Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love: Stories

by Rumer Godden, Jon Godden

A poignant collection of short stories centers on India and its many facets, from the fabled India of old to modern India, from the rice fields of Bengal to the streets of Calcutta, exploriong themes of love, faith, and courage

Genres: Short Stories, Literature

168 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1991

About the author

Margaret Rumer Godden was an English author of more than 60 fiction and non-fiction books. Nine of her works have been made into films, most notably Black Narcissus in 1947 and The River in 1951.
A few of her works were co-written with her elder sister, novelist Jon Godden, including Two Under the Indian Sun, a memoir of the Goddens' childhood in a region of India now part of Bangladesh.

Reviews

[Ruby Hollyberry · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately this was the only bad thing I've read with the name "Godden" on it. I love Rumer Godden's books, but she had a tendency towards weak self-editing and too much self-congratulation. Put her with her sister and they were a too-tight little bundle of mutual admiration. All the stories in this collection were poor.

[Katherine Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first story entranced me. The Godden sisters write with perception about every character in their scenarios, almost with cinematic effect. Only warning is that this includes animals and while there are many delighting images, there are some sad ones. Somehow the human pathos was easier to read, probably because it had more to do with poverty than pain in these tales. Some of the captivating human characters are a persistent vendor, a couple cheated because they didn't know about their dead son's military pension, a woman discovered to be perfect for a film part, and people in Kashmir living in houseboats and in a setting that reminded me of Shangri-la. The stories are lushly written and poignant.

[Kezia · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's really hard to get past all the animal abuse, exploitation, and cruelty. Oh, the humanity. Oh, the symbolism. And just when you start to balk at all this injustice, the one person who seems to oppose animal suffering is a caricature of buffoonery.

It's also hard to get past the patronizing treatment of all these poor rustics, nomads, and illiterates. You can feel the authors licking their chops at the opportunity to hold up the noble savage trope.

What had potential is so unfortunately dragged down by bias and disturbing themes of violence toward animals that I found it difficult to appreciate the writing quality.

[Tacy]

Some unforgettable stories.

[Alaina · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of short stories giving vignettes of the different regions of India, some poignant, some depressing.