The Mercy of Thin Air, Ronlyn Domingue
The Mercy of Thin Air, Ronlyn Domingue
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

The Mercy of Thin Air

Author: Ronlyn Domingue

Narrator: Rebecca Gayheart

Abridged: 6 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/13/2005


Synopsis

“This is that rarest of first novels—a truly original voice, and a truly original story.” —Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author

The 20th anniversary of this lyrical debut novel is both a love letter to New Orleans and a transcendent exploration of the nature of love and how it transcends all barriers—even death.

New Orleans, 1920s. Raziela Nolan is in the throes of a magnificent love affair when she dies in a tragic accident. In an instant, she leaves behind her one true love and her dream of becoming a doctor…but somehow, she still remains. Immediately after her death, Razi chooses to stay between—a realm that exists after life and before whatever lies beyond it.

From this remarkable vantage point, Razi narrates the stories of her lost love, Andrew, and the relationship of Amy and Scott, a couple whose house she haunts almost seventy-five years later. The Mercy of Thin Air entwines these two fateful and redemptive love stories that echo across three generations. From ambitious, forward-thinking Razi, who illegally slips birth control guides into library books; to hip web designer Amy, who begins to fall off the edge of grief; to Eugenia, caught between since the Civil War, the characters in this wondrous novel sing with life. Evoking the power of love, memory, and time, The Mercy of Thin Air culminates in a startling finish that will leave you breathless.

About Ronlyn Domingue

Ronlyn Domingue is the author of The Chronicle of Secret Riven, The Mapmaker’s War, and The Mercy of Thin Air, which was published in ten languages. Her essays and short stories have appeared in several print and online publications, including New England Review, Shambhala Sun, and The Nervous Breakdown. Connect with her on RonlynDomingue.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

About Rebecca Gayheart

Rebecca Gayheart made her Broadway debut in Steel Magnolias, and her LA stage debut in the Tony winning The Last Night of Ballyhoo, (Back Stage West "Garland Award.") Feature films include Urban Legend, Jawbreaker, Shadow Hours, Harvard Man, and Pipe Dream. She starred on television in Wasteland, Beverly Hills 90210 and Earth 2, and has guest starred on Nip/Tuck and Dead Like Me.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tomi on September 26, 2007

I haven't even finished this book yet and it's already one of my all-time favorites (and that's quite a bold statement for me if you know how much I read). The language in this book is some of the most beautiful I have ever read, next to Gabriel Garcia Marquez - it is lyrical and somehow sparkles on......more

Goodreads review by Grace on December 06, 2007

Razi, the narrator and protagonist of The Mercy of Thin Air, is dead. The story moves back and forth between memories of her life before she drowns in the late 1920s and her observations on the present, over seventy five years later, where she lives "between" life and death. In common parlance, Razi......more

Goodreads review by Melodie on August 18, 2015

Razi( love that name!) a young woman who meets an untimely death, has never been a rule follower. She has bucked the traditional all her young life,studying with the intent of becoming a physician, distributing birth control information to women when it was not just "unnatural" but illegal. A true......more

Goodreads review by Rebecca on September 06, 2011

Most of this book I didn't like. I found it convulted, hard to follow and over-written. However, towards the end when all the pieces start coming together, I liked it better. This is the story of a woman who tragically dies and then is caught in the "in between" world. She can't stop obsessing what......more

Goodreads review by Lisa on June 17, 2014

This was an unexpected gem. I enjoyed the writing and structure of the narrative, but readers who are confused by nonlinear timelines may find this novel a challenge. The characters were well drawn--both male and female. I loved the sensual descriptions--just below my tolerance for overwriting, yet......more


Quotes

"Ronlyn Domingue's debut novel is an ethereal and eternal love story with images so luminous they lift off the paper. The Mercy of Thin Air will haunt you long after the last page is turned."
-- Paula Wall, national bestselling author of The Rock Orchard

"With lucid supple prose, Ronlyn Domingue weaves a gossamer tale suspended between two worlds. Readers will find it difficult to let go of this moving debut by a remarkable talent well on her way to a distinguished career."
-- James Wilcox, author of Heavenly Days

"In The Mercy of Thin Air, Raziela Nolan - a ghost - spins vivid portraits of the world she left, and the world she isn't allowed to join, reminding us that there is the finest of lines between present and past, between life and death, between love and regret. This is that rarest of first novels - a truly original voice, and a truly original story."
--Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of Vanishing Acts and My Sister's Keeper

"Like The Lovely Bones, Ronlyn Domingue's own first novel makes the reader feel as if he's died and gone to heaven. The Mercy of Thin Air should enjoy a similarly long and happy life."
--James Gordon Bennett, author of The Moon Stops Here

"Luminous, wise, tender, passionate, and compassionate, this book is special. Razi is a rare character, and her story opens like the petals of a flower. She makes me understand, all over again, the redemptive power of love. One to treasure."
--Posie Graeme-Evans, author of The Exiled

"Debut novelist Domingue weaves a tapestry of lost spirits and misplaced loves."
--Kirkus Reviews

"[An] amazing first novel.... Razi is so enchanting that readers will gladly follow her anywhere. Filled with vivid descriptions of scents, sounds, and marvelous human sensations that people take for granted and that spirits can only wistfully recall, this is a novel that gets under one's skin. Mere mortals can only hope that Domingue has more stories to tell."
--Library Journal (starred review)