There seem to be a lot of disappointed reviews about this book across both this and Storygraph, and I disagree with about 97% of them. I do think the second story was somewhat slow, but did not find it boring as it was a pretty obvious biographical piece and interesting stream of consciousness about being a teenager. The third story was hilarious and I loved the way it was written. The first was my favorite, and I felt the most substantial and almost seemed like it was I the same universe as I Who Have Never Known Men. I think what’s happened here is that I Who Have Never Known Men went viral on social media, and everyone read it, and most people loved it because it is fantastic. And then they picked up this expecting it to be exactly the same, read The Ardennes Forest and said “okay…. It’s kind of the same 😕.” Then hated the other two as they’re very different genres. However, they retain what I love about Harpman, and that is her ability to be vague, mysterious, thoughtful, and write quiet vignettes about humanity that knock me on my ass a little. It is a very disjointed short story collection, and maybe that’s part of the problem - it might be off putting if you are not familiar with collections of stories rather than one cohesive work.

With an audiobook read by the enchanting Jessie Buckley, this is the second book by Hargrave I’ve read that has kept me enraptured. In particular this author’s endings are striking, and her approach to women, history, and the ephemeral and hidden experiences within historical events is inspiring to me. The Mercies is written with such care, and much weight. Though I think I liked the Dance Tree better, this book surprised me in its sudden shift in atmosphere and setting. Hargrave is extremely talented, and has a distinctive narrative style I find beautiful and engaging. This is, to me, the absolute best that historical fiction can be. Taking fact and historical account, and approaching it saying “Yes, but what about the before? What about the subaltern? What about the quiet conversations by firelight that men didn’t care to write about in their own accounts? What about love and tenderness, and music and old magic?” Absolutely brilliant.