Welcome to our 12 Days of Holiday Gifts. As we mentioned in episode 17 of the podcast, for the 12 days leading up to Thanksgiving, we’ll be giving you our picks for great gifts. Then, on Thanksgiving night, we’ll have a Gift Guide available for you to download. The guide will include the 12 books featured on the blog, plus many other gift ideas, several under $20!
A Mercy by Toni Morrison
If someone on your gift list loves wonderful writing, historical settings, and a theme that resonates as much today as when the book takes place, A Mercy is the book to give.
It’s the late 1600s, and Maryland is mostly wilderness. Jacob, a trader, is coerced into accepting Florens, a young slave girl, in payment for an overdue debt. Her mother puts Florens up for sale in order to save her, a heartbreaking moment that left me breathless as I read. Jacob and his wife Rebekka are humanitarians, as slave owners go, but when sickness befalls the family, a comfortable life is in jeopardy. The story is told masterfully through many voices: Florens and her mother, Jacob, Rebekka, elderly servant Lina, and Sorrow, a young girl with a mysterious background.
In a sense, this book is a prelude to Nobel Laureate Morrison’s Beloved, but I also think that this is perhaps Morrison’s most accessible book yet. Short and spare, with language that is precise and exact, it reads easily and yet often feels like poetry. I can’t recommend this book enough, and I hope that many of you share this beautiful novel with your family and friends this holiday season.
As an added bonus, this gorgeous novel is also available in unabridged audio, read by Toni Morrison herself.
A Mercy by Toni Morrison
ISBN: 978-0-307-26423-7
$23.95
Unabridged audio:
ISBN: 978-0-739-33254-2
$29.95
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I can’t say enough wonderful things about this book, and I’m so glad you guys are promoting it as a holiday gift. It is a most perfect selection. Poets & Writers magazine has an excellent review and interview with Morrison this month that would be a good addition to this gift for a reader.
I adore Toni Morrison. First fell in love when I read “Song of Solomon” for a class in college and haven’t looked back. A monumental novel, but difficult. Looking forward to reading this one. I didn’t even know about it.
Also, just wanted to say that I love this holiday series you have going on. Can’t wait for the full wrap up. Might as well just email it to anyone asking what I want for Christmas!
Rebecca and Shelley, thank you!
Shelley, I love your idea of emailing the e-book as a wishlist. Hmm, we might have to work on that.
What about a PDF that you can download and email out?
Shelley-
Once you’ve downloaded our PDF gift guide, you should have no problem sending it to all your friends! Let me know if you have any problems, but it should work fine!