TLC Book Tours: Mercury

I love starting a book that is impossible to put down.  Margot Livesey's novel, Mercury, has two excellent narrators that drew me in.

Donald, an eye doctor, and his wife Viv are living a traditional suburban life with their family in Boston, focused on their children and each other. Things are going well until Mercury arrives.

Mercury is a horse, and his presence at the stable where Viv works changes her life and her family's.  She dreams of competing with Mercury, and her focus changes from her children and husband to Mercury as she spends more and more time at the stables with him.

It is only after their lives implode that Donald is able to see the many small events and acts that led them to the present: Viv's increasing absence from home, her fears for Mercury's safety, and her obsession with realizing a dream she had long ago.  

This is a novel that has both a strong plot, and is also still character driven.  I loved the complexity to these characters and felt myself groaning inwardly at some of their choices, knowing that their decisions were going to impact them badly.

Donald and Viv both take turns narrating, that provides two perspectives on the story of their marriage and family.  Both are flawed, yet it was easy for me to appreciate their feelings and where they were coming from.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for providing a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are, as always, my own.

Visit Harper Collins' website for purchasing information.