Mercy Street is a jarring look at the America of today, from the perspective of a dooms-day prepper with a knack for stalking women, an abortion clinic counselor who is exhausted with people asking her “how can you do that?”, and a drug dealer who wants out of the game once and for all. It is a crockpot of the alternating perspectives in our country, combined with phenomenal writing and distinctive character voices. Haigh has accomplished a piece of work that not only highlights the abortion debate, but even larger themes of identity, radicalism, and just how far kindness can be pushed before breaking. This novel will take you into places many of us have never gone, and unfortunately is the reality for just as many. Regardless of which side of the debate you’re on, this is a read that’ll be on your mind long after it’s been finished.
Mercy Street by Jennifer Haigh, (List Price: $27.99, Ecco, 9780061763304, February 2022)
Reviewed by Emma June Wood, Main Street Reads in Summerville, South Carolina