Kamis, 29 Desember 2011

The Hard to Catch Mercy: A Novel (Southern Revivals), by William Baldwin

The Hard to Catch Mercy: A Novel (Southern Revivals), by William Baldwin

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The Hard to Catch Mercy: A Novel (Southern Revivals), by William Baldwin

The Hard to Catch Mercy: A Novel (Southern Revivals), by William Baldwin



The Hard to Catch Mercy: A Novel (Southern Revivals), by William Baldwin

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From lowcountry writer William Baldwin comes a new edition of his 1993 Lillian Smith Award–winning novel, The Hard to Catch Mercy. Including a new introduction by the author, this Southern Revivals edition makes available once more a story that touches on the issues of religion, race, and coming-of-age in the post–Civil War South, when the lines between these issues were not always clear. Set in fictional Cedar Point, a small southern community in the early 1900s, The Hard to Catch Mercy is told through the eyes of a young boy, Willie T., who is forced to confront the changing world around him. Including a cast of incredibly outlandish characters, Baldwin’s novel is a wild, darkly comic tale rich with trick mules, Christian voodoo, fire, brimstone, first love, death, and the end of the world as Willie T. knows it.

The Hard to Catch Mercy: A Novel (Southern Revivals), by William Baldwin

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #1520149 in eBooks
  • Published on: 2015-03-02
  • Released on: 2015-03-02
  • Format: Kindle eBook
The Hard to Catch Mercy: A Novel (Southern Revivals), by William Baldwin

From Kirkus Reviews Episodes from a southern boyhood: family intrigue, post-Civil War history, race, religion, and superstition are all part of the mix in Baldwin's meandering first novel. It's 1916. Our narrator, 14-year-old Willie T. Allson, lives in the tiny coastal town of Cedar Point, South Carolina, with his nonagenarian Grandpa, his parents, Maum Anna, the redoubtable black servant who has kept him alive, and his playmate Sammy, Anna's nephew. The Allsons live in the shadow of the war, when the Union Navy destroyed the family home and a valuable dowry disappeared. Meanwhile, Willie's placid childhood is enlivened by the arrival of his go-getting cousin, Uncle Jimmy, whose aggressive courtship of Amy Mercy, a poor white girl from the swamp, precipitates a tragedy. Both Uncle Jimmy and Willie love Amy dearly; she dies suddenly (accidental poisoning), and her fearsome brother, the Hard to Catch (he excels at retrieving lost animals), disrupts her funeral and rides off with her body. The Hard to Catch is a devil- figure against whom Willie's silver cross offers only partial protection; his death at Willie's hands ends the novel and marks Willie's passage into manhood. Yet the conflict between these two erupts only spasmodically, competing with other incidents--like the arrival of mysterious Aunt Lydia from Paris, who smokes, paints her fingernails, and believes ``the Negro in the South was much maligned'': food for thought for Willie, who has accepted Grandpa's poisonous fantasies of a Negro uprising ushering in a cannibal kingdom. As the outside world comes knocking, and Uncle Jimmy and Sammy enlist, so the gentleness of the opening is eclipsed by a succession of violent deaths. Baldwin seems to back into this darker material almost inadvertently, suggesting a lack of control. That's a pity, too, because overall Baldwin's debut has considerable charm, tall tales and all. (First printing of 20,000) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review "A fine large-scale send up of the Great Southern Novel." --New York Times"All readers of Southern fiction will enjoy this one." --Library Journal"Southern story-telling at its best."--Richmond Times-Dispatch"A work of art." --Raleigh News & Observer"[A] funny, sad, gentle, violent story . . . The adventures of Willie T. are so exciting a reader can scarcely get from page to page fast enough." --Detroit Free Press

From the Back Cover "Southern Story-Telling At Its Best."

-- Richmond Times-Dispatch

"A Work Of Art...Baldwin's first novel is like a great wheel with fifteen spokes, each spoke an adventure emanating from its hub in the story of the Allson family of Cedar Point in low-country South Carolina. Set in 1916, most of the tale involves the maturation of the 14-year-old narrator, Willie T. Allson, who learns about sex, death, history and the fragile nature of happiness."

-- The Raleigh News & Observer

"[A] Funny, Sad, Gentle, Violent Story...The adventures of Willie T. are so exciting a reader can scarcely get from page to page fast enough."

-- Detroit Free Press

"An Epic Tale Of Southern Myth, Mystery and Mayhem...If our stories are our true wealth, Willie T. is the richest boy ever born...Baldwin pokes us in the ribs [and] seeps into our heart...The Hard to Catch Mercy slides from your eyes to your mouth, begging to be read aloud."

-- The Indianapolis News

"Remarkable...A story that is both personal and larger than life."

-- The Greensboro News & Record

"A Compelling Tale...A whale of a good story; though dark in its vision of life, it's a full-tilt, call-home-the-dogs, shoot-the-duck, Katie-bar-the-door, can't-put-it-down kind of read. If this novel is any indication, William Baldwin is a major new talent in American literature, and his work is a worthy addition to the proud line of modern Southern literature that arose with Faulkner."

-- The Virginian-Pilot/The Ledger-Star


The Hard to Catch Mercy: A Novel (Southern Revivals), by William Baldwin

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Most helpful customer reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Great for those of us who love Southern tales By A Customer While this book may not be quite as well crafted as a Faulkner tale, it is easier to read and just about as interesting. Like most good books, when this one ended, I wanted to know what happened next and have continued to think about it for days. We see a boy come of age and face challenging questions about the authenticity of the truths he has been raised with. His sheltered life is turned upside down with the arrival of outsiders who shed a new light on family history and personal values. Teenagers of every generation deal with these changes, and watching Willie T. struggle through them reminds us that we should challenge presumptions, prejuidices and rumors, that we should look beyond outward appearances and find the real truth, or at least pursue it. Don't worry though, it isn't a preachy book. In the fine tradition of the South, it is much more subtle than that. It's a romance, an adventure and a look into a way of life that probably hasn't disappeared all together no matter how much some people prefer to think that it has.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Great Southern tale, no matter how you season it. By A Customer Baldwin serves up a great Southern tale but lets you have some say in the seasoning. Stories are told from different angles and so you have to reason out your own version of events. It's not the least bit confusing, however; because Baldwin is too good of a story teller for that.You can believe that the Hard to Catch Mercy's (yes, that is a character's name) sister was or wasn't pregnant. You can believe that a great family treasure (buried somewhere) exists or never existed. Was the preacher's wife guilty in deed or only in thought? I enjoyed entertaining the different possibilities and the subtle flavor changes they brought to the tale.Maum Anna is so complex and rich of a character that I can't imagine that Baldwin invented her. Instead, I choose to believe that he knows Maum Anna personally. I hope he does because I really have to know what kind of Christian, Voodoo-whammy Maum Anna unleashed upon the sheriffs poor ole dogs! I'm listening Mr. Baldwin,! tell me another tale.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. The Hard to Catch Mercy By peach at the beach I personally know William Baldwin and have enjoyed the books he co-authored, so decided to read this novel. It is really difficult to stay with the story due to the style of writing he chose and the slow moving story itself. I've put it down for awhile and will try it again soon. I live in the lowcountry and therefore enjoy reading about the area and also reading certain southern authors. For William Baldwin reads, try "Mrs. Whaley and Her Charleston Garden", Mrs. Whaley Entertains" and "Heaven is a Beautiful Place" co-authored with Julia Peterkin. This book may be just a bit too "Faulkner" for me.

See all 8 customer reviews... The Hard to Catch Mercy: A Novel (Southern Revivals), by William Baldwin


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The Hard to Catch Mercy: A Novel (Southern Revivals), by William Baldwin

The Hard to Catch Mercy: A Novel (Southern Revivals), by William Baldwin
The Hard to Catch Mercy: A Novel (Southern Revivals), by William Baldwin

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