By 
Tracey D. Buchanan, the author of “Toward the Corner of Mercy and Peace,” has written a unique and poignant story. The genres for this story are Fiction and Historical Fiction. The timeline for this story is approximately 1952 and goes to the past regarding the characters or events. The location of the story takes place in Paducah, Kentucky. The author describes her dramatic characters as complex, complicated, and quirky.
The protagonist, Mrs. Minerva Place, holds some secrets close to her heart and appears standoffish and odd. She plays the organ in church and gives piano lessons to the children in the community. Some of her neighbors try to be helpful. One of Minerva’s obsessions is to go to the graveyard, look at the headstones, and learn about the occupants. She also goes to the library to do research and writes everything down. One part that sticks with me is that Minerva was so intent on a task that she fell into the graveyard and had to be helped up by a worker who commented that she was big and it was lucky that she didn’t fall into the open grave.
There are nosy and gossipy neighbors in the small town. At night, Minerva seems to get visitations from some of the deceased people from the gravestones she visited. At one point, she is almost certain she is losing her mind. Minerva then reminds herself she always had an imagination. In addition, a widower and his young son move to town and request that Minerva give piano lessons to the boy. The young boy seems to follow Minerva and “spies” on her. Does Minerva seem like the type of person to take to young children?
Just as Minerva gets more comfortable with the young boy, there is a tragic accident. Minerva has to face her past, forgive, and move on. I would recommend this thought-provoking story.
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