Superrooster

A Mercy | Toni Morrison

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Toni Morrison's slim novel A Mercy made its way on to my TBR stack because of the @tournamentofbooks #superrooster contest in October. A Mercy won the ToB in 2009 . . . AND just won the "Super Rooster," the contest between the 16 winners of the Tournament. I love Morrison's work, so it was no surprise that this book features brilliant writing and a story that requires some work to piece together. ⬇️

UnabridgedPod The novel, set in 1680s Maryland, focuses on five characters: Jacob Vaark, an Anglo-Dutch trader who is distinctly NOT interested in owning slaves; his wife, who is basically a mail-order bride; Lina, a Native woman who is his servant; Florens, a young enslaved girl who he accepts as payment for a debt; and Sorrow, a mysterious girl found in the ocean who also becomes his servant. What ensues is primarily the perspectives of these women ⬇️ 4y

UnabridgedPod (we hear occasionally from Jacob) whose stories emphasize the roles of gender and racism in the amount of agency they have over their own lives. ⠀
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As always, I appreciate so many of the ToB judgments. In her essay, judge Myriam Gurba wrote, "Although Toni Morrison‘s A Mercy is historical fiction, the novel couldn‘t be timelier. An aestheticized facsimile of 17th-century New England, the book reminds us that dystopia isn‘t new to these shores. ⬇️ 4y

UnabridgedPod Apocalypses can take a long time, generations in fact, and often, their origins are hard to pinpoint, especially when one lives among people whose patriotism hinges on forgetting. When false propaganda colonizes history books, fiction can return some scraps of truth to us. Literature can provoke our unforgetting and such a provocation is a kindness that A Mercy bestows." ⬇️ 4y

UnabridgedPod A Mercy isn't an easy book--nothing by Toni Morrison is--but wow, is it ever brilliant. And it could NOT feel more timely this week.⠀
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What books are you appreciating right now? 4y

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merelybookish

Super Rooster to the Rescue | S. D. Burke

Tomorrow the #TOB #Superrooster will be decided. The winner is a no brainer. While I love Normal People, Morrison's A Mercy is the more enduring work of art.
Anyone else been following? Some of the reviews have been 🔥🔥🔥

sarahbarnes Agreed! And you called it! 🤓 4y

MicheleinPhilly I‘m still traumatized by the NP/Underground Railroad “judgment.” 4y

merelybookish @sarahbarnes Well, my original guess was Cloud Atlas but I'm glad I was wrong about that. 4y

merelybookish @MicheleinPhilly Yeah that was incredibly insulting! 4y

BarbaraBB It‘s no surprise Morrison made it to the finals and I am sure she‘ll win the Super Rooster. So it‘s about time I read the book! 😀 4y

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merelybookish

A Mercy | Toni Morrison

Got in a lovely hike today! It was much needed.
Listening to the tagged book (one of the #Superrooster contenders I missed). Really liking it, thinking maybe it should win it all. It's been a while since I've read Morrison. Ive forgotten how brilliant she is.

MsMelissa Lovely view! 4y

Texreader How beautiful!! Where is this? 4y

merelybookish @Book_Fiend_Melissa It was good for the soul! 4y

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merelybookish @Texreader Evergreen, CO just outside Denver. 4y

Texreader @merelybookish I was guessing Colorado! I‘ve been a couple times and husband was just there camping this summer. So so beautiful. 4y

Leftcoastzen Nice! 4y

Avanders Beautiful!! 😍🥰 4y

Freespirit It looks amazing 😍 4y

BarbaraBB Really? Maybe I should read it too for the ToB. 4y

merelybookish @BarbaraBB Did you read today's verdict? Made me think how quickly books get dated. But this book still feels relevant. 4y

BarbaraBB I read it and you are right. I didn‘t love either of them nu the way when I read them. But - I have been thinking about Morrison because I was surprised I hadn‘t even heard of it. Looking forward to your review 💕 4y

BarbaraBB She beat Wolf Hall! I‘m sure now that I need a copy too 😀 4y

merelybookish @BarbaraBB I think it could go on to win. It's not Morrison's best but even weak Morrison is better than most. Plus it speaks to our current moment, in the US at least. 4y

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merelybookish

Cloud Atlas | David Mitchell

Round 1 of #SuperRooster today. Cloud Atlas vs. The Accidental. (The one I expected but not the one I wanted prevailed.)
But I enjoyed this exchange in the commentary! I also like both kinds of books, but probably tend more to the sly, observant cat.
I'm a 🐈 person. What can I say?!

Ruthiella OMG I totally forgot. Working from home totally totally sucks all my online surfing time up! Thanks for the reminder! 😀 4y

BkClubCare @Ruthiella - no way! Today ... was harder than yesterday. Maybe a good thing we have a weekend. 4y

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merelybookish

Rooster | Don Trembath

I've been a big #TOB fan for a while. Maybe not 16 years, but close. So I am pretty excited about the #SuperRooster which starts Wed. I've read 12/16 of the #TOB winners. I really, really, really love 3 of them, and kind of love a couple more. I have no idea what book will win! My early prediction is Cloud Atlas or Oscar Wao. My heart is rooting for The Accidental or Goon Squad. I'm hoping it's not Wolf Hall.
Regardless, it will be fun to follow!

Ruthiella I‘m also looking forward to the ultimate rooster showdown! 🐓 I only started following it in 2013. 4y

BarbaraBB Me too! It‘s the best in choosing books I‘d never would have considered otherwise. 4y

BarbaraBB Based on the brackets I think Cloud Atlas can be in the finals against The Underground Railroad. There are 3 I haven‘t read! 4y

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BarbaraBB Also, did I miss voting for the zombies or couldn‘t we vote? 4y

merelybookish @Ruthiella I'm started the year Wolf Hall won. Not sure what year that was. 4y

merelybookish @BarbaraBB Oh, that's a good guess for final two! I don't know if there are was a zombie vote. If there was, I obviously missed it. 😄 I might try to read Morrison's A Mercy since it's short and Im happy to read her. But otherwise am okay not reading the others (which I don't think will win eg. The Sellout). 4y

Ruthiella @BarbaraBB @merelybookish There‘s no zombie vote for the Super Rooster. Instead, the books will be pitted in the zombie round against the book they won against originally in the finals. So, for example, The Underground Railroads would be up against Homegoing. 4y

BarbaraBB I haven‘t read A Mercy either 4y

merelybookish @Ruthiella Wow! So a book that isn't even in the initial tournament could win it all! Now that would be an upset. 🧟 4y

Ruthiella @merelybookish I KNOW! I love it when there‘s an upset! 🧟‍♀️ 🐓❤️ 4y

merelybookish @Ruthiella Jonathan Franzen's Freedom better not come back and win it all!! 😳 4y

Ruthiella @merelybookish As we both know, anything can happen in the TOB. It‘s a blood sport! 🤪 4y

merelybookish @Ruthiella I will still be pissed! 🤣 But I don't think Franzen is viewed as quite the wunderkind he was 10ish years ago. 4y

Ruthiella @merelybookish Nah, he doesn‘t have a chance. 4y

46 likes14 comments

Karkar

Super Rooster to the Rescue | S. D. Burke

Gathered all my books I have left to read for the #superrooster books. Thanks to @thebluestocking for talking about the Super Rooster! I am so excited to start reading. 📚📚📚

thebluestocking That‘s a lovely stack!! 💙 4y

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thebluestocking

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

This is the current state of my #SuperRooster reading. I definitely want to read The Accidental and A Visit from the Goon Squad before the tournament starts in October, but I‘m not sure I‘ll get to Wolf Hall or The Sellout. #tob

Hooked_on_books The Sellout is really good, but you have to make sure you have no distractions and really pay attention to it. I found it required my whole brain but was worth the effort. 4y

Karkar This sounds like fun! I will have to get busy reading. 4y

thebluestocking @Hooked_on_books I‘ll have to try again. I read about half of it on audio when it was originally in the Tournament, but I just couldn‘t find anything to grab on to. 4y

thebluestocking @Karkar Yay! The Tournament of Books is always a blast, and this year we get two! 4y

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thebluestocking

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

These are the 16 winners of the Tournament of Books #tob; in other words, the contestants for the #SuperRooster.

I‘m not sure which I‘m rooting for yet. I loved Cloud Atlas, The Road, and Station Eleven and liked a whole bunch more.

Ruthiella I will be excited to see the judgments. I don‘t have a favorite to win, however. Of those I read, the only one I am not 100% behind is Fever Dream. But I think I just didn‘t “get” it. 🤔 4y

thebluestocking @Ruthiella I had a hard time with Fever Dream too. It was too...blurry for my taste. 💙 (edited) 4y

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thebluestocking

The Rooster Crows: A Book of American Rhymes and Jingles | Maud Petersham, Miska Petersham

The Super Rooster is coming!! I can‘t wait. I think I have 3-4 books still to read. Time to get on it. Only a month to go!

Are you planning on playing along? #superrooster #tob

https://themorningnews.org/article/announcing-the-super-rooster

Ruthiella I still have The Accidental and The Road to read. I might get to the Ali Smith in time but I REALLY don‘t want to read the McCarthy. 😱 4y

thebluestocking @Ruthiella I still have The Accidental too. And The Sellout (which I DNFed its year), and Wolf Hall, and A Visit from the Goon Squad. I get not wanting to read The Road, but it‘s one of my all time favorite books. 💙 4y

BarbaraBB I love it! There are 3 I didn‘t read: The Good Lord Bird, The Orphan Master‘s Son and A Mercy. Looking forward to it! (edited) 4y

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BkClubCare Squeeeeeeeeeeee!! SO excited (and a little bit scared of the zombies I won‘t be reading...) 4y

BkClubCare I should re-read The Sellout only because I skipped thru most of the last half - NOT because I didn‘t enjoy it but I had too many other books to read for that year‘s TOB. (And it was being reviewed enough to catch most of whatever plot it had). I could/should but won‘t read any zombies prior to 2013. The only one after that I missed was Warlight. 4y

BkClubCare @Ruthiella - just watch the movie? I like McCarthy. There, I said it! 4y

BkClubCare @BarbaraBB Good Lord Bird might be my TOP favorite! 4y

BarbaraBB @BkClubCare Really? I‘ve never even heard of it! Must find out!! 4y

Ruthiella @BkClubCare I‘ve never read any McCarthy but I suspect the movie will be sad and scary and I don‘t like that. 😰 4y

thebluestocking @BarbaraBB I quite enjoyed all three of those. I hope you do too! 💙 4y

thebluestocking @BkClubCare Yay!!! It‘s so exciting. I have a hard time with satire. But I‘m going to recommit! 💙 4y

BkClubCare @Ruthiella - I get it. 4y

BkClubCare @thebluestocking - I don‘t always get satire but I do get the humor of it most of the time. I see it as absurdity and snark. Good Lord Bird satire is preferred over Orphan Master's Son, for me. 4y

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thebluestocking

A Mercy | Toni Morrison

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I enjoyed this short book about a slave girl pulled away from her mother and brother to serve on a small farm in Maryland. Each section is told from a different perspective, and they come together in a highly satisfactory way. I can see why this book won the #ToB in 2009, and I read it in preparation for the #superRooster I hope is forthcoming.

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