The Heaven of Mercury: A Novel

Although I met him personally before he died, I had not read any of Brad Watson's fiction. But his death was such a shock and I had heard so many good things about him, I immediately ordered this book and began reading it the minute it arrived. I was not disappointed. That this woman, born without any control over her bodily wastes could be the hero of a positive story that would amaze and delight me did not seem like even a remote possibility. But Watson's superior narrative skill made it an excellent read. I recommend it highly. I'll give you the first sentence of this new novel, and a few other excerpts, and you can judge for yourself:Five hundred feet above the highest building in downtown Mercury, thrust up amidst the light and swirling, lifting fog, the tower beacon for WCUV-AM glowed on and off with the regularity of a low pulse.Another excerpt:The valley was a river basin once thicketed with tall pines and broadleaf and run by bear, panther, deer, raccoon, bobcat, coyote, and flown by all manner of bird. In downtown anyway, only the birds remained, with the occasional desperate coyote or coon. the deer ran the woods around. the bear were gone north, the panther south, and west, the bobcat to near extinction. When one spied a bobcat in the woods, the bobcat seemed as surprised, even alarmed by his own presence as the one who spied it. Again it was as if the 1906 storm, marking the the century's change , had tossed all the old far around and left it ravaged for the new.On page 129, I see why Watson has been compared to Faulkner. I prefer Watson, partially because Faulkner never met a run-on sentence he didn't like. But when it comes to plotting and characterization, the complexity of his characters and his plotting are Faulknerian. My favorite character so far is Creasie. She is the daughter of the local midwife whop is raped by Junius, Earl's father, and her Aunt Vish gives her a tonic that aborts the fetus. Also interesting is a character named Frank, who lives with Creasie and works around the property.[I'm not fond of the racist language that is spoken by some of these characters, but Watson paints them all with a very precise brush.]I could drop more excerpts, but it'll be a lot more enjoyable if you order the book and read for yourself.

It's always sad to be introduced to an author's work due to their death, but I was glad to be able to be steered to this book. Watson has created a novel with singular characters who behave in their own distinctive ways, and the author's use of time and space, even the afterlife, is done very deftly and to great effect. I look forward to reading other books by this author but, again, very sorry he left us so early. A great story, with wonderful prose.

I found it very interesting, enjoyed the character development , but was disappointed in how the story ended, too fantastical.

A wonderful Southern novel! I read about the author, Brad Watson, for the first time just after he was dead. I'd read an article in the Paris Weekly that was so effusive with praise of his writing that I wondered why he was so unknown. As it turned out, he was just unknown to me! So I bought this book and two collections of short stories since then. His literary ouevre is four books, so read slowly. I recommend this book.

Hyped where? I only found it because I was at Amazon looking for something new by *Larry* Watson, and this book came up on the "People also bought . . . " feature.In fact, if I'd seen it at a bookstore, I'd have passed it up because of the back cover blurbs -- they made it sound like a writer's book more than a reader's book. It's not. The writing's good, sure, but never so pretty that it takes you out of the book, makes you remember you're reading.You'll be glad you read this book. It won't change your life, but it *will* add to your enjoyment of it.It's one of those books that will make you smile and cry and be glad that there are people who look at things differently and who have the talent to share their vision and experience.

Sweet, moving, with a slow, almost poetic prose start that sets the action.Once you move past this introductory chapter, action begins, and the web of drama and intrigue does not let up.It allows one to explore many aspects of life and belief. At first, I thought it could be good for teens, but later aspects of it are extremely brutal.The book haunts for days. I loved it. It's my first read by Brad Watson but won't be my last.

Please don’t waste your time. It was an unfulfilled promise. A story full of terrible human beings and annoying run on sentences. The only reason I gave it 2 stars is because the writing showed some promise; though, at the same time, trying a bit too hard to live up to Southern Literature.

A friend had recommended Brad Watson, and I am so glad he did, so this was my initial experience but won'[t be my last. Hate the term "regional" writer, i.e., "Western" or "Southern," but Watson ranks right up there with the best in depicting him home state and creating brilliant characters albeit a tad bizarre! I was pleased to learn that Brad is now teaching creative writing at my alma mater, The University of Wyoming.