Mercy House

As a cradle Catholic female currently struggling with the Church, I found myself totally engrossed in the story. I know these nuns in my own life, women of God who have sacrificed everything for the care of others. Dillon did a fantastic job of including her personal experiences, inserting historical context, and allowing fiction to unfold – effortlessly. I hope we do not have to wait another ten years for her next novel!

This is the story of three nuns who run a shelter (the Mercy House) in Brooklyn. Both the religious women and the young guests are powerful characters. Whether you like them or not, each woman makes you care about her in some way. They are strong and determined even when up against the furies of their abusers. Dillon successfully finds similar traits in all the abusive men – whether they were a collar or a tattoo to identify them. Dillon tells a story of what women can do when they support each other but she never villainizes all men!

I couldn’t put the book down but didn’t give it 5 stars because she started to drag near the end as if she didn’t know how to end the story. Although it was a bit of a disappointment I was so glad I stuck with it….a credible, emotional novel.

Mercy House covered a lot of ground: domestic abuse, Catholic priest abuse, women’s empowerment,
redemption, forgiveness and let’s not leave out a gigantic dose of chutzpah!
Not being a Catholic, my only knowledge of Catholicism was reading The Nuns Story when I was in 7th grade. Let it suffice to say I have never been able to reconcile several of its foremost tenants with my protestant upbringing. This is not a Catholic bashing book. The main character stresses what she loves about her religion, but also comments on the churches painful shortcomings and how they have hurt it’s members.

I thought the book was nicely written literary fiction with some structural flaws. The writing itself is lovely and evocative, whether Dillon is describing places (Evelyn coming home to Bedford Stuyvesant), people (any of the residents), or circumstances (the rapes and Evelyns feelings of worthlessness, being torn between received faith and horrible reality). The story struggles a bit when it comes to structure.
Evelyn is the protagonist, Maria and Josephine are the supporting characters. The backstories of the young women are sutured into the story as stand alone pieces. Sometimes the surgery is successful; sometime it leaves a scar in the narrative. The backstories are well written and go to explaining some of the girls behavior, but from the point of view of the story, their actions in Mercy House are what are important, so the backstories sometimes seem like the self-indulgence of a really good writer loath to edit out unnecessary verbiage. Also, the mention of the fleeting kiss from Eloise would have made Evelyns character richer had it occurred earlier in the book.
And then there is Bishop Hawkins. When a writer makes a villain all bad, she risks clich, particularly when the villain can stand in for a concept, like corruption in the Catholic Church. In this case, Hawkins unrelenting badness thins out the plot. If Dillon wanted to investigate corruption and use the fine description of Evelyn’s anguish, a flawed but human Hawkins would have allowed a rich investigation. But from the moment we meet him, we know the climax of the story will be his immolation. Had he shown some remorse, he would have retained some likelihood of being saved. But this dude had to be consumed by the flames of hell his rushed exit from the church reminded me of Don Juan being sucked into Hell in Mozarts opera.

Two eighty-four Chauncey Street. Its the one with the angel doorknocker. Arrive any time. Day or night. You can be safe.

Sisters Evelyn, Josephine and Maria have run Mercy House for twenty five years, providing a safe place for women who are escaping violence. Although they are undoubtably effective in their mission, they dont always play by the strict rules of the Catholic Church.

Its what weve feared, Josephine said. Its him.

Bishop Hawkins is coming to visit Mercy House. His visit is part of the nun-quisition, which puts the actions of nuns under the microscope because of their secular mentality and feminist spirit. (Never mind that the same church actively moves priests between parishes and pays hush money to sweep much greater offences under the rug.) Besides the fear that the methods they employ in their ministry wont stand up to close scrutiny, Evelyn has her own personal reasons for never wanting to see this man of God again.

When you think of nuns, Evelyn is probably not who you have in mind. She loves what she does but still grumbles at getting woken up in the middle of the night when its her turn to answer the door. Her beliefs arent as strictly tied to her faith as youd expect and if theres a loophole that will produce better results, you can be sure shell find it.

As much as I loved the three Sisters, I hated Hawkins and spent much of the book overcome by a seething fury, imagining all of the ways that I wanted to see him suffer. You dont want to just angry your way through a book though. Fortunately there were some amazing women who balanced out my rage with wonder at their courage and resilience. These women are dealing with shame and secrets, and trying their best to survive their past.

While I liked each of the residents of Mercy House, it was Desiree who stood out, and for good reason. Desiree has this in your face brashness. She acts tough but shes vulnerable as well, although she definitely doesnt want you to acknowledge that part of her. She speaks her mind and oftentimes says what everyone else is thinking. Youd want to be her friend but shed make a fierce enemy so dont get on the wrong side of her. She was responsible for most of my smiles while I was reading.

This is sweet and all, but we were promised wed get pizza if we came to church. So

The women of Mercy House have been through some really difficult life experiences, none of which are glossed over. Please be safe while reading, especially if you are likely to be triggered by any of the content.

Although it made the narrative neater, it seemed unlikely to me that during the course of the book, no new residents came seeking refuge at Mercy House after we met Lucia.

I dont know if publishers dont know about readers like myself but whenever theres a website included in a book Im going to look it up. Theres a website in this book that doesnt exist. Given the books themes, I would have loved to have seen a page that represented what was mentioned in the book, along with details of relevant helplines and organisations that readers could donate to.

I think I understand why the author left the story where they do. Although there are many characters who make their mark on the lives and/or hearts of the nuns who run Mercy House, this story really is Evelyns. Her story ends with possibilities for the future but overall the book didnt give me the answers I hoped for.

Content warnings are include on my blog.

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