"a love story that transcends time"
Raziela "Razi" Nolan is a women ahead of her time; her
forward thinking, ambitious, and out spoken personality is
not well accepted in 1920's New Orleans. She lives in a
time where women fight for suffrage, and have little
rights but those allowed by the men who control them.
Unwilling to be stifled by what society has dictated for
her and all women, she works toward becoming a doctor, and
at the risk of incarceration, she educates women on
matters of reproductive health and sexual potential. While
in college she has a torrid affair with fellow college
student, Andrew O'Connell. They are deeply in love. After
graduation she is wrestling with her future plans and her
relationship with Andrew when a tragic accident takes
Razi's life. She is unable to move on to what is after;
Razi now exists between life and the afterlife. She cannot
bear to watch what happens to Andrew without her, so she
keeps tabs on him through watching those around him. When
Razi follows a young couple, Amy and Scott, home after
they purchase a bookcase that belonged to Andrew, a series
of coincidences sends Razi on a path to discover the truth
about what happened to her beloved Andrew O'Connell. THE MERCY OF THIN AIR is a mesmerizing work by debut
author, Ronlyn Domingue. It is a love story that
transcends time, told by Razi, through parallel storylines
of her life in 1920's New Orleans and the relationship
between Amy and Scott in the present. Razi is absolutely
incredible and a character you will not soon forget. Her
story is at once a character study that illuminates how
people and relationships help shape the person we become,
and an intriguing mystery that Ms. Domingue expertly
reveals layer by layer as it builds to a crescendo that
will leave the reader astounded. THE MERCY OF THIN AIR is
a thought provoking, at times heart wrenching treasure of
a book that deeply moved me as a reader.
Posted June 12, 2006
Reviewed by Dee Gentle
Posted November 17, 2006
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In 1920s New Orleans, smart and fearless Raziela Nolan is in the throes of a magnificent love affair when she suddenly dies in a tragic accident. Immediately after her death, she chooses to stay between -- a realm that exists after life and before whatever lies beyond it. From this remarkable vantage point, Razi narrates the story of her lost love, as well as the relationship of Amy and Scott, a young couple whose home she haunts seventy years later. Their trials finally compel Razi to slowly unravel the mystery of what happened to her first and only love, Andrew, and to confront a long-hidden secret.
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