Mercy

D. H. Rodriguez

Sept 2012 · Working Class Publishing

About this eBook

An unwilling mother and housewife, Mercy turns to drugs and the dregs of California’s High Desert as an escape, her world disintegrates as she struggles with the chaos she has created. Incapable of taking responsibility for her actions, she abuses and alienates those who would try to help, and those who love her most. Mercy is the tale of one woman’s descent into drug fueled madness, the reverberating impact it has on the world around her, and the powerful courage it takes to leave her behind.

Ratings and reviews

At times tragic or shocking, and at times uplifting and wonderful, “Mercy” is an incredible short novel primarily about the female lead character of the same name. The story is told through very detailed snapshots of her life in non-linear format. It is hard to call Mercy the protagonist because we know from the first page that she is an absolutely terrible person trapped in a miserable life. Through the majority of the novel she seems almost like the antagonist, causing all of the problems in the story. Her actions are frustrating to the point of wanting to shout at a fictitious character. Deeper into the story, it can be argued that the real hero is Mercy’s daughter Crystal. Although Crystal has her own share of trouble, her story is one of survival and redemption. Other characters remain true-to-life, and the author is careful not to simply identify people as “good” or “bad”, but instead blurs those lines with the heartbreaking humanity of the characters. Even Ghost/Clement, who in my opinion might be one of the most disgusting and horrible characters in contemporary literature, is found to have his own shred of humanity when Rodriguez slyly allows the reader to feel compassion