Central Library’s Brown Baggers met June 20th to discuss “Small Mercies” by Dennis Lehane.  “Small Mercies” is historical fiction, set in 1974 South Boston, Massachusetts  amongst the backdrop of the school busing/desegregation crisis. (Lehane is well known for writing mysteries, several of which have been turned into films ( Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone). )

Mary Pat Fennessey has already lost one son to a drug overdose after he served in Vietnam. When her 17 year old daughter Jules goes missing, she starts making the neighborhood bosses mad while poking around to find her.  Once she realizes her daughter was involved in the death of a young black male and is likely dead herself, Mary Pat has nothing to lose and doesn’t stop until she’s gotten revenge on the crew that has caused her so much grief.  

Themes included loyalty to family and community and the juxtaposition of the influences of the neighborhood and the church. Racism and socio-economic class wars also informed the plot.  And of course the pain and grief of a mother who has lost both her children due to societal ills.

The dialogue and language used was offensive to some of our readers, but most felt it was not gratuitous and was realistic to the time period and demographic of the characters.  It made the characters feel more authentic. (There were also many humorous turns of phrase.) Our readers noted that language is a choice with particular terminology sometimes used to dehumanize others.  Phrases can provide comfort and also reinforce the speaker’s power.

 Also there is violence; quite a bit of violence.  Our group agreed that Mary Pat, with nothing to lose and driven by rage and grief, seemed to have superhuman abilities and strength towards the end of the story. One does not want to get on her bad side!

“Small Mercies” inspired many in our group to share their personal  experiences of witnessing racism in different parts of the country during the 1970s and the period of school desegregation.  Experiences varied by locality with some living in the Cambridge, MA area at that time, and others living in South Boston,VA ,  NYC and Georgia.

We also discussed the significance of the title, trying to identify the “small mercies” in the novel.

Interview with Dennis Lehane about “ Small Mercies”