Never a Mere Mortal

by Devon Dial

Overview

"Each person has a backstory. And each of their tales is being released back into the world in the form of judgments or joys, bitterness or beauty…"

 

     A mother, driven by tragedy to the threshold of her sanity. A husband, unable to escape his guilt after one shameful decision. A soldier, wrestling to regain the respect of a society that left him behind.

 

     As these and many others walk the aisles of their local supermarket, their stories gently intersect as each hurting soul struggles to find its way in the world. Reflecting on themes like love and innocence, brokenness and redemption, Never a Mere Mortal considers the spectrum of the human experience as lives are shaped, one choice at a time.

 

     Never a Mere Mortal, a literary novel that is 146 pages in length, follows thirteen characters as their paths cross on a seemingly ordinary day. But each soul bears far more than initially meets the eye. With flashbacks into their pasts, the characters ultimately offer a message of hope by demonstrating the power of extending grace rather than condemnation. Loosely based on C.S. Lewis's reminder that "you have never met a mere mortal," this story dignifies both the pain and the beauty of the human experience.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940166188229
Publisher:	Devon Dial
Publication date:	03/08/2022
Sold by:	Draft2Digital
Format:	eBook
File size:	296 KB

About the Author

Devon Dial lives outside of Huntsville, Alabama with her husband and two children. She pursued a degree in English Literature while attending Bryan College before graduating from the University of Alabama in Huntsville with a Bachelor's Degree in Art Studio.

Editorial Reviews

2022-08-23
Short tales that follow customers of a grocery store as their lives intertwine.

Dial’s linked short story collection begins with a man, finishing his conversation with the cashier, nearly running into Ms. Ruby, an old woman who has a scowl for everyone. In “Copies and Faxes,” Ms. Ruby faxes multiple documents to the White House and judges people. On her way out of the store, she sees a younger woman looking at a child’s puzzle and can’t help but make a snide comment. In “A Twelve Piece Puzzle,” that comment makes the young woman think about how her daughter, Bella, who is disabled, will never be able to solve anything more difficult than a 12-piece puzzle. The narrative hops from Bella’s mother to Jessica and to Anna. As one shopper interacts with another, the stories connect the entire cast, accreting personal details about their heartbreaks, hopes, and triumphs. As time goes on, the characters influence one another’s lives, and the narrative comes to a head in the final story. Dial weaves themes of romance, disappointment, and optimism throughout the collection, each vignette seamlessly leading into the next, building complexity via shifting points of view. The tone is Christian (the author notes, “Every human soul possesses intrinsic value simply because it has been formed in the image of God himself”), and religion figures prominently in dialogue. The character development is layered and involving. For example, Ms. Ruby’s thoughts on the financial market reveal a sharp mind: “The world of finance was to her like an aloof uncle—sometimes agreeable, sometimes grumpy, but easy enough to get along with if you learned to read his mood.” The primary draw, however, is the fun of following the threads from one tale to the next to see how they all knit together.

An engaging literary puzzle with a Christian message.

Kirkus Reviews