The book that I am doing this blog on is "A Mercy", and the author is Toni Morrison. The book is about a Florens, a black slave that is 16 years old. The book opens with her and her family being separated from one another by a malicious master. Florens is saved by a good master named Jacob Vaark, her "minah mae" or mother chose to leave Florens with Jacob Vaark. She took her and her newborn with a wicked master, in order to give Florens a better chance. Florens is then shipped to live on the plantation owned by her new master, and his wife Rebekka. Tensions builds up when Jacob Vaark contracts smallpox and dies. Shortley after the death of her husband, Rebekka also catches smallpox. She thens sends Florens to find the blacksmith, whom Florens is in love with. She brings the blacksmith back in time to save Rebekka. Florens and a little foundling of the blacksmith get into a scuffle and Florens is sent away. Florens begins to come to terms with her life, including past and present. The final chapter is about "minah mae", who explains why she did the things that she did in her life. She explains that above all, she just wanted her daughter to receive mercy.
I think that to convince a librarian to put this book on their shelves, it must be said that this book is amazing literature, created by an amazing writer. Toni Morrison is most known for her book "Beloved", "A Mercy" is kind of like a prelude to that. I would also remind the librarian that this book is fictional, but is based on historical events that occured quite commonly back during those dark times. It's just a historical fiction with an amazing story, it's a very good read for teenagers, who wish to be enlightened on how the world was during those times. The wording in this book is complex, it would be good read for any age. It is not a long book, but the themes are what make this book a work of art. One theme that I noticed in this book was "slavery and freedom", even though no slaves were freed, all of the slaves on Jacob Vaark's plantation felt free under his jurisdiction. This theme has always been popular and people find it interesting. It shows people what life was like back not so long ago. Not every plantation was controlled by malicious owners, and I think that this book captures that element of history. Slavery is just a very controversial topic that people like to explore, that is why I truly believe having this book in every library is essential. In order to read this book, and fully get lost into it, you cant speed read this it is a slow book, with little action. This book enlightens the reader on a good portion of what went through a slaves mind during those times. This is just another reason to put this hardcover on the shelves.
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