-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
The rich and nuanced story of a moment of fear and abandonment that reverberates across decades and changes the course of many lives, by beloved PEN/Faulkner and National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author Joan Silber.
In the gritty East Village of 1970s New York, Ivan and his best friend, Eddie, a popular local bartender, are dabbling in drugs following a short tour of Europe. One night, as Ivan experiments with heroin with Eddie, things go horribly wrong. Ivan rushes Eddie to a crowded local ER and, believing his friend is about to die, leaves him there.
This one act of abandonment haunts Ivan his entire life. He keeps this secret from his friends and later his family, forever searching for mercy from "the remorse that never dies." Ivan's decision also ripples across time through an extended community, affecting a host of other people unknowingly connected to that night.
Following a bold cast of characters across decades, and set against the changing social and sexual mores from the 1970s onward, Mercy is Silber's most ambitious and expansive novel yet, proving once again how we are all connected in mysterious and often unknown ways.
Did you find the beginning of the book particularly dark or difficult? How did your perspective on the tone change as the story continued?
I was hooked from my beginning that these characters were going to transform a reader to how the past plays in our lives and how heroin addiction affects not the individual but affects other lives.
-Kammie_Sue_B
How does the book explore the role of a person's past in their present and future? Did it make you think about anything in your own past?
I read this book to get overmyself with my decisions of the past. I find myself close to characters and how one incident can affect minor and major characters in our lives.
-Kammie_Sue_B
After Eddie recovers from his overdose he's unsure if Ivan survived the night. Why do you think he never looked for information about his friend? Have you ever done an internet search for someone you haven’t spoken to for decades?
I think that Eddie was embarrassed about the whole situation. It may have been easier to believe that his friend died than his best friend left him alone at the hospital
-Tracy_B
Cara is at the hospital and witnesses Ivan abandoning Eddie. In what ways do you think the scene impacts her over the course of her life?
Cara is aware of people being discarded and abandoned. A theme that she carried in her life. She wants to help when possible.
-Tracy_B
For what audience would you recommend Mercy? Is there another book or author you feel has a similar style?
I think this book is written for the deep thinker. I agree, that it is one that has to be mulled over and thought about after you finisih reading it to get the full effect. I didn't think I cared for the book much after I read it, but after becoming engaged in the questions and reading what other...
-Becky_S
Were you surprised by the ending? Which characters do and do not receive "mercy"? Do you think the book treats forgiveness as something one has to earn or deserve, or something given freely?
I wasn't surprised by the ending and felt that Eddie was probably alive all along. I wish that Ivan could have met up with him and received the mercy that Eddie had given him. I feel Ivan lived a tormented life because he couldn't forgive himself for his actions. He needed to own them first and t...
-Becky_S
What do you make of Ivan's pivotal choice? Do you understand where he's coming from? What would you have done differently?
I have tried to keep the age of the characters in perspective when thinking about this. They were all very young, although old enough to know what the repercussions would be. Ivan acted very selfishly by leaving Eddie at the hospital alone… I can certainly understand why he felt guilt for the res...
-Becky_S
Nini is forced to return to the United States before she can witness the naming ceremony for an infant. She later learns the child died before the rite could be held. What did you think of her reaction? What lasting impact do you think this had on her?
I think the realization that the world is not a merciful place was very hard for Nini. Even though I am sure these things happen in different cultures, it is still hard for us , as Americans, to wrap our heads around it, and it still can make us sad. I know she was disappointed that no one shared...
-Becky_S
Ivan follows AA's 12-step program, yet he leaves his behavior toward Eddie out of the process. Do you feel he cheated on the 12-step program, and do you agree with his assessment, that his sobriety is "fraudulent"?
I wouldnt say that his sobriety was fraudulent because he didn't reveal what he had done to Ivan in his meetings, but later on in the story, when he allows himself to drink again, his sobriety is questionable. Ivan felt so much guilt, and really, rightfully so, of what he had done to Eddie…he nev...
-Becky_S
Did you enjoy the setting of New York City in the 70s/80s? Do you think the same story would have been possible elsewhere?
I thought this was a good setting for the book, definitely with the drug culture in the 70s… but I don't think it had to be New York to make it realistic.
-Becky_S
The author has written other books in this form, with each chapter told by a different character, with links embedded. Why would a writer want to do this? Have you read other novels written this way? How is Silber's different?
I have read other books with this format and usually like it ! It does have my flipping the pages back and forth trying to remember how the characters intersect since this particular book doesn't have the characters coming together. I do like to read the different perspectives from each character...
-Becky_S
What characteristics do the women narrators (Astrid, Cara, Nini, and Isabel) share? In what ways are they different? Do you see any parallels in their lives?
They were all able to make lives for themselves without adhering to typical roles and responsibilities.
-wdh-kentucky
Which character's life and choices do you relate to the most? Which has stuck with you after finishing the book?
I didn't really connect to any specific character in the book although I thought the individual stories were well done. I struggled remembering how Cara fit into the overall story and had to page back. I thought place/time descriptions were also well done.
-wdh-kentucky
Overall, what did you think of Mercy? (No spoilers in this thread, please!)
I really had a hard time with this book due to the way it was written…I thought the stories would be more intertwined and connecting. Each story was interesting in its own right, but I was disappointed that they didn't eventually all come together.
-Becky_S
Isabel and Elena don’t understand why their mother is so intent on helping her father, even though Steve was never a part of Cara’s life. Why do you suppose Cara felt she needed to support him? What would you have done in her place?
Guilt is also a big part of this book. Cara had not experienced her father in her life but I'm sure she always wondered about him. Her mother wanted to show mercy on the man that she once loved and also wanted to assuage her own guilt. Cara wanted to help her to connect.
-Wendy_F
Astrid is sued by her second husband, and at first she fights his claim. After playing Helene, though, she agrees to pay him what he wants without further confrontation. What was it about this role that changed her? Why do you suppose she gave in to him?
I think Astrid is the character who showed the most growth. She learned that Life is too short for arguing over money.
-Catherine_O_Callagha
Do you think gender plays a big role in the paths each character takes through the book? How about society's changing ideas about love and sex?
Absolutely! The men take off and do whatever they want (professor off to Thailand having affair w/associate teacher; father off to Bali; Vietnam draft dodger, etc) while the women do what is expected of them. I liked the way the author weaved the changes of love and sex through the time line of f...
-Jessica_F
Why do you think so much of the book is spent with the young women who weren't part of Ivan's initial story?
No idea - but wish they had not been there.
-Sandi
Why do you think the final chapter was written in 3rd person while the remainder was in the 1st person?
I think it was to emphasize the past. The changes had been made and that portion of life was over with.
-Sandi
How did you feel about the initial shift to Astrid's point of view? How did it change your understanding of the characters?
Astrid…hmmm…. who was she?
-Sandi
Did you expect the way the narrative was told through such a wide variety of characters? Were there different perspectives you wanted to hear from or return to?
I did not relate to many of the characters in this book, but I would have been happy with only Ivan, Eddie and Cara telling their stories - had they been more connected.
-Sandi
What are you reading this week? (8/28/2025)
I am about halfway through "Mercy" by Joan Silber. (Preparing for the discussion, with thanks to BookBrowse for a copy.) I'm enjoying wondering where she is going to take these strands around one pivotal experience. There's something about it that reminds me of "Half a Life: a memoir" by Darin St...
-Robin_G
About the Mercy by Joan Silber Discussion category
Please join BookBrowse in our book club discussion of Mercy by Joan Silber.
-system
"Silber—the great chronicler of the webs of love and coincidence that connect people—turns her attention to drugs and sex and mercy...What a sophisticated trick, to create this particular form of suspense and intellectual pleasure. Like a favorite special in a beloved restaurant, Silber again serves her unique flavor of reading joy." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Silber is an expert at evoking a time and place in a few brushstrokes, especially 1970s New York City. This is a short novel that addresses some very human themes, like regret and betrayal, while also being threaded with humor and plainspoken intimacy. Some chapters feel like a conversation with an old friend. Silber's canvas may be small, but like her Secrets of Happiness and Improvement before it, Mercy feels like a complete world." —BookPage (starred review)
"Alluring...Silber sheds light on how people are shaped by where they come from and who they know." —Publishers Weekly
"The universe of Joan Silber's superb new novel Mercy is vast yet particular: it holds its inhabitants accountable for their actions, forgiving them, shaking them, binding their destinies through the power of story. What do the vanished owe to the visible? What do the living owe the dead? As Mercy tackles these powerful questions, it reveals itself to be a true masterpiece." —Carolyn Ferrell, author of Dear Miss Metropolitan
"Joan Silber's sweeping yet intimate novel traces the delicate patterns by which others, often from afar and unknowingly, may determine our innermost longings and even our fate. Mercy is a profound, gorgeously written reflection on identity, friendship, and love. A book that keeps echoing long after turning the last page." —Hernan Diaz, author of Trust, winner of the Pulitzer Prize
This information about Mercy was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Joan Silber is the author of eight works of fiction. Among many awards and honors, she has won the PEN/Faulkner Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award in Fiction and has been a finalist for the National Book Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. She teaches at Sarah Lawrence College and lives in New York City.
If you liked Mercy, try these:
by Sally Rooney
Published 2025
An exquisitely moving story about grief, love, and family―but especially love―from the global phenomenon Sally Rooney.
The End of the World Is a Cul de Sac
by Louise Kennedy
Published 2024
Brilliant, dark stories of women's lives by "a very major talent" (Joseph O'Connor, Irish Times)
by Carol Smith
Published 2022
A powerful exploration of grief following the death of the author's son that combines memoir, reportage, and lessons in how to heal.
Don't join the book burners. Don't think you are going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever ...
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
