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BOOK REVIEW

‘The Quality of Mercy’ by Barry Unsworth

In historical epic, vivid characters shine inside and out

By Richard Eder

 |   

  January 29, 2012

History is the vehicle for most of Barry Unsworth’s novels, but he never lets the vehicle preempt the passengers. It is for their sake that he provides it; to display and explore their complexities as if only in movement might a character’s concealing pleats unfurl. There is a lot of history and some shrewd contemporary allusions in “The Quality of Mercy,’’ a sequel of sorts, though briefer and more pungent, to the slave trading epic “Sacred Hunger,’’ written 19 years ago.

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