BOOKS - A Plague of Mercies
US $7.92
391415
391415
A Plague of Mercies
Author: Adam Pelzman
Year: June 7, 2023
Format: PDF
File size: PDF 1.2 MB
Language: English
Year: June 7, 2023
Format: PDF
File size: PDF 1.2 MB
Language: English
A lethal plague sweeps the globe. Millions have died. Survivors are confined to their homes.Gabriel passes his time in a small New York apartment on the city's Upper West Side. During the plodding solitude of the lockdown, he observes several strangers in their nearby apartments. As he watches them struggle to survive a world at risk of extinction, he wonders about their lives - where they're from, what they value, how they're coping with a deadly contagion. All alone, he develops a vague yet important connection to these people, an affection for those who are struggling to survive isolation, fear and looming death.Told in powerful, spellbinding free verse, Gabriel's observations grow deeper and more elaborate as the endless days pass. But when he and a woman from across the street begin to watch each other from afar, his imagination begins to collide with the bleak reality of the times. Praise for A Plague of Mercies and "... a captivatingly unconventional love story ... brilliantly observant poetry that captures a dark moment in our recent history. and " - Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)Praise for Adam Pelzman's The Boy and the Lake and "Pelzman excels at creating an intensely atmospheric setting and revealing how it shapes his characters' identities and worldviews ... The narrative is full of rich, descriptive language ... a well-developed vintage setting and classic but thought-provoking coming-of-age theme. and " - Kirkus ReviewsRunner up for 2021 Selfies Book Awards U.S.Praise for Adam Pelzman's Troika (A Cuban Russian American Love Story) and "Riveting drama and sensuous prose make for an unforgettable love story ... [a] beautifully rendered debut. and " - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) and "Pelzman's talent and vision are formidable ... and " - Publishers Weekly and "... transcendent, magnetic, intoxicating ... and " - BookreporterEXCERPTThere is a woman who lives in a building in New York City,on the Upper West Side.A man just a few years older lives in a building across the street.These two people live at the same elevation,the same height,one hundred feet above the pavement,above the crust of the earth.They can see into each other's apartments.Every night before the woman gets into bedshe puts on a threadbare gray shirt.The shirt is long and sleeveless and extends down to her knees.She turns off the ceiling lightand then turns on a nightlight near her bed.The light casts an amber glow reminiscent of a campfire.The man in the other apartment wonders if the nightlightis the woman's response to a fear of the dark,to a threat real or imagined,an antidote of sorts.After she turns on the nightlightshe looks briefly through her window.Perhaps she is reflecting on another day passed.Perhaps she is considering the quality of her life,or the quantity that remains.Perhaps she is scanning the dark street for signs of life,for hope in any of its many forms.
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