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Mercy Among the Children
Mercy Among the Children: A Novel | David Adams Richards
9 posts | 11 read | 12 to read
Sydney Henderson is a truly great man. As a young man, Sydney, believing he has accidentally killed a friend, makes a pact with God, promising never to harm another if the boy's life is spared. In the years that follow, the almost pathologically gentle Sydney holds true to his promise - at terrible cost to himself and his family. Stunningly beautiful and haunting, scenes from this magisterial novel will remain etched in the mind forever.
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KVanRead
Mercy Among the Children: A Novel | David Adams Richards
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September‘s a wrap!
10 books read + 2 DNF/🐻
Four 5⭐️, four 4⭐️, one 3⭐️, one 2⭐️
4 books for #ReadCanada
4 books knocked off #TBRMountain
1 excellent group read #SheSaid
2 bingos + #BookSpin: The Lost City of Z & #DoubleSpin: Ridgerunner (🐻)
Fave = tie between Mercy Among the Children and The Idiot
Thanks to #BookSpinBingo and @TheAromaofBooks I once again discovered I really like the books I‘ve already bought!🤷🏻‍♀️😂

Now, bring on 👻reads!!

MsMelissa You had an awesome reading month! 4y
KVanRead @Book_Fiend_Melissa Yah, I guess I did, didn‘t I?😊 thanks 🤗 4y
TheAromaofBooks Great progress this month!! So glad that Bingo is helping you get some things checked off!!! 4y
25 likes3 comments
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KVanRead
Mercy Among the Children: A Novel | David Adams Richards
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merelybookish I always mean to read more DA Richards! 4y
julesG Sadly very true. 4y
KVanRead @merelybookish This was my first. Any others you recommend? 4y
30 likes5 comments
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KVanRead
Mercy Among the Children: A Novel | David Adams Richards
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Clare-Dragonfly That is lovely, and so true. 4y
CaffeineAndCandy ❤❤❤ 4y
KVanRead @Clare-Dragonfly @ABooksyGirl It really hit home for me. My grandfather always said you‘ll never be lonely as long as you have a book.💘 4y
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review
KVanRead
Mercy Among the Children: A Novel | David Adams Richards
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Yay for the #ReadCanada Challenge for finally getting me to read this 2000 Giller Prize winner. What an incredible read. A gripping, heartbreaking story of a man who vows to never harm another person and the cascading effect this has on both those who love and those who hate him. The hard scrabble, rural #NewBrunswick setting seems very accurate and quite like where my husband grew up in Nova Scotia - the characters so real I think ⤵️

KVanRead (Cont‘d) I‘ve met some of them IRL. The prose is more exposition heavy than I usually like, but it was so gorgeous I wanted to commit it all to memory. This is an omniscient narrator so masterful I was completely enthralled. The final plot twist of almost Dickensian proportions was the only moment I had trouble suspending disbelief, but it moved me nonetheless. A great novel by a truly great writer. 4y
MsMelissa Yay! I‘m glad you liked it. Is it really literary? I need to know if I should push it off until I‘m in a literary mood again 😂 PS - I‘m married to a Maritimer, too, although in my case my husband is from New Brunswick 😊 4y
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candority This is my pick for New Brunswick as well! So glad to hear that you enjoyed it 😊 I‘m hoping to get to it by the end of the year. 4y
KVanRead @Book_Fiend_Melissa Haha, those Maritimers are everywhere ☺️ but they do make pretty good spouses! ...I would say the style is pretty literary but was also a page turner for me. I couldn‘t stop listening towards the end. The audiobook narration by Bernard Clark is very good. 4y
KVanRead @candority Hope you like it too!! 4y
Josee.lit.a.lu.et.lira Wow, great review, I can feel it! I‘ll put it on my list fir next year‘s #ReadCanada challenged. This year, it‘s women authors only 😉 4y
CarolynM Sounds good. Stacked for New Brunswick🙂 4y
merelybookish I'm from New Brunswick! 🙂 Richards is somewhat controversial there. There's pride of his success but also resentment for his depiction. 4y
KVanRead @Josee.a.lu.lit.et.lira Cool! Hope you enjoy it when you get to it. 4y
KVanRead @CarolynM Hope you like it! 4y
KVanRead @merelybookish That makes sense - I can see how people might react that way. It‘s not exactly the LM Montgomery treatment of an Atlantic Canadian province. 4y
30 likes1 stack add12 comments
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KVanRead
Mercy Among the Children: A Novel | David Adams Richards
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“Terrieux lived in a small apartment on the fourth floor of a rooming house in the south end of Saint John, New Brunswick.”

#FirstLineFridays
#ReadCanada #NewBrunswick

ImperfectCJ New Brunswick has been on my mind a lot lately (not sure why), and this looks like an interesting book to feed my ruminations. 4y
KVanRead @ImperfectCJ I‘m listening to it on audio and I may have to buy a print copy because the writing is so good I keep stopping to go back over his beautiful sentences. Not a light read but so well written. 4y
MsMelissa I hope this is a good one, especially since it‘s also my book for New Brunswick. There doesn‘t seem to be much for choice for the province, unless you go for non-fiction (and evening then the choices are limited). 4y
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KVanRead @Book_Fiend_Melissa It‘s really good so far, but pretty heartbreaking 4y
merelybookish @Book_Fiend_Melissa Another option for NB. An Acadian classic. 4y
MsMelissa @merelybookish thank you! I‘ll lol for that one. 4y
33 likes2 stack adds6 comments
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LaraS
Mercy Among the Children: A Novel | David Adams Richards

Only one chapter left when suddenly my bus arrived at work, so I did what any bibliophile would do: ran into work, locked myself in a bathroom stall, and finished reading. This book was wonderful and depressing, and for both those reasons I needed it to be over. 💔 ❤ 💔 ❤

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scripturient
Mercy Among the Children: A Novel | David Adams Richards
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It‘s finally here! My #blanketandabookswap package. 😁 Thank you so much, @Book_in_hands ! The book looks super interesting and the blanket is so soft! I love both of them. Hope you enjoyed your package as well. 😊

TheKidUpstairs I have this book on my TBR shelf too! One of many praised CanLit books that I haven't gotten to.... yet... 7y
Sarah83 Mhm.... Die the postman walk all the way? 😉 7y
Earlene This book is one of my favourites. My father grew up near where the book is set so I have been to all the locations. (edited) 7y
72 likes3 comments
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TheKidUpstairs
Mercy Among the Children: A Novel | David Adams Richards
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Cinfhen This sounds so good! Have you read it? Like the hashtag 😍 7y
TheKidUpstairs @Cinfhen Not yet! I picked it up not too long ago in a second hand book haul. 7y
Cinfhen Keep me posted...I'm really curious 7y
50 likes3 comments
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ihugducks
Mercy Among the Children: A Novel | David Adams Richards
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Thrift store find! Starting this tonight...

DJS One of my favourites! 8y
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