The Mercy of Thin Air

July 18, 2005
A gothically tinged historical take on The Lovely Bones
, this debut novel manages to carve out some of its own territory. In late 1920s New Orleans, Raziela "Razi" Nolan carries on a passionate college love affair with Andrew O'Connell (while planning to be a gynecologist). She desires immortality ("One lifetime isn't enough to make all the trouble of which I'm capable") and gets her wish when she slips poolside, dies and finds herself in a state "between life and whatever comes next" in which she may observe the world she's left behind and even meddle mildly. As she learns the rules of "the between" Razi finds it too painful to keep track of Andrew. But 70 years after her death in 1929, she is curious to know what happened to her beloved and is drawn to a young couple, Amy Richmond and Scott Duncan. Domingue captures the equally repressive and uninhibited culture of 1920s America, creates a convincing world of "the between," and gives nice shape to the loving but troubled relationship of Amy and Scott as Razi uncovers her connection to them. The novel lacks a fully distinctive voice, but is certainly several cuts above the genre mysteries and historicals it most resembles. 16-city author tour
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August 1, 2005
Echoing Alice Sebold's " The Lovely Bones" (2002), debut novelist Domingue places her protagonist, Razi Nolan, "between," that is, in the place where souls go after death, perhaps for decades, before proceeding to whatever comes next. Razi dies in a drowning accident in July 1929, just after graduating from Tulane. Headed to medical school, she was involved with the dissemination of, at the time, illegal birth control information to unmarried women. Now, 70 years later, Razi attempts to find out what happened to Andrew, the love of her life. A parallel plot involves a young couple, Amy and Scott, who are drifting apart because Amy is unable to forget her first fiance, who died tragically 6 years earlier. In each plot, so different in time and place, Domingue takes a probing look at what produces strong and independent women, be it environment, education, or genes. Though Domingue gets a little bogged down in the intricate details of hidden family ties, the well-drawn characters of Razi and Amy ensure that this is an engaging tale.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)

Starred review from July 15, 2005
Thin air, as it turns out, is actually populated with the spirits of the departed who have chosen to stay "between" heaven and earth. In Domingue's amazing first novel, Raziela Nolan is readers' guide to this great gray yonder. A most charming spirit, indeed, she graciously takes us back to 1920s New Orleans and recounts her passionate romance with Andrew, revealing the subsequent lives of the people she tragically left behind and the mischief that goes on in the spirit world. Razi is so enchanting that readers will gladly follow her anywhere. Filled with vivid descriptions of scents, sounds, and marvelous human sensations that people take for granted and that spirits can only wistfully recall, this is a novel that gets under one's skin. Mere mortals can only hope that Domingue has more stories to tell. Highly recommended for all fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ "6/1/05.] -Susanne Wells, P.L. of Cincinnati & Hamilton Cty., OH

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