Title: For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain
Author: Victoria Mackenzie
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN: 9781526647931
Genre: Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction
Pages: 163
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5
I don’t know how or when I came across this little piece of wonder, but I am glad I did, and in effect got to read this marvellous novella about two women in the fifteenth century – both who see visions of Jesus, of God, battling with their demons of being women at that time and age, and more than anything else, of trying how to love, not feel guilty for their desire, for trying to be outspoken about what they see, and how they feel.
Prior to reading this book, I hadn’t heard of Julian of Norwich, who I got to know then was an anchoress of the Middle Ages, and then of Margery Kempe, who should’ve been canonised a Catholic saint but wasn’t.
Victoria Mackenzie presents the lives of these two women – separated by class, time, and place, and how it all culminates into a meeting between the two, and what is shared as a result. This book for a second made me think it was preachy, but it is so far from it. It is about the choices we make, and how sometimes we need faith to stick by them – either we find that within ourselves or from a force we call God.
Mackenzie’s writing is swift, engaging, and very well-researched. She brings the place and time alive – you can almost smell the streets, hear the voices of the people, and sense the superstitions and gender discrimination – Mackenzie writes so simply and the way it finds a way to your heart and makes it skip a beat.
The title of the book is what made me pick it up – it is so arresting, a plea, a cry, and yet something that tells you of resistance, of not caving in, and of standing tall, no matter what it takes. A great read. Please pick it up. It might take some time to get into, but it is worth it.
