“A Mercy”

With A Mercy (Knopf, 2008), Toni Morrison has created another memorable work of fiction. “Everyone in A Mercy is damaged; a few, once in a while, find strength to act out of love, or at least out of mercy — that is, when those who have the power to do harm decide not to exercise it,” writes David Gates in the New York Times. “A negative virtue, but perhaps more lasting than love.” Judith Freeman of the Los Angeles Times sums up the novel’s significance: “Yes, A Mercy is about slavery, but in the most universal sense, meaning the limits we place on ourselves as well as the confinements we suffer at the hands of others.”