Mercury
On a Saturday night three teenagers break into an abandoned neon factory and are fascinated by a vat of mercury glistening in the half-light. They play with the strange, silvery substance, coating their arms and cigarettes with it. For Katelynn, the poisoning is swift and debilitating. For one of her companions, it is a death sentence. While slowly recovering from mercury poisoning, Katelynn witnesses the sinking of a local tour boat outside her family's lakeside home. Louisa, the boat's captain and one of only two survivors, is devastated by the enormity of the tragedy and seeks out Katelynn, hoping the young witness can help her better understand what happened. As Louisa and Katelynn grow close, the two begin a journey that will ultimately take them both to the edge of loss and within reach of redemption. Cary Holladay's Mercury relates haunting stories of unforgettable people with self-assurance and literary skill rare for a debut novel. This richly textured and moving book will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:0609608142
ISBN13:9780609608142
Release Date:May 2002
Publisher:Shaye Areheart Books
Length:305 Pages
Weight:9.55 lbs.
Dimensions:1.1" x 6.3" x 9.7"
Customer Reviews
2 ratings
A simply stunning novel
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
This book, which may remind you of Alice Hoffman's ability to make magic out of common life, is the kind of novel that will live inside you for the rest of your life. I wish all fiction were this good.
Southern Classic
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
A wonderful novel. Really well written and with fascinating, quirky characters: a girl with mercury poisoning; a teacher who doesn't have a place to live and sneaks around sleeping in the high school at night; a woman who runs a tour boat that sinks and drowns a lot of people. It kept me reading. And Holladay really evokes the place too: the lakeside community with all its characters and its history. I read her story chosen by Stephen King for the O Henry Prize collection a couple of years ago and this has the same unusual perspectives. It's the kind of writing that makes you see life from a different angle after you've read it.
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