In the three Joan Silber novels I've read she links together the lives of her character through thin threads that connect one to the other. In Mercy, some of the links are unexpected, but each life works both as a piece of the larger whole and as an individual tale. Starting with Ivan and a drug induced mishap gone awry, each character has regrets, but each is also enmeshed in a full life. Mercy is a facile book that swiftly carries you from one story to the next. While I may not have been always moved by each character, I certainly stayed interested. If non-linear is your thing, give Mercy a try.
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