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A review by nancf
Mercy Street by Jennifer Haigh
5.0
Mercy Street may not have been a book I would have sought out, but for listening to an zoom dialogue with the author and Stewart O'Nan, sponsored by a local bookstore. I had heard of Haigh, a semi-local author, born in Barnesboro, Cambria County. The discussion of the book intrigued me and when I saw it at the library, I picked it up to read. I read it quickly, during days of waiting.
Mercy Street is primarily the story of Claudia Birch, a social worker/counselor at a woman's health clinic in Boston. However, the story also includes Timmy, Claudia's marijuana dealer; Victor, a "pro-life" vigilante of sorts; and Victor's lieutenant, Anthony, who is also a friend/client of Timmy's. The reader gets a lot of background on each character, and their reasons for their actions, and stance on abortion. And in the end, the connections and motivations come together in endings that I did not see coming, yet seemed so, so right.
Aside from the issue of abortion, the novel also addresses loneliness, superficial/on-line relationships, poverty and class, among other things. And it does so by presenting the humanness of the people holding various views.
I am now looking forward to reading Haigh's other novels.
"He'd been told he had a problem with authority. He didn't like hearing it, which proved it was entirely true." (77)
"The point is, what's a good reason [to want an abortion]? Who gets to decide?" (93)
Mercy Street is primarily the story of Claudia Birch, a social worker/counselor at a woman's health clinic in Boston. However, the story also includes Timmy, Claudia's marijuana dealer; Victor, a "pro-life" vigilante of sorts; and Victor's lieutenant, Anthony, who is also a friend/client of Timmy's. The reader gets a lot of background on each character, and their reasons for their actions, and stance on abortion. And in the end, the connections and motivations come together in endings that I did not see coming, yet seemed so, so right.
Aside from the issue of abortion, the novel also addresses loneliness, superficial/on-line relationships, poverty and class, among other things. And it does so by presenting the humanness of the people holding various views.
I am now looking forward to reading Haigh's other novels.
"He'd been told he had a problem with authority. He didn't like hearing it, which proved it was entirely true." (77)
"The point is, what's a good reason [to want an abortion]? Who gets to decide?" (93)