each story is a world on its own and at the same time the necessary link of a graceful, sparkling chain. The first story, Felt and Left Have the Same Letters is definitely my favorite: the main character/narrator unforgettable, the metaphors so vivid you can almost taste them in your mouth. But there isn't even one that left me indifferent. Highly recommend!

[Walter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each short story in this collection is a wonderful, multi-faceted gem. Lisa Cupolo analyzes complex human relationships in a masterful way, each episode like a stained glass window, light and lucid, compassionate and complete. Her prose is flawless and admirable, every word just right. She changes scenery effortlessly, moving from Kenya to Greece, Ontario to Alberta and other locales, and from immigrant families to bankers to artist's wives. She reminds me of the great Mavis Gallant who also wrote admirably of the human condition. I cannot recommend this book strongly enough, it gave me great pleasure to read.

[Anne Moose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know if I have the words to do justice to this gem of a book. Lisa Cupolo’s writing is inspired--and inspiring, if you’re a writer interested in upping your game. Each of her short stories transports you into a life that engages your emotions and senses so completely, it’s difficult to let go when the ending arrives too soon. With exquisite writing breathing life into deeply moving scenes of love and longing, this is the Short Story format at its very best. The only criticism I can muster for this fabulous book is it’s too short. I can’t wait to read more from this superbly gifted author.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relationships--between siblings, mother & daughter, father & son, father & daughter, between wife & husband, between lovers and between strangers--are the common thread that weaves these ten deeply human story-jewels together in a collection that transported me around the world while giving me glimpses into many hearts. The writing is strong, the characters are memorable, and the plots are often surprising. "How I Became a Banker", "Felt and Left Have the Same Letters", and "Zee House" were my favorites.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and well written group of stories that take place in different locations, and describe the people and various situations extremely well. These stories all seem to have a similar theme; people in situations and relationships that are problematic and seemingly mistaken, but for various reasons they are holding on, doing what seems to be right for themselves, or for family or as human beings despite the difficulties. Have mercy on them, indeed. There were a couple of the stories that got a little dull or too melancholic for me or I might have given it a better rating.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful collection of short stories! I’ve been a avid reader for many years, but this was the first time I’ve picked up a short story collection as I had always assumed it wasn’t for me. Wow was I wrong in thinking that…

I truly enjoyed these stories, and appreciate the range in countries they take place. The ability for the author to share so much in such a few pages is a true gift. This is the first book I’ve read from her, and if there are more k will gladly pick them up.

I highly recommend!

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

These ten stories are as subtle as Chekhov, as charming as Eudora Welty. They are wise and humane and windows into the human heart. My favorite here is “Fort Pierce, Florida,” in which the author imagines a moment in the life of the great Zora Neale Hurston. But they are all grand. I heartily recommend that you read them slowly. They are to be savored like a fine wine.

[Kerry Pickens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lisa Cupolo is a Canadian writer, and this book is getting rave reviews. Its the first book I have purchased in a while, and I was a bit disappointed because I just could not get into this collection of short stories. So its me, and I will assume I am just not in the mood for this style of writing.

[Judith Turner-Yamamoto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lisa Cupolo’s work embodies all the incisive beauty, balance, and astoundment of the short story at its most masterful. These immersive transportive tales told in spare beautiful language remind us that the best of fiction is about us and our humanity.