Mercy (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Anna, the Italian-born, Nairobi-based war correspondent and narrator of veteran journalist Santoro's affecting debut novel, is fast succumbing to the pain and riot of burned, bloodied Africa. Excessively drinking, keeping two lovers—one, a fellow journalist; the other, the owner of a coffee plantation—and delaying assignments while pleading with her editor for a bureau transfer, she seems hell-bent on self-annihilation when Mercy, a local giantess miraculously squeezed into a pink halter-top and fake patent-leather pants, persuades Anna to give her a job as house girl. Mercy becomes indispensable to Anna, pushing her to give up alcohol and meet her deadlines and introducing Anna to Father Anselmo, an Italian priest who lives in and administers to the AIDS-wracked slum of Korogocho. But it is only after Anna learns that Mercy has AIDS that the full measure of the women's connection to and effect upon each other comes full circle. Santoro, who has covered the African AIDS epidemic, evokes the continent's everyday horrors and uncommon moments of grace in decidedly unsentimental prose, and her depiction of international journalists' lifestyles is similarly powerful. Though the subtleties that make the first half of the book sublime become heavy-handed later on, the characters and their complicated relationships remain stirring until the end. (Sept.)
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From Booklist

Anna, a Nairobi-based foreign correspondent covering the AIDS epidemic, is well on the path to self-destruction; she drinks excessively and is more interested in juggling the affection of two lovers than meeting deadlines. Anna's only sense of order comes from Mercy, her African housekeeper possessed of a determined personality and a penchant for flamboyant dress. Mercy demands that Anna quit drinking and tries to keep her focused on completing work on time. Despite Mercy's persistence, Anna continues to carelessly jump from assignment to assignment and from war correspondent Michael to the mysteriously wealthy Nick. After a particularly harrowing interview experience, Anna returns to Nairobi to discover that Mercy has fallen ill. This revelation steadies Anna and solidifies the genuine relationship between the two seemingly different women. Together they embark upon a journey to battle illness, poverty, and the government. Santoro's experience as a journalist is evident in her straightforward prose, and although the concluding chapters of the book are not well focused, this debut is a notable tale of contemporary forms of suffering and relationships. Strauss, Leah

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Other Press (September 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590512715
• ISBN-13: 978-1590512715
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #395,366 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A foreign correspondent's journey, October 4, 2007

By	Matt - See all my reviews

Mercy tells the story of a foreign correspondent's journey through Africa and beyond. It's a revealing portrait of the psyche of a journalist working in unfamiliar places. Much of the novel's charm comes in the interplay of an edgy, broken set of reporters who are always on the move, drawn to African wars because they echo their own internal conflicts in some way. At the heart of the book stands the relationship between the reporter, Anna, and her Kenyan maid. Mercy's a larger than life character who starts of as a hireling but quickly becomes a kind of savior. As Anna embraces Mercy's struggles she slowly starts to see the continent, and herself, in a fuller way.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book--it's a great read!, November 11, 2007

By	Diane Arnold (Laguna Beach, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This story grabs and pulls you in right from the very beginning.The author is gutsy enough to create a main character--Anna--who, at first, is not very loveable. There appears on the scene a heroine of sorts--Mercy-- who tries, with mixed success, to shake some sense into Anna. But Mercy has flaws of her own and thankfully, the story is far from predictable. The book gives you a fascinating look at the life of the journalists living in Africa; they risk their sanity, their loves and their very lives to "get the story." Lara Santoro's writing is beautifully crafted, yet powerfully real. There's an important "message" in this book about Africa and HIV-AIDS but there is no lecturing, and no quick fixes presented. Instead, it brings the overwhelming "big picture" down to the personal level; in doing so, it touches your heart. You won't soon forget this story.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tightly written and powerful, September 25, 2007

By	Y. Jones "voracious reader" (Taos, NM USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First, I confess to being acquainted with the author and to having lived in Kenya for two years. I found the novel compelling and affecting. By understating emotions, not dragging out scenes, and individualizing the HIV crisis in Africa to two very believable women, Santoro has written a novel that was hard to put down and will stay with me for a long time. This was not a polemic about the failure of governments and of drug companies to do more, but a story in a powerful narrative voice that conveyed reality through the eyes of a very real and engaging narrator. I also appreciated that she conveyed the strength and joy of Kenyan women in face of the hand life deals them.