The Heaven of Mercury

by Brad Watson

Book Overview

A dark, riotous Southern novel of sex, death, and transformation. Brad Watson's first novel has been eagerly awaited since his award-winning debut collection of short stories, "Last Days of the Dog-Men." Here, he fulfills that literary promise with a humorous and jaundiced eye.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393047571
• ISBN13: 9780393047578
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 333 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.7" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

INTERESTING AND WELL DONE

Wonderful discriptive writing. It takes a bit to get use to the author's syntax and punctuation peculiarities, but once you get over that, it is rather fun and refreshing. This work does have it's own rhythm and I rather like that. I like the way the author has take very "ordinary" people, and told a story, proving again, that there is merit and a tale in every life. I suppose many may be a bit put off as the the fact that the characters are not all that different from you and me, but that is one of the strong point of the work, I feel. I could not find one character in the book, that I have not meet in "real life" and that was kind of nice. I highly recommend this read and hope we get more of the same.

SO MANY HEAVENS...

The concept of heaven - whether one believes it exists or not - is one that has as many facets as there are souls to discuss it. Alice Sebold depicted one vision of it beautifully and brilliantly in her novel THE LOVELY BONES - Brad Watson has given us another literary treasure that touches the reader's heart just as deeply in his first novel, THE HEAVEN OF MERCURY.Watson's book is, of course, about much more than an individual's vision and experience of heaven - it is a finely wrought, rich tapestry that gives us a living, breathing view of Southern life (although so much of what its characters feel and experience is universal), one that touches on emotions and truths so deeply, yet gently, that we know them as if they were our own. His writing is awesomely beautiful, yet honest and forthright - there is no superficiality here, and I never got the feeling that even a single word was put there to impress the reader. Watson is telling a story that he feels in his soul - and has filled this novel with characters that are so real that their presence can be felt in the room.One of the beauties of his prose is how easily it rolls along, bearing not only the story and characters, but the reader as well, along with it. I found myself re-reading many a passage in wonder, amazed that I had traveled its length to arrive at the end, almost unaware of the journey. In developing his characters in the reader's mind's eye, the author employs incredibly distinctive voices - distinctive not only for their speech and thoughts, but in the narrative surrounding them.What seems at first to be a surreal quality to Watson's writing reveals itself, upon further consideration, to actually be more of an `ultra-reality' - people, events, emotions and settings are placed so close to the reader's perception that they seem blurred and bent, adding to the mystical/mythical qualities of the tale. The characters' lives are seen not just through their own memories, but also through the memories of those around them, giving varied slants on events they hold in common - personal v. universal memory. Watson's depiction of the `heaven' or `hell' we experience after death - those of specific souls often overlapping - is presented in much the same fashion. It's a concept that might seem self-contradictory until one sees it laid out so beautifully and skillfully, in the context of the story - viewed thusly, it makes perfect and natural sense.The story itself centers on the life of one Finus Bates - from his early years to the end of his life - and his life-long love for Birdie Wells. Theirs is a deep, close friendship - and a star-crossed love. The book follows their lives - and the lives of other citizens of the fictional town of Mercury, Mississippi - in non-chronological but perfectly sensible order, through friendships, marriages (each to another partner), trials, tribulations, and the ins and outs of everyday life. Far from being a boring picture of mundane lives in a sm

Now Listen Up

This is one of the most beautiful books I've read in ages. Based on some of the reviews below, this is definitely a love it or hate it book. I'll tell you this much: if you love good fiction with pitch-perfect prose and dead-on dialogue, then this is the novel for you. Everyone says it reminds them of Faulkner or Marquez but this is completely original writing that gets to the meat of the human heart (no pun intended, as a human heart is actually a pivotal plot point). If you like formulaic writing and stitled dialogue this is not the book for you. You should read books like this, though. They're good for you. One of the best books of the year, if not THE best.

One of the Best Books I've Read in Years

It is so wonderful in our time to find something of such beauty, subtlety and richness as Brad Watson's Heaven of Mercury. The characters and scenes become part of your memory. There is a non-cliche understanding of the South that can only come from a person that is truly in touch with that place and history. Watson taps into all the dimensions of the human condition, with a comic edge like a razor blade. It is quite rare that I read a book that literally leaves me breathless. Brad Watson is one of the greats in the next generation of Southern writers. Thank you and bravo!

Watson Hits Homerun with this Novel

Many readers and reviewers have mentioned William Faulkner in discussing this magnificent first novel, but the comparison is misleading. While Faulkner's brilliance rolls over us in what sometimes feels like an unregulated rant, Watson's polished prose carries us along with it in a rush of dreamlike precision. Surprising, illuminating, dark and funny, this is the novel that everybody's been trying to write.