Ever since I read Jennifer Haigh’s first novel, Mrs. Kimble, a story of three women who marry the same man—an opportunist named Ken Kimble—I’ve been hooked on her writing. Jennifer Haigh’s storytelling draws you in immediately. Her characters are so perfectly drawn in all their complexities—so intriguing and compelling—that you almost have no choice but to go on the journey with them and see what unfolds.
This New York Times bestselling author went on to write six more bestselling books. Her sixth, Mercy Street (on sale NOW!), is a tense and compassionate story about the disparate lives that intersect around a woman’s clinic in Boston. And Boston is as much a character in this book as the main characters in the story—starting with Claudia, a long-time abortion counselor whose clinic is under pressure from protesters. The characters swirling around her—including Claudia's pot dealer and a dangerous anti-abortion activist—all come to life with complexity and nuance.
Mercy Street is a novel for right now, a story of the polarized American present. Jennifer Haigh, “an expert natural storyteller with a keen sense of her characters’ humanity” (New York Times), has written a groundbreaking novel, a fearless examination of one of the most divisive issues of our time.
Here’s just a sampling of the love for this book:
“Abortion, guns, vigilantism, drug dealing, white supremacy, bitter misogyny and online fetishism all figure in the tableau Haigh expertly details…She’s largely not interested in destruction here: These people have seen enough of it already. She’s interested in what makes them human.”
—Janet Maslin, New York Times
Entertainment Weekly includes in its 10 Must Read Books to Heat up February roundup
“Mercy Street was conceived and written before this year's slow-motion dismantling of Roe v. Wade, making it all the more urgent.”
—EW.com
“Mercy Street is a savvy, keen-eyed, witty, wise, and altogether luminous novel."—Richard Ford
"Jennifer Haigh is the greatest novelist of our generation."
—Joanna Rakoff, author of My Salinger Year
"Mercy Street argues, both in form and content, that compassion is a powerful counterpoint to the conflict-driven stories that dominate our news cycles…"
—San Francisco Chronicle
“I was riveted and transported, and want to hand this book to everyone I know."
—Rebecca Makkai, Pulitzer Prize finalist for The Great Believers
"Mercy Street is a bold, important, beautifully written and incredibly timely novel."
—Vendela Vida, author of We Run the Tides
Mercy Street will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page. I envy the reader who gets to read this for the first time.
—Virginia Stanley
Don't forget to check out NPR's "Here & Now" interview with Jennifer Haigh!