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The Speed of Mercy
“Dark family secrets, the lore of the sea, and a tender, protective friendship between women all converge in The Speed of Mercy, an unusual and surprising story set in idyllic rural Nova Scotia. With subtle humour, Conlin picks the locks on the long-closed doors of two families and bares the ugly, painful skeletons everyone knew were there but chose to hide.” — Sylvia D. Hamilton, author of And I Alone Escaped To Tell You
The Speed of Mercy captures the unbearable cost of childhood betrayal and what happens when history is suppressed, our past is forgotten — yet finding the truth can change the future. Christy Ann Conlin rips into the myths and stereotypes about older women and those on the edge of conventional society to reveal the timeless gift of mercy in this feminist tour de force.
“Christy Ann Conlin is a conjurer: of place, people, and the haunting past. I was instantly caught up in the darkly mysterious world and indelible characters she has brought to life. Gripping, suspenseful, and lyrically written, The Speed of Mercy caught me by the throat and didn’t let go.” — Alix Ohlin, Scotiabank Giller Prize–shortlisted author of Dual Citizens
The Speed of Mercy captures the unbearable cost of childhood betrayal and what happens when history is suppressed, our past is forgotten — yet finding the truth can change the future. Christy Ann Conlin rips into the myths and stereotypes about older women and those on the edge of conventional society to reveal the timeless gift of mercy in this feminist tour de force.
“Christy Ann Conlin is a conjurer: of place, people, and the haunting past. I was instantly caught up in the darkly mysterious world and indelible characters she has brought to life. Gripping, suspenseful, and lyrically written, The Speed of Mercy caught me by the throat and didn’t let go.” — Alix Ohlin, Scotiabank Giller Prize–shortlisted author of Dual Citizens
384 pages, Paperback
First published March 23, 2021
14 people are currently reading
498 people want to read
About the author
Christy Ann Conlin
7 books74 followersChristy Ann Conlin is a writer, essayist, broadcaster, wildflower enthusiast and public speaker who lives with her family in seaside Nova Scotia.
Watermark, her first collection of short stories, won the Miramichi Reader Gold for Short Fiction, was shortlisted for the 2019 Danuta Gleed Literary Award and the 2020 Evergreen Award.
Conlin's first novel, Heave, was a Globe and Mail “Top 100” book, a finalist for the Amazon.ca First Novel Award in 2003 and was shortlisted for the Thomas H. Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award and the Dartmouth Book Award. Heave was also longlisted for the 2011 CBC Canada Reads Novels of the Decade. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed genre-bending novel, The Memento.
Her short fiction has been long listed for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and the American Short Fiction Prize. Her work has also appeared in numerous anthologies and literary journals including Brick and Best Canadian Stories. Christy Ann hosted the popular 2012 CBC national summer radio series Fear Itself. She teaches at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies online Creative Writing program.
THE SPEED OF MERCY, Conlin's new novel, publishes on March 23, 2021 Canada, and August 3, 2021, USA. The Speed of Mercy will also be published as an ebook, audiobook and braille book.
Watermark, her first collection of short stories, won the Miramichi Reader Gold for Short Fiction, was shortlisted for the 2019 Danuta Gleed Literary Award and the 2020 Evergreen Award.
Conlin's first novel, Heave, was a Globe and Mail “Top 100” book, a finalist for the Amazon.ca First Novel Award in 2003 and was shortlisted for the Thomas H. Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award and the Dartmouth Book Award. Heave was also longlisted for the 2011 CBC Canada Reads Novels of the Decade. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed genre-bending novel, The Memento.
Her short fiction has been long listed for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and the American Short Fiction Prize. Her work has also appeared in numerous anthologies and literary journals including Brick and Best Canadian Stories. Christy Ann hosted the popular 2012 CBC national summer radio series Fear Itself. She teaches at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies online Creative Writing program.
THE SPEED OF MERCY, Conlin's new novel, publishes on March 23, 2021 Canada, and August 3, 2021, USA. The Speed of Mercy will also be published as an ebook, audiobook and braille book.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
June 2, 2021
I grew up in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia, and that is where this novel is set, in the Valley, and the North Mountain, the Bay of Fundy, the Minas Basin. The Cornwallis River makes an appearance. The landscape is eerily familiar, yet the names of the towns and the counties in this novel have all been invented; this emphasizes the air of an alternate reality, invokes a different version of the world that lives just the other side of what we think we know.
The Speed of Mercy is a mystery of sorts, a family drama. Is it a big mystery? It is the mystery of life, the mystery of secrets, the mystery of stories yet to be told. This is a beautiful novel, which grabbed onto me like thrillers are said to do, except thrillers don't do that for me, but this book did. This book grabbed me, the mysteries grabbed me, the language moved me, the landscape teased me, the cold tides of the Bay of Fundy tugged at my legs.
The tension in this book, the constant movement between familiarity and alienation, has morphed and reconfigured into a powerful narrative. I constantly was pulled between thinking, I've been there, I know where that is; and the feeling of being lost, upended, at sea. What is really going on?
The Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world; you can walk on the sea floor and hours later at the same spot the waves are battering the cliffs. This novel, The Speed of Mercy, exhibits the same range of extremes and the same merciless power.
The Speed of Mercy is a mystery of sorts, a family drama. Is it a big mystery? It is the mystery of life, the mystery of secrets, the mystery of stories yet to be told. This is a beautiful novel, which grabbed onto me like thrillers are said to do, except thrillers don't do that for me, but this book did. This book grabbed me, the mysteries grabbed me, the language moved me, the landscape teased me, the cold tides of the Bay of Fundy tugged at my legs.
The tension in this book, the constant movement between familiarity and alienation, has morphed and reconfigured into a powerful narrative. I constantly was pulled between thinking, I've been there, I know where that is; and the feeling of being lost, upended, at sea. What is really going on?
The Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world; you can walk on the sea floor and hours later at the same spot the waves are battering the cliffs. This novel, The Speed of Mercy, exhibits the same range of extremes and the same merciless power.
June 1, 2021
In The Speed of Mercy, a middle-aged woman gradually recalls the harrowing events that left her mute and consigned to institutional care for most of her adult life. Stella Sprague, fifty-four, draws comfort and a sense of security from her daily routine at the Jericho County Care Centre, located in Nova Scotia’s picturesque Annapolis Valley region, and from her friendship with Dianne, another elderly resident. But her placid, cloistered and somewhat meaningless way of life is threatened when a young journalist named Malmuria Grant-Patel arrives asking questions about shocking practices and a secret society that originated generations ago and still persists, and who wants desperately to talk with Stella. In 1980, on the cusp of adolescence, Stella’s mother was killed and Stella herself gravely injured in a car crash. Reeling from the loss, Stella’s father William retreats with his daughter to the family home in Nova Scotia, the house left vacant after the death of his mother. Here Stella meets William’s childhood friend, successful businessman Frank Seabury, and develops a close bond with Frank’s garrulous, wise-beyond-her-years daughter Cynthia and Frank’s elderly mother, known as Granny Scotia. Since the accident, Stella’s relationship with her father has been strained, and the two hardly communicate. William, who in Stella’s opinion drinks too much, has taken a teaching position at the local college, and, immersing himself in preparations for the fall term, cheerfully allows Stella to spend as much time as she wants with Cynthia. Over the course of several summer months, Stella observes the adults around her, absorbing tales of the past and the regional folklore, but also gradually becoming aware of a disturbing undercurrent of menace that pervades the Seabury home and the entire community and that eventually becomes all too real when the girls find themselves in harm’s way. Christy Ann Conlin’s suspenseful narrative is split chronologically: a contemporary thread set in the recent aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, with Malmuria pursuing the truth about what happened at Mercy Lake forty years earlier, and the story of Stella’s fateful summer of 1980. Conlin expertly ramps up the tension as the shadowy veil of amnesia slips away and Stella’s memories of those events at the lake creep into the light of day. Ultimately this is a story of stolen innocence, the trauma of violation and betrayal of trust. Conlin has written a narrative reminiscent of Flannery O’Connor, brimming with human eccentricity and hints of the darkness residing in people’s hearts. The story moves slowly and occasionally meanders—much like Stella’s mind—and it’s possible the book could have benefitted from some judicious pruning and tightening. But the story Conlin tells, of a woman who regains both her voice and the truth after years of silence and forgetting, is powerful and moving.
March 26, 2021
Christy Ann Conlin is a Canadian author I had not yet read, so I was interested in reading her new book. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. It is an odd book which I think needs revision.
The book alternates between two timelines: 2021 and 1980. In post-pandemic 2021, Malmuria Grant-Patel (Mal), a podcaster, travels to rural Nova Scotia, to an area two people disparagingly describe as the “Georgia of the north.” Her intention is not to visit her mother’s birthplace but to uncover what happened at Mercy Lake years earlier: she is told “there was a link between a place called Mercy Lake in Nova Scotia and a group in New York that hid under a cloak of business, billions and blackmail – money and power providing an impenetrable shield for traditions, beliefs and rituals going back hundreds of years. A company called Cineris International. An old family named Jessome, in New York. . . . The woman was terrified. What they did to her went way back. There were others, lost in time.” Mal tries to talk to Stella Sprague, the sole living survivor of a fire that burned down the Mercy Lake Lodge where this secret group used to meet.
Stella is now 54 years of age and living in a care home. She suffers from memory loss and has been mute since a traumatic event 40 years earlier, an event she doesn’t remember but identifies as HA, the Horrific Affliction. She reminisces back to 1980 when she and her father moved to Nova Scotia after her mother’s death. Stella becomes friends with Cynthia, the daughter of her father’s best friend, Franklin Seabury, a wealthy businessman. Stella learns things about her father’s family that she had not known, but she is also uneasy around Cynthia and her father. It is obvious that the Horrific Affliction occurred soon after Stella’s arrival in Nova Scotia, but will she be able to remember what happened?
Events often require the reader to suspend disbelief. For example, Mal learns about a cult at Mercy Lake because she casually uses the word mercy in an interview with a woman from Nova Scotia who “then dropped her story out of the blue”? Two days after that conversation, Mal receives a threatening phone call warning her not to investigate when no one knows her intentions? Mal has no difficulty finding Stella, but those who might feel threatened by Stella haven’t found her in 40 years? Every woman Mal and Stella encounter is creative? Why would one survivor with incriminating evidence not go to authorities but leave it with Stella whose memory is untrustworthy: “we kept the memories for you, until you could hold them again”?
And then there are the contradictions. Stella turns over a postcard forty times, hoping it will jog her memory, that it “might break the spell, what she couldn’t remember” and then five sentences later we are told “Stella didn’t want to remember.” We are told “Mal was not the sort who scared easily” but she seems frightened most of the time. Mal “wanted to go home” but six sentences later, “Mal was not going home now.” A character says, “”What you need to focus on is your own safety, Mal. Right now we have to find Stella and Dianne, especially if some crazy person is following women around.’” So what is Mal supposed to do? A character is told, “’your father owes my dad money. And now your grandfather’s debt is your father’s debt’” and she asks, “”What? What do you mean they had to pay them back? With what?’” So often I was left shaking my head.
Vagueness is also an issue. Mal discovers very little about Sodality. When it is mentioned – described as a fellowship or a “weird men’s group” or a cult – very little real information is given. That’s the same problem with the Offing Society. And then there are unexplained events. A woman drives “without the seat belt, surprised it didn’t work, that it was jammed, but not worrying about it.” Is that supposed to suggest something about what happens? Why does young Cynthia behave as she does, keeping secrets from Stella and keeping secrets for her? What are we to make of Cynthia’s comment that “’my mother can sort of see the future, [my father] says. That’s why he needs her to spend time with him.’”
The novel does touch on some important subjects. For instance, if offers several examples of how women, especially older women, are dismissed. The repeated message is that old women should not be underestimated. The treatment of the people with mental health issues is examined; often those suffering are not seen as victims but blamed for their situations.
The book has potential, but as I said at the beginning, it needs revision. When I received the digital galley I was informed that the book would be released on March 23. Now I understand that it won’t be released until August 3. I’m hoping that date change means that revision will be done.
Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
The book alternates between two timelines: 2021 and 1980. In post-pandemic 2021, Malmuria Grant-Patel (Mal), a podcaster, travels to rural Nova Scotia, to an area two people disparagingly describe as the “Georgia of the north.” Her intention is not to visit her mother’s birthplace but to uncover what happened at Mercy Lake years earlier: she is told “there was a link between a place called Mercy Lake in Nova Scotia and a group in New York that hid under a cloak of business, billions and blackmail – money and power providing an impenetrable shield for traditions, beliefs and rituals going back hundreds of years. A company called Cineris International. An old family named Jessome, in New York. . . . The woman was terrified. What they did to her went way back. There were others, lost in time.” Mal tries to talk to Stella Sprague, the sole living survivor of a fire that burned down the Mercy Lake Lodge where this secret group used to meet.
Stella is now 54 years of age and living in a care home. She suffers from memory loss and has been mute since a traumatic event 40 years earlier, an event she doesn’t remember but identifies as HA, the Horrific Affliction. She reminisces back to 1980 when she and her father moved to Nova Scotia after her mother’s death. Stella becomes friends with Cynthia, the daughter of her father’s best friend, Franklin Seabury, a wealthy businessman. Stella learns things about her father’s family that she had not known, but she is also uneasy around Cynthia and her father. It is obvious that the Horrific Affliction occurred soon after Stella’s arrival in Nova Scotia, but will she be able to remember what happened?
Events often require the reader to suspend disbelief. For example, Mal learns about a cult at Mercy Lake because she casually uses the word mercy in an interview with a woman from Nova Scotia who “then dropped her story out of the blue”? Two days after that conversation, Mal receives a threatening phone call warning her not to investigate when no one knows her intentions? Mal has no difficulty finding Stella, but those who might feel threatened by Stella haven’t found her in 40 years? Every woman Mal and Stella encounter is creative? Why would one survivor with incriminating evidence not go to authorities but leave it with Stella whose memory is untrustworthy: “we kept the memories for you, until you could hold them again”?
And then there are the contradictions. Stella turns over a postcard forty times, hoping it will jog her memory, that it “might break the spell, what she couldn’t remember” and then five sentences later we are told “Stella didn’t want to remember.” We are told “Mal was not the sort who scared easily” but she seems frightened most of the time. Mal “wanted to go home” but six sentences later, “Mal was not going home now.” A character says, “”What you need to focus on is your own safety, Mal. Right now we have to find Stella and Dianne, especially if some crazy person is following women around.’” So what is Mal supposed to do? A character is told, “’your father owes my dad money. And now your grandfather’s debt is your father’s debt’” and she asks, “”What? What do you mean they had to pay them back? With what?’” So often I was left shaking my head.
Vagueness is also an issue. Mal discovers very little about Sodality. When it is mentioned – described as a fellowship or a “weird men’s group” or a cult – very little real information is given. That’s the same problem with the Offing Society. And then there are unexplained events. A woman drives “without the seat belt, surprised it didn’t work, that it was jammed, but not worrying about it.” Is that supposed to suggest something about what happens? Why does young Cynthia behave as she does, keeping secrets from Stella and keeping secrets for her? What are we to make of Cynthia’s comment that “’my mother can sort of see the future, [my father] says. That’s why he needs her to spend time with him.’”
The novel does touch on some important subjects. For instance, if offers several examples of how women, especially older women, are dismissed. The repeated message is that old women should not be underestimated. The treatment of the people with mental health issues is examined; often those suffering are not seen as victims but blamed for their situations.
The book has potential, but as I said at the beginning, it needs revision. When I received the digital galley I was informed that the book would be released on March 23. Now I understand that it won’t be released until August 3. I’m hoping that date change means that revision will be done.
Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
September 22, 2021
A mystery is what held my interest.
I found it easy to keep track of the switching timeline from then to now. Each chapter clearly marked at the beginning.
But what I never really got was the sense of danger.
Even when Seraphina, “Danger is coming,” as she warns Mal (short for Malmuria) a black woman who has come to Nova Scotia to research an event from the past. Both women looking for Stella.
And I know I should be more concerned or connected to Stella, but I wasn’t. I didn’t feel connected to any character in the book, which made the story harder to be invested in. The mystery was all that kept me reading.
The novel has lots of unusual names: Sorcha, Aurora Seraphina, Malmuria.
And then some more common names: Stella, Cynthia and Diane.
There’s talk of a women’s club called the Offing Society. Which is somewhat like a sisterhood, as one character describes it. Further explaining, a bunch of women who had roots in Ireland and Scotland and Wales, who told each other tales of the sea.
Of saltwater cures. Saltwater spells.
Then there are the Believers, an offshoot of the Shakers. And mention of the Island of Islay in the old world. Lots of things that I never felt were fully explained.
I like the part where she describes startling piano music, then a woman’s voice singing about being a mermaid in jeans. I recognized Tori Amos’s song from her first album immediately.
The writing is good but the story needed something more for me.
I found it easy to keep track of the switching timeline from then to now. Each chapter clearly marked at the beginning.
But what I never really got was the sense of danger.
Even when Seraphina, “Danger is coming,” as she warns Mal (short for Malmuria) a black woman who has come to Nova Scotia to research an event from the past. Both women looking for Stella.
And I know I should be more concerned or connected to Stella, but I wasn’t. I didn’t feel connected to any character in the book, which made the story harder to be invested in. The mystery was all that kept me reading.
The novel has lots of unusual names: Sorcha, Aurora Seraphina, Malmuria.
And then some more common names: Stella, Cynthia and Diane.
There’s talk of a women’s club called the Offing Society. Which is somewhat like a sisterhood, as one character describes it. Further explaining, a bunch of women who had roots in Ireland and Scotland and Wales, who told each other tales of the sea.
Of saltwater cures. Saltwater spells.
Then there are the Believers, an offshoot of the Shakers. And mention of the Island of Islay in the old world. Lots of things that I never felt were fully explained.
I like the part where she describes startling piano music, then a woman’s voice singing about being a mermaid in jeans. I recognized Tori Amos’s song from her first album immediately.
The writing is good but the story needed something more for me.
January 29, 2021
Told in flip flopping time lines “The Speed of Mercy” tells the story of Stella. Stella has a secret, a secret so dark and deep that her body has literally taken away her ability to speak about it.
At 13 years old, Stella was involved in a car accident that had taken the life of her mother and left her in a coma for 2 months. Her father, after the accident (and Stella’s minor recovery) gets convinced to move back to his home town, so with his daughter in tow they move back to Seabury, Nova Scotia. Once there Stella meets the Seabury’s (the family for which the town was named) and begins to realize that there is something very different about this town and it occupants.
Stella tells her story between the “HAHA” moments of her life, before, during and after the “Horrible Accident” and the “Horrific Affliction”. The horrible accident that took her mother’s life and the horrific affliction that she cannot remember nor speak of if she did.
This story is horrifically tragic and horribly sad, with supernatural elements and useless characters thrown in the mix. I enjoyed the natural imagery that the author was able to beautifully betray through the retelling of Stella’s story but the flip flopping time lines were confusing and mismatched at times.
With the introduction of too many unnecessary characters and story lines that were not linearly, I felt like the author took away from the impression and impact this story could have and in all rights should have made on my soul.
Be warned, this book can get graphic at times in its details of abuse and bodily injury.
Thank you netgalley for the copy!
At 13 years old, Stella was involved in a car accident that had taken the life of her mother and left her in a coma for 2 months. Her father, after the accident (and Stella’s minor recovery) gets convinced to move back to his home town, so with his daughter in tow they move back to Seabury, Nova Scotia. Once there Stella meets the Seabury’s (the family for which the town was named) and begins to realize that there is something very different about this town and it occupants.
Stella tells her story between the “HAHA” moments of her life, before, during and after the “Horrible Accident” and the “Horrific Affliction”. The horrible accident that took her mother’s life and the horrific affliction that she cannot remember nor speak of if she did.
This story is horrifically tragic and horribly sad, with supernatural elements and useless characters thrown in the mix. I enjoyed the natural imagery that the author was able to beautifully betray through the retelling of Stella’s story but the flip flopping time lines were confusing and mismatched at times.
With the introduction of too many unnecessary characters and story lines that were not linearly, I felt like the author took away from the impression and impact this story could have and in all rights should have made on my soul.
Be warned, this book can get graphic at times in its details of abuse and bodily injury.
Thank you netgalley for the copy!
January 17, 2021
In her familiar style, Conlin delivers a mystery full of psychological angst, gothic settings, complex characters, and plot twists. Readers of her other books will feel at home with this novel, and those new to this author will find themselves off in search of her other books.
July 11, 2021
A unique book, The Speed of Mercy, is a mystery thriller fronted by 3 women, a young East Indian podcaster and two elderly, "crazy" women; one, 85 ,and the other, 54--there's a risk taken from the get-go, fronting a book with crazy old women. Maud Lewis (Canadian, self-taught, outsider artist) appears in the form of her neglected house; Studio Ghibli vibes and of course, one of the world's 7 great wonders, The Bay of Fundy (paired with weird happenings to the 54 year old's menses) all add to the depth and singularity of what will definitely become a modern, northern gothic classic. I highly recommend this lush and immersive mystery-thriller.
October 2, 2024
Literary fiction with beautiful prose and an poignant backstory.
Mal (2021) a 30 year old, black, podcaster from California, travels to her mother's home province of Nova Scotia to investigate a 'cold case' for her podcast. She feels the need to unearth some evidence of the old crime as the perpetrators were never brought to justice. Mal's podcast is about mental health, and this crime involves people who suffer from mental illness. Mal wants to determine the connection between a Nova Scotian community called Mercy Lake and a criminal group based in New York who have, for years, hidden under the name "The Sodality Group". Sodality has taken an ancient religious men's group and perverted it to become a sadistic, almost cult-like group who prey upon young girls.
“The Annapolis Valley isn’t a woke place, as you say, my darling. It’s sort of lost in time, and that’s not always a good thing, you know, a place where there is a lot of misremembering.”
Stella (age 12, 1980) - who has heterochromia and a very high IQ, lived her life up until now in Ohio. After a tragic car accident in which her mother perished and Stella herself suffered traumatic brain injury, Stella's father brought her back to his childhood home in Nova Scotia. It is summer, and the grieving Stella meets up with a young local girl named Cynthia Seabury. Cynthia lives with her grandmother, Granny Scotia, in a grand old house. One day Stella witnesses something that she will never forget, and she will forever feel guilty for not speaking up about what she witnessed.
Stella (2021) is now in her fifties and living at the Jericho County Care Centre for people with brain injury and mental illness. Stella has not spoken since she was thirteen years old. Stella has one true and steadfast friend at the Jericho Centre, an elderly woman named Dianne.
Stella is in danger, and Dianne (and Mel) try to protect her. Stella is weaning herself off her many medications and is starting to regain some of her memories...
As a resident of Nova Scotia, I am well acquainted with this book's settings. The western Annapolis Valley is a very picturesque locale, and the author did a fine job of description. The place names of Seabury, Mercy Lake, and Bigelow Bay were all inventions of the author, though some places like the North Mountain and the Bay of Fundy are real.
This was a slow paced, literary mystery with an unsettling, menacing vibe throughout. The prose was almost poetic in its stark beauty. With characters that are believable, the reader empathizes with them in a visceral way due to the fact that the author gives a voice to people who are marginalized by society.
There are several themes running throughout this novel, namely ageism, betrayal, trauma mental illness, female resilience, and crimes against women.
This is very much a feminist novel. The women are given centre stage and the men all seem to be either untrustworthy, threatening, or condescending.
This slow-paced novel does meander from its course on occasion, but overall it is a thought-provoking story of trauma, healing, and female friendship laced with some elements of conspiracy thriller. Recommended.
Mal (2021) a 30 year old, black, podcaster from California, travels to her mother's home province of Nova Scotia to investigate a 'cold case' for her podcast. She feels the need to unearth some evidence of the old crime as the perpetrators were never brought to justice. Mal's podcast is about mental health, and this crime involves people who suffer from mental illness. Mal wants to determine the connection between a Nova Scotian community called Mercy Lake and a criminal group based in New York who have, for years, hidden under the name "The Sodality Group". Sodality has taken an ancient religious men's group and perverted it to become a sadistic, almost cult-like group who prey upon young girls.
“The Annapolis Valley isn’t a woke place, as you say, my darling. It’s sort of lost in time, and that’s not always a good thing, you know, a place where there is a lot of misremembering.”
Stella (age 12, 1980) - who has heterochromia and a very high IQ, lived her life up until now in Ohio. After a tragic car accident in which her mother perished and Stella herself suffered traumatic brain injury, Stella's father brought her back to his childhood home in Nova Scotia. It is summer, and the grieving Stella meets up with a young local girl named Cynthia Seabury. Cynthia lives with her grandmother, Granny Scotia, in a grand old house. One day Stella witnesses something that she will never forget, and she will forever feel guilty for not speaking up about what she witnessed.
Stella (2021) is now in her fifties and living at the Jericho County Care Centre for people with brain injury and mental illness. Stella has not spoken since she was thirteen years old. Stella has one true and steadfast friend at the Jericho Centre, an elderly woman named Dianne.
Stella is in danger, and Dianne (and Mel) try to protect her. Stella is weaning herself off her many medications and is starting to regain some of her memories...
As a resident of Nova Scotia, I am well acquainted with this book's settings. The western Annapolis Valley is a very picturesque locale, and the author did a fine job of description. The place names of Seabury, Mercy Lake, and Bigelow Bay were all inventions of the author, though some places like the North Mountain and the Bay of Fundy are real.
This was a slow paced, literary mystery with an unsettling, menacing vibe throughout. The prose was almost poetic in its stark beauty. With characters that are believable, the reader empathizes with them in a visceral way due to the fact that the author gives a voice to people who are marginalized by society.
There are several themes running throughout this novel, namely ageism, betrayal, trauma mental illness, female resilience, and crimes against women.
This is very much a feminist novel. The women are given centre stage and the men all seem to be either untrustworthy, threatening, or condescending.
This slow-paced novel does meander from its course on occasion, but overall it is a thought-provoking story of trauma, healing, and female friendship laced with some elements of conspiracy thriller. Recommended.
March 5, 2021
"The speed of mercy is not slow. It is not fast. It is timeless."
WOW! What a book! This book has so much packed between it's covers. It has been meticulously and deeply researched providing the reader the opportunity to branch off to learn more about various points brought forward in the story. Every word has been crafted with care and attention. I don't normally mark up books unless I am totally engaged by them- I have notes and underlined sentences and passaged throughout this book. The story is deep and menacing and at the same time- tender and hopeful.
My thoughts are that this book better win some awards because it really is a true work of art!
Brava Christy Ann Conlin!
Note: For readers reading the hardcopy a poem is referenced on page 238. Here is the poem:
Sestina, by Elizabeth Bishop
September rain falls on the house.
In the failing light, the old grandmother
sits in the kitchen with the child
beside the Little Marvel Stove,
reading the jokes from the almanac,
laughing and talking to hide her tears.
She thinks that her equinoctial tears
and the rain that beats on the roof of the house
were both foretold by the almanac,
but only known to a grandmother.
The iron kettle sings on the stove.
She cuts some bread and says to the child,
It's time for tea now; but the child
is watching the teakettle's small hard tears
dance like mad on the hot black stove,
the way the rain must dance on the house.
Tidying up, the old grandmother
hangs up the clever almanac
on its string. Birdlike, the almanac
hovers half open above the child,
hovers above the old grandmother
and her teacup full of dark brown tears.
She shivers and says she thinks the house
feels chilly, and puts more wood in the stove.
It was to be, says the Marvel Stove.
I know what I know, says the almanac.
With crayons the child draws a rigid house
and a winding pathway. Then the child
puts in a man with buttons like tears
and shows it proudly to the grandmother.
But secretly, while the grandmother
busies herself about the stove,
the little moons fall down like tears
from between the pages of the almanac
into the flower bed the child
has carefully placed in the front of the house.
Time to plant tears, says the almanac.
The grandmother sings to the marvelous stove
and the child draws another inscrutable house
WOW! What a book! This book has so much packed between it's covers. It has been meticulously and deeply researched providing the reader the opportunity to branch off to learn more about various points brought forward in the story. Every word has been crafted with care and attention. I don't normally mark up books unless I am totally engaged by them- I have notes and underlined sentences and passaged throughout this book. The story is deep and menacing and at the same time- tender and hopeful.
My thoughts are that this book better win some awards because it really is a true work of art!
Brava Christy Ann Conlin!
Note: For readers reading the hardcopy a poem is referenced on page 238. Here is the poem:
Sestina, by Elizabeth Bishop
September rain falls on the house.
In the failing light, the old grandmother
sits in the kitchen with the child
beside the Little Marvel Stove,
reading the jokes from the almanac,
laughing and talking to hide her tears.
She thinks that her equinoctial tears
and the rain that beats on the roof of the house
were both foretold by the almanac,
but only known to a grandmother.
The iron kettle sings on the stove.
She cuts some bread and says to the child,
It's time for tea now; but the child
is watching the teakettle's small hard tears
dance like mad on the hot black stove,
the way the rain must dance on the house.
Tidying up, the old grandmother
hangs up the clever almanac
on its string. Birdlike, the almanac
hovers half open above the child,
hovers above the old grandmother
and her teacup full of dark brown tears.
She shivers and says she thinks the house
feels chilly, and puts more wood in the stove.
It was to be, says the Marvel Stove.
I know what I know, says the almanac.
With crayons the child draws a rigid house
and a winding pathway. Then the child
puts in a man with buttons like tears
and shows it proudly to the grandmother.
But secretly, while the grandmother
busies herself about the stove,
the little moons fall down like tears
from between the pages of the almanac
into the flower bed the child
has carefully placed in the front of the house.
Time to plant tears, says the almanac.
The grandmother sings to the marvelous stove
and the child draws another inscrutable house
June 13, 2021
Thrilling. Gripping. A beautiful, lyrical marriage of past and present, of the real and the magical/mystical, of youth and aging, and of history and memory… all told through the voices - the experiences - of multiple women across no fewer than three generations… all wrapped up in a love letter to Nova Scotia - the people (everyday folk as well as cultural/artistic icons) and the landscapes (Annapolis Valley and environs).
This is perfect for anyone who loves a great gothic novel. Conlin builds the tension slowly, moving back and forth in time, divulging just enough, but not too much with every flashback, and subsequent return to the present. Her consideration of the role of trauma, and the recovery of memory - like a sea fog lifting - is finely nuanced, and never casts blame on the victims. Indeed it is a celebration - in stark contrast to the dark acts of men - of the value to be found in communities of women bearing the burden of being women, and also doing what women do to protect one another.
The writing - the sentences, the word craft - is exquisite. I found myself stopping - frequently - just to savour the words and phrases. I do however think that the story could have been told without having to bring Mal into the picture, into the narrative. She is little more than a convenient plot device, while (most of) the rest of the (female) characters are fully realised and integral to the - eventual - unfolding of the story.
I also enjoyed that the author gets very meta at times… enjoying some playful moments, with passages like: imagining that ‘if this were a short story’ (p3); and the exhortation to ‘(l)ive life as though you’re in a novel’ (p48); or referencing Elizabeth Bishop who herself was, essentially, orphaned - her mother being institutionalised - and sent away to live with relatives; or my favourite... the character who had dropped out of the UBC creative writing programme (p52)... Conlin of course being a graduate of said programme.
Mercy is most definitely more than twice given in this novel.
3.5/5
Thanks to NetGalley for an early digital review copy of this novel.
This is perfect for anyone who loves a great gothic novel. Conlin builds the tension slowly, moving back and forth in time, divulging just enough, but not too much with every flashback, and subsequent return to the present. Her consideration of the role of trauma, and the recovery of memory - like a sea fog lifting - is finely nuanced, and never casts blame on the victims. Indeed it is a celebration - in stark contrast to the dark acts of men - of the value to be found in communities of women bearing the burden of being women, and also doing what women do to protect one another.
The writing - the sentences, the word craft - is exquisite. I found myself stopping - frequently - just to savour the words and phrases. I do however think that the story could have been told without having to bring Mal into the picture, into the narrative. She is little more than a convenient plot device, while (most of) the rest of the (female) characters are fully realised and integral to the - eventual - unfolding of the story.
I also enjoyed that the author gets very meta at times… enjoying some playful moments, with passages like: imagining that ‘if this were a short story’ (p3); and the exhortation to ‘(l)ive life as though you’re in a novel’ (p48); or referencing Elizabeth Bishop who herself was, essentially, orphaned - her mother being institutionalised - and sent away to live with relatives; or my favourite... the character who had dropped out of the UBC creative writing programme (p52)... Conlin of course being a graduate of said programme.
Mercy is most definitely more than twice given in this novel.
3.5/5
Thanks to NetGalley for an early digital review copy of this novel.
April 17, 2021
The Speed of Mercy follows two intertwining storylines: that of Mal, a young woman who is investigating a mysterious secret society she discovered while doing an interview for her podcast, and Stella, a woman who has lost both most of her memories and her voice. Despite being introduced first, Mal's story ultimately takes a backseat to Stella's journey toward memory and confrontation with buried trauma.
I was excited to read this based on the description of the book - a feminist-leaning mystery with diverse characters! - but ultimately found myself disappointed. The pacing was strange; the first parts of the book spent a great deal of time building a setting and an atmosphere, but not developing the plot or the characters very deeply. Even the atmosphere falls a little flat; the characters are repeatedly warned of danger, but it was not until over halfway through the book that I actually began to feel the presence of any danger. With the exception of Stella (and perhaps Dianne), most of the characters felt underdeveloped, more like plot devices than fully developed people. The mystery was at once frustratingly opaque and very easy to make (correct) guesses about; some of it remained confusingly unexplained even at the end of the book.
The author seemed to favor short sentences and sentence fragments for the most part, though this began to vary more as the story progressed, toward the end of the book. Sometimes this was used to a great deal of effect - especially when modern-day Stella was attempting to remember her past, the fragments felt very much like flashes of her memory - but sometimes it felt repetitive. In general, I felt like the writing itself was the strongest part of the book, rather than the story or characters.
Ultimately, despite wanting to like it, this book was not for me. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of this in exchange for my honest review.
I was excited to read this based on the description of the book - a feminist-leaning mystery with diverse characters! - but ultimately found myself disappointed. The pacing was strange; the first parts of the book spent a great deal of time building a setting and an atmosphere, but not developing the plot or the characters very deeply. Even the atmosphere falls a little flat; the characters are repeatedly warned of danger, but it was not until over halfway through the book that I actually began to feel the presence of any danger. With the exception of Stella (and perhaps Dianne), most of the characters felt underdeveloped, more like plot devices than fully developed people. The mystery was at once frustratingly opaque and very easy to make (correct) guesses about; some of it remained confusingly unexplained even at the end of the book.
The author seemed to favor short sentences and sentence fragments for the most part, though this began to vary more as the story progressed, toward the end of the book. Sometimes this was used to a great deal of effect - especially when modern-day Stella was attempting to remember her past, the fragments felt very much like flashes of her memory - but sometimes it felt repetitive. In general, I felt like the writing itself was the strongest part of the book, rather than the story or characters.
Ultimately, despite wanting to like it, this book was not for me. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of this in exchange for my honest review.
July 28, 2021
An elegantly written and poetic book with language and scenes that will carry you away and characters - one in particular - who will work their way into your mind and heart.
I took a bit of time after finishing before leaving a review as I felt this was a read that needed to percolate. I wasn't wrong. Through the final pages I was a tad frustrated with the unanswered questions I felt needed explanations, but as I sat with the story longer, those unanswered questions added to my appreciation of the novel.
So often in life we don't receive answers to why people make the choices they make, why secrets are kept, and how the stories that influence us play out when we're not there. I imagine these unknowns would be even more pronounced for the cast of characters in The Speed of Mercy, due to their genders, the time-period, and their mental states. Conlin is a skilled writer who knows how to give just enough without giving too much as she explores issues of gender, mental health, trauma and victimization.
I took a bit of time after finishing before leaving a review as I felt this was a read that needed to percolate. I wasn't wrong. Through the final pages I was a tad frustrated with the unanswered questions I felt needed explanations, but as I sat with the story longer, those unanswered questions added to my appreciation of the novel.
So often in life we don't receive answers to why people make the choices they make, why secrets are kept, and how the stories that influence us play out when we're not there. I imagine these unknowns would be even more pronounced for the cast of characters in The Speed of Mercy, due to their genders, the time-period, and their mental states. Conlin is a skilled writer who knows how to give just enough without giving too much as she explores issues of gender, mental health, trauma and victimization.
March 29, 2021
Gorgeous, gripping, and unforgettable.
June 15, 2021
Took way too long to get to the point - and even at the end it wasn't very plausible.
Connection between Mal and the older women was pretty sketchy.
Connection between Mal and the older women was pretty sketchy.
Read
June 12, 2021Very intense and moving. A real challenge to have a protagonist who cannot speak. Lots of deep and dark history.
August 16, 2021
What a neat concept - to have the main character be mute. It led to great observations and internal conversation and pointed to the beauty of spoken language. Conlin's writing was musical and poetic, with maybe just a bit too much repetition about the scent of flowers at every turn. While, there is a mystery at the heart of this book, I really did feel like I had to discipline myself to be patient, as it took a long time to reveal it. But at about halfway through the book, it really did get interesting. I just really wish for a book from the Canadian East Coast that doesn't have sexual abuse as a main plot. Why?
May 27, 2024
3.5 🌟 really good book, interesting from the start. Was confused for certain parts but a nice read if you're interested in mystery and thriller.
April 19, 2021
Brilliant and beautiful!
Just a gorgeous and sumptuous read. So many levels of meaning and such riveting characters.
Going to read again as I am sure there is so much I missed. A sensory feast that recreates the wild beauty, mystery and spirit of the Fundy shore and the undaunted women who pass their wisdom, compassion and loyalty to the next generation. Highly recommend!
Just a gorgeous and sumptuous read. So many levels of meaning and such riveting characters.
Going to read again as I am sure there is so much I missed. A sensory feast that recreates the wild beauty, mystery and spirit of the Fundy shore and the undaunted women who pass their wisdom, compassion and loyalty to the next generation. Highly recommend!
September 5, 2021
The storytelling trope of dead or missing mothers often appears in fairy-tales, as well as in works by Shakespeare and Dickens and other writers. In The Speed of Mercy, Christy Ann Conlin uses this construct as a way of upending a family narrative and deliberately skewing the lives of those left behind. Three central figures in this novel are without their mothers and each of them has been left to navigate their own trajectory in frightening circumstances. Stella, the central character, is a thirteen year-old motherless girl whose father takes her to rural Nova Scotia where he intends for them to start a new life. Callously, he leaves all mementoes and traces of her mother behind in their previous home. In fact, Stella’s father is returning to the place of his own childhood and he quickly resumes connections with his old life. These connections include deep family mysteries layered with generations of ritualized abuse. Conlin weaves her tale against the current backdrop of the COVID pandemic, and includes the anxieties that are a part of this new reality. The book is filled will loss, female mysticism, the power of friendship and bonding, in addition to a raw portrait of the effects of trauma. The language is lyrical, the images memorable, and the eventual sense of closure a triumph both for the characters and the novelist. This is a breathtaking and evocative book that should be celebrated.
February 17, 2021
I was pretty excited for this book, but I have to say I was very disappointed
I finished this book 6 days ago, and when I sat down to write this review, I had completely forgotten what the book was about.
For me this book can be categorized into two sections - incredibly slow story lines and dialogue, and sexual abuse, with very little substance in between.
Definitely not for me.
I finished this book 6 days ago, and when I sat down to write this review, I had completely forgotten what the book was about.
For me this book can be categorized into two sections - incredibly slow story lines and dialogue, and sexual abuse, with very little substance in between.
Definitely not for me.
May 26, 2021
Has Spoilers !
Very slow moving till near the end
Secret language and writings that appear with tears - among the women “only from there” - made no sense to me
Also, secret society for men only who like 13 yr olds - what do you think happens.......
Very slow moving till near the end
Secret language and writings that appear with tears - among the women “only from there” - made no sense to me
Also, secret society for men only who like 13 yr olds - what do you think happens.......
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 26, 2021
Read 70 pgs. Quit. Don't like the way it is written.
August 2, 2021
The Speed of Mercy by Christy Ann Conlin is a so-so atmospheric Gothic mystery.
Malmuria (Mal) Grant-Patel is a podcaster who travels to Mercy Lake, located in rural Nova Scotia. This is the area where her mother grew up and left for good years ago, but there is a mystery surrounding the lodge that burn down in the 1980's. Mel thinks if she investigates the lodge and reports her findings it will give her podcast a boost and her life a purpose, but once she begins to get anonymous threats she knows she is not prepared to really investigate anything and might be in danger.
Stella Sprague, 54, lives at the Jericho County Care Centre where she has been for most of her adult life after a traumatic brain injury and another traumatic event. She is a friend with Dianne, an 84 year-old resident at the home, who helps her negotiate her schedule and life in the home. Stella struggles with uncertain memories and secrets hide just under the surface of her memories. Stella tells her life story which is divided up into before, during and after the horrible accident and the horrific affliction, or as she calls the incidents, HA HA.
The writing shows a lot of promise and can be both poetic, thoughtful, and descriptive. The narrative moves back and forth in time and between characters covering Mel's present day investigation and Stella's memories, both in the 1980's, and in the present. Sometimes the technique of telling a story through alternating characters in alternating timelines works and sometimes it doesn't. In this case it doesn't and for much of the beginning of the very slow paced novel the plot didn't grab my attention and I forced myself to keep reading. No matter how lyrical the writing is, a novel still needs a strong plot and good pacing to hold a reader's interest. It also took quite awhile for the characters to become fully realized. In the end this is a novel that excels in using language and descriptions but falls short on plot and character development.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the House of Anansi Press.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2021/0...
Malmuria (Mal) Grant-Patel is a podcaster who travels to Mercy Lake, located in rural Nova Scotia. This is the area where her mother grew up and left for good years ago, but there is a mystery surrounding the lodge that burn down in the 1980's. Mel thinks if she investigates the lodge and reports her findings it will give her podcast a boost and her life a purpose, but once she begins to get anonymous threats she knows she is not prepared to really investigate anything and might be in danger.
Stella Sprague, 54, lives at the Jericho County Care Centre where she has been for most of her adult life after a traumatic brain injury and another traumatic event. She is a friend with Dianne, an 84 year-old resident at the home, who helps her negotiate her schedule and life in the home. Stella struggles with uncertain memories and secrets hide just under the surface of her memories. Stella tells her life story which is divided up into before, during and after the horrible accident and the horrific affliction, or as she calls the incidents, HA HA.
The writing shows a lot of promise and can be both poetic, thoughtful, and descriptive. The narrative moves back and forth in time and between characters covering Mel's present day investigation and Stella's memories, both in the 1980's, and in the present. Sometimes the technique of telling a story through alternating characters in alternating timelines works and sometimes it doesn't. In this case it doesn't and for much of the beginning of the very slow paced novel the plot didn't grab my attention and I forced myself to keep reading. No matter how lyrical the writing is, a novel still needs a strong plot and good pacing to hold a reader's interest. It also took quite awhile for the characters to become fully realized. In the end this is a novel that excels in using language and descriptions but falls short on plot and character development.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the House of Anansi Press.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2021/0...
August 25, 2021
The first novel I've read that incorporates "the Covid" (as it refers to the virus -- maybe an East Coast phrasing, like "the flu"? in Ontario we say "Covid"), but the references are minimal, likely incorporated mostly in editing as they have no real influence on the story (there are references to hand sanitizing, but not to mask-wearing).
I have mixed responses to the book. The story with "now" Stella's perspective is good and kept me most interested. The chapters with Mal's perspective were very raw. Perhaps in an attempt to make her a complex character, she gets a contradictory character -- she's courageously pursuing a line of inquiry into a 30 year-old-mystery, yet she constantly wants to go home and is scared and doubts herself. Well, she's pretty inept at what she's doing and mostly just gets lucky and stumbles onto people who happen to know stuff. I think these chapters lacked careful re-working or were added later to provide external context for the storybuilding. I didn't like them.
Stella's now chapters, on the other hand, were also slightly disjointed but intentionally so because she has memory issues and other cognitive impairments, so the skipping and confusion worked really well. They were not the same as the Mal disjoints, though.
The other piece I liked/disliked were the "then" chapters of younger Stella. While that storyline was interesting in itself, it became very obvious what the "mystery" was and detracted any suspense or build-up from the contemporary storyline. Also, it felt too storybook for the reader to get such detail and insight into a mystery that happened long ago -- generally you don't get that kind of detail when you unravel old mysteries, so it just felt unfair to create a clear picture that should have stayed mostly murky. I wonder what it would have been like if the "then" Stella story had been saved to the end, when the box gets unlocked.
Overall, I feel like this book might have been rushed to publication. The bones are good, the story is decent, it just feels like an unpolished version of what could have been a page-turner.
I have mixed responses to the book. The story with "now" Stella's perspective is good and kept me most interested. The chapters with Mal's perspective were very raw. Perhaps in an attempt to make her a complex character, she gets a contradictory character -- she's courageously pursuing a line of inquiry into a 30 year-old-mystery, yet she constantly wants to go home and is scared and doubts herself. Well, she's pretty inept at what she's doing and mostly just gets lucky and stumbles onto people who happen to know stuff. I think these chapters lacked careful re-working or were added later to provide external context for the storybuilding. I didn't like them.
Stella's now chapters, on the other hand, were also slightly disjointed but intentionally so because she has memory issues and other cognitive impairments, so the skipping and confusion worked really well. They were not the same as the Mal disjoints, though.
The other piece I liked/disliked were the "then" chapters of younger Stella. While that storyline was interesting in itself, it became very obvious what the "mystery" was and detracted any suspense or build-up from the contemporary storyline. Also, it felt too storybook for the reader to get such detail and insight into a mystery that happened long ago -- generally you don't get that kind of detail when you unravel old mysteries, so it just felt unfair to create a clear picture that should have stayed mostly murky. I wonder what it would have been like if the "then" Stella story had been saved to the end, when the box gets unlocked.
Overall, I feel like this book might have been rushed to publication. The bones are good, the story is decent, it just feels like an unpolished version of what could have been a page-turner.
July 20, 2021
Outside of Middle English and historical texts, I’m not really one to appreciate flowery, descriptive language. So, the appeal of the seamlessly poetic writing style that Conlin has achieved in The Speed of Mercy, while I respect it, is not really my cup of tea. However, I could see this novel finding support through the homage and respect it pays to more classical storytelling.
If I were asked to sum up Conlin’s writing style in The Speed of Mercy, I would call it lyrical. The entire narrative reminded me greatly of classic Grecian odes and Renaissance tragedies because of the heavy use of inner monologue. Yet, the method of the monologue was more expository, and had a flow about it similar to a classical play where the theatre of the mind has to be engaged through descriptive dialogue that references the current setting and events as well as detailed backstory through memory. My problem here is that I don’t really think this works in terms of a contemporary novel.
In my opinion, the writing style became a distraction. Given that this is meant to be a suspense thriller, there is this predetermined need for the reader to try and piece together what is going on. This becomes incredibly difficult when you add in this type of drawn out writing style with the time lapses, inebriation, and memory issues that occur throughout the plot. While the narrative obstacles add flavour to the mystery, the difficulty of the writing style has no real pay off if you are not particularly fond of exposition. Which, I am not.
If I were asked to sum up Conlin’s writing style in The Speed of Mercy, I would call it lyrical. The entire narrative reminded me greatly of classic Grecian odes and Renaissance tragedies because of the heavy use of inner monologue. Yet, the method of the monologue was more expository, and had a flow about it similar to a classical play where the theatre of the mind has to be engaged through descriptive dialogue that references the current setting and events as well as detailed backstory through memory. My problem here is that I don’t really think this works in terms of a contemporary novel.
In my opinion, the writing style became a distraction. Given that this is meant to be a suspense thriller, there is this predetermined need for the reader to try and piece together what is going on. This becomes incredibly difficult when you add in this type of drawn out writing style with the time lapses, inebriation, and memory issues that occur throughout the plot. While the narrative obstacles add flavour to the mystery, the difficulty of the writing style has no real pay off if you are not particularly fond of exposition. Which, I am not.
February 22, 2022
I found this book intriguing, exploring the fields of mental illness and the impact over a lifespan. It’s a sophisticated story that emphasizes the “cults” of men and struggles of women against male dominance. Sometimes it’s hard to tell exactly where the story begins as it’s written in two time periods—then and now. But the rhythm of the time transitions leads us to understand the “Horrible Accident” which leads Stella back to Mercy Lake and the “Horrible Affliction” which explains the now story where Stella is in the mental health system.
The book is intense, magical, infused with reality and imagination and sometimes it is hard to discern which is which. But Stella, although a victim of horrendous abusive crimes continues to put the pieces of the puzzle together. We find women helping women, struggling and winning—each one not just a victim or a journalist or a nurse but women uniting to help Stella from then become a more complete Stella of now.
Also impressive is the use of real mental health theories of the past such as the Kirkbride Plan—the idea that architecture and landscape could assist a cure. Also of note is the incorporation of real artists into the story line, even to the inclusion of a child’s book, Charlotte Sometimes” to help lend truth to fiction. An amazing read.
The book is intense, magical, infused with reality and imagination and sometimes it is hard to discern which is which. But Stella, although a victim of horrendous abusive crimes continues to put the pieces of the puzzle together. We find women helping women, struggling and winning—each one not just a victim or a journalist or a nurse but women uniting to help Stella from then become a more complete Stella of now.
Also impressive is the use of real mental health theories of the past such as the Kirkbride Plan—the idea that architecture and landscape could assist a cure. Also of note is the incorporation of real artists into the story line, even to the inclusion of a child’s book, Charlotte Sometimes” to help lend truth to fiction. An amazing read.
June 5, 2021
I am not quite sure how to categorize “The Speed of Mercy”. It falls a bit short of literary fiction but rises well above merely the mystery genre. Other reviews cite it is “lyrically written” and in places that applies, but not to the standard of some of my favourite novelists. It falls somewhere in-between those labels.
Stella Sprague is the central character of “The Speed of Mercy”. The novel takes place in Nova Scotia and alternates between the present where Stella lives in a nursing home, psychologically scarred by childhood trauma, and the past where the trauma occurred. A dark secret lies trapped within Stella’s partitioned mind.
Mal, a young woman from Southern California whose mother has ties to Nova Scotia, comes seeking to uncover criminal acts of a secret society of men from decades earlier. Stella is the key she needs to do so. Stella’s friend and fellow nursing home resident Dianne fiercely protects Stella from any attempts to stir up painful memories. But once Stella’s memories are unlocked, the truth begins to emerge and she must confront the trauma that left her mute.
“The Speed of Mercy” is an interesting read – compelling in some places while a bit thin in others. It is best slotted into the “good but not great” category.
Stella Sprague is the central character of “The Speed of Mercy”. The novel takes place in Nova Scotia and alternates between the present where Stella lives in a nursing home, psychologically scarred by childhood trauma, and the past where the trauma occurred. A dark secret lies trapped within Stella’s partitioned mind.
Mal, a young woman from Southern California whose mother has ties to Nova Scotia, comes seeking to uncover criminal acts of a secret society of men from decades earlier. Stella is the key she needs to do so. Stella’s friend and fellow nursing home resident Dianne fiercely protects Stella from any attempts to stir up painful memories. But once Stella’s memories are unlocked, the truth begins to emerge and she must confront the trauma that left her mute.
“The Speed of Mercy” is an interesting read – compelling in some places while a bit thin in others. It is best slotted into the “good but not great” category.
April 2, 2021
The speed of mercy is excruciatingly slow!
I think the book had potential; the story of a long held secret kept in the mind of a 50 year old woman who has been so traumatized by the happenings of decades ago that she doesn’t speak, is intriguing. Or could be.
Some difficulties I had with the book relate to inconsistencies - people have been searching for Stella all these years, couldn’t find her, but Mal, a stranger to the area and the situation, finds her almost immediately. And, other people, adults, had the incriminating evidence but did nothing with it for that same length of time - decades.
There are some interesting looks at stereotypes: old women are inconsequential and to be ignored (the older I get, the more I find this to be true!); the way older people and those with different concepts of reality are marginalized.
There were some themes not explored - what actually happened to Stella’s mother? Was that an accident or, as implied later, was the a deliberate act? What happened with Cynthia’s mother? And Cynthia’s grandmother?
I like that the author brought in the reality of Covid!
I think the book had potential; the story of a long held secret kept in the mind of a 50 year old woman who has been so traumatized by the happenings of decades ago that she doesn’t speak, is intriguing. Or could be.
Some difficulties I had with the book relate to inconsistencies - people have been searching for Stella all these years, couldn’t find her, but Mal, a stranger to the area and the situation, finds her almost immediately. And, other people, adults, had the incriminating evidence but did nothing with it for that same length of time - decades.
There are some interesting looks at stereotypes: old women are inconsequential and to be ignored (the older I get, the more I find this to be true!); the way older people and those with different concepts of reality are marginalized.
There were some themes not explored - what actually happened to Stella’s mother? Was that an accident or, as implied later, was the a deliberate act? What happened with Cynthia’s mother? And Cynthia’s grandmother?
I like that the author brought in the reality of Covid!
January 28, 2021
Complex characters and topics abound in this book which is quite graphic in its details . The author describes eloquently the beauty of rural Nova Scotia and the majestic Bay of Fundy. This book shows the resiliency of women even at a young age. Stella and Cynthia in their preteen years were subjected to so much trauma that their lives were completely altered. It is hard breaking to read about these girls. This book discusses mental illnesses, child abuse, suicide, loss of a parent, rape, pedophiles, concussions and secrets. In the midst of all these dark topics there exist some kind and caring characters and descriptions of the beauty of the province of Nova Scotia. The last section of this book is quite intense . Events happen rather quickly after a much slower and detailed read of what happened before.
March 9, 2022
This book was like a fever dream. The whole time I was like “what the heck is going on?” The idea of secret societies was cool, but not written well enough for this book- barely mentioned. Focused more on the one main instance than any worth reading background. It’s 430 pages of random stuff. The ending “wrapped up” in like the last 10% of the book but there were still loose ends. Then there were like random splashes of magic that didn’t add up- the magic would have been cool to focus on.
Check content warning- SA/ grooming descriptive
The ARC that I read had multiple lines where there was no spacing- made some parts hard to follow.
Special thanks to Netgalley and House of Anansi Press Inc for this digital ARC.
Check content warning- SA/ grooming descriptive
The ARC that I read had multiple lines where there was no spacing- made some parts hard to follow.
Special thanks to Netgalley and House of Anansi Press Inc for this digital ARC.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews