Review: THE MERMAID by Christina Henry
/22 Comments/by SuzanneAlso by this author: The Girl in Red
Published by BERKLEY on June 19, 2018
Genres: Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Pages: 325
Source: Netgalley
Amazon
Goodreads
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
MY REVIEW:
Christina Henry’s The Mermaid is a captivating reimaging of the FeeJee Mermaid, one of P.T. Barnum’s infamous hoaxes from the 1840’s. In Henry’s version of the tale, the Mermaid is not a hoax at all. Amelia is a real, live mermaid who lives in the sea until one day when a fisherman catches her in his net. When their eyes meet, Amelia instantly knows that she wants to spend her life with this man, and so when he cuts her free from his net, instead of fleeing to safety, Amelia chooses to come ashore, find the fisherman, and live as his wife. They live together in a cabin overlooking the ocean until the fisherman is lost at sea and Amelia is left all alone.
Rumors about the existence of a mermaid reach the ears of P.T. Barnum, who is always on the lookout for new attractions for his museum. When he hears about Amelia, he knows she is sure to be a money maker for him if he can convince her to join him. He sends an associate to find her and after meeting Barnum, Amelia agrees to play the mermaid in one of Barnum’s attractions. She sets her own terms – a 6 month contract and enough money to be able travel anywhere in the world she wishes to go – and they sign a contract.
At first Amelia is somewhat intrigued by the idea of showing the world what a real mermaid looks like, but the more she sees of humanity and how people behave, the less enamored she is with the idea and the more determined she is to leave the show as soon as her contract is up.
Will Amelia ultimately be free to leave Barnum when her contract is up or will Barnum’s determination to hold on to his moneymaker lead him to try and stand in her way?
Appealing main character. I was drawn to Amelia from the first moment we meet her. First of all, I loved that Henry chose not to give Amelia the half woman half fish appearance that typically comes to mind when we think of mermaids. Instead, she gives Amelia the appearance of being something truly born from the sea. Her body is completely covered in silvery scales and she doesn’t really resemble a human in any way. In addition to giving her this unexpected appearance, Henry also makes Amelia’s transformation from mermaid to human and vice versa sound so beautiful. I loved the idea that it was solely Amelia’s choice which form she took and that all she needed was sand to become human and ocean water to turn back into a mermaid. I thought Henry just did such a beautiful job of bringing this mythology to life.
What really captivated me about Amelia, however, wasn’t really the way she looked. It had more to do with the feminist twist that Henry gives her. Amelia is a force to be reckoned with, a woman ahead of her time, and it’s mainly because coming from the sea, she really has no idea how society expects women to behave. The more she learns about society’s expectations for women, the more she begins to dislike the whole idea of society. She values her own freedom and independence above all else, and she has no use for anyone who tries to stand in her way and hold her back. Because of this, she stands up to Barnum and challenges him in ways that he never expects to be challenged. Barnum is portrayed as kind of a jerk as well so it makes it very easy to cheer Amelia on.
Atmospheric writing: The Mermaid is not what I would consider to be a fast paced novel. Instead, it’s one of those novels where the storytelling is just so exquisite I felt as if a spell was being cast over me drawing me deeper and deeper into the tale with each page that I read.
Henry’s use of vivid descriptions made me feel like I had stepped back in time to 1840’s America. I could feel my nose wrinkling in disgust at some of the less savory smells that were present on the streets of a less than sanitary New York City. In contrast, Henry’s attention to detail also made me feel like I was at the ocean with Amelia. I could practically hear the waves slapping the shore and smell the salt in the air. Henry’s writing reminds me very much of Alice Hoffman’s, which is a good thing since Hoffman is one of my favorites.
Social commentary: For the most part, The Mermaid reads like part fairy tale/part historical fiction. It’s whimsical and almost otherworldly at times because of the mermaid’s presence and the mythology surrounding her, but at the same time, the story also contains a powerful social commentary on the lack of women’s rights and about how restricting societal expectations for women were during this time period. It becomes especially evident in scenes between Amelia and Barnum’s wife, Charity. There are many times when Charity is the one who seems like she’s living in a cage rather than Amelia. Amelia even begins to pity Charity because she has so little freedom.
Amelia not only sees and speaks out against the fundamental wrongness of this lack of rights for women, but she also exposes how inhumane humans can actually be. She is appalled by the idea that Barnum thinks he has a right to own people or animals, and she is also dismayed when the mermaid tour travels south and she sees slaves working the fields and being mistreated. Through Amelia’s eyes, Henry delivers a pretty clear message that humans could use a little more humanity.
The only issue I really had with the novel was the character of Levi Lyman. He is the associate of Barnum’s who is sent to find the Mermaid in the first place. I liked him well enough, especially in the sense that he clearly had Amelia’s best interests at the forefront of his mind at all times. My only issue was that it felt like I didn’t really get to know nearly as much about him as I would have liked. Same thing with Barnum’s wife, Charity. They both intrigued me and while there were hints of what they were like, I just wanted a little more.
The Mermaid is a beautifully written story that is sure to captivate fans of both historical fiction and mythology. One caveat I’ll add is that Henry admits she has written the version of Barnum that she needed for this story, so I’d recommend taking this portrayal of him with a grain of salt since this isn’t meant to be a biography. It is an exquisite work of fiction though and I fully expect it to land of my list of favorite 2018 reads.
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:
From the author of Lost Boy comes a historical fairy tale about a mermaid who leaves the sea for love and later finds herself in P.T. Barnum’s American Museum as the real Fiji mermaid. However, leaving the museum may be harder than leaving the sea ever was.
Once there was a mermaid who longed to know of more than her ocean home and her people. One day a fisherman trapped her in his net but couldn’t bear to keep her. But his eyes were lonely and caught her more surely than the net, and so she evoked a magic that allowed her to walk upon the shore. The mermaid, Amelia, became his wife, and they lived on a cliff above the ocean for ever so many years, until one day the fisherman rowed out to sea and did not return.\
P. T. Barnum was looking for marvelous attractions for his American Museum, and he’d heard a rumor of a mermaid who lived on a cliff by the sea. He wanted to make his fortune, and an attraction like Amelia was just the ticket.
Amelia agreed to play the mermaid for Barnum, and she believes she can leave any time she likes. But Barnum has never given up a money-making scheme in his life, and he’s determined to hold on to his mermaid.
About Christina Henry
CHRISTINA HENRY is the author of the CHRONICLES OF ALICE duology, ALICE and RED QUEEN, a dark and twisted take on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, as well as LOST BOY: THE TRUE STORY OF CAPTAIN HOOK, an origin story of Captain Hook from Peter Pan.
She is also the author of the national bestselling BLACK WINGS series (BLACK WINGS, BLACK NIGHT, BLACK HOWL, BLACK LAMENT, BLACK CITY, BLACK HEART and BLACK SPRING) featuring Agent of Death Madeline Black and her popcorn-loving gargoyle Beezle.
ALICE was chosen as one of Amazon’s Best Books of the Year in Science Fiction and Fantasy for 2015. It was also a Goodreads Choice Award nominee in Horror and one of Barnes & Noble’s Bestselling Science Fiction and Fantasy novels of 2015.
She enjoys running long distances, reading anything she can get her hands on and watching movies with samurai, zombies and/or subtitles in her spare time. She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.
Summer TBR Wipeout 2018: Update #2
/30 Comments/by Suzanne
It’s time for my second update for the Summer TBR Wipeout Challenge hosted by The Candid Cover! It feels like this challenge has just flown by, but regardless, I’ve managed to knock a lot of books off my TBR so I’m very happy with my progress. My original goal for the challenge was to read 15 books and to try to stick as closely to my tentative TBR as possible. For the first update, I was able to read 6 books and for this second update, I read another 6 and am about two-thirds of the way through a seventh book. I did veer from my tentative TBR a little but overall I think I did pretty well following it, especially considering what a mood reader I am.
Anyway, so going into the final stretch of the challenge, I’ve read 12 2/3 books, which means I’ve almost achieved my goal. I still have 5 unread books from my original TBR, however, so I’m going to really strive to finish all of those. We’ll see how it goes!
COMPLETED BOOKS
NEARLY COMPLETED
WHAT I PLAN TO READ NEXT
Can’t Wait Wednesday – AN ASSASSIN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND TREASON
/24 Comments/by Suzanne
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about. It is a meme that I have loved participating in for over a year now, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll just be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.
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My selection for this week is AN ASSASSIN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND TREASON by Virginia Boecker. The plot sounds exciting enough as it is, but I became especially interested in reading this book as soon as I read on Netgalley that fans of My Lady Jane and The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue should really enjoy it. Those were two of my favorite reads last year so count me in!
AN ASSASSIN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND TREASON by Virginia Boecker
Publication Date: October 23, 2018
From Goodreads:
When Lady Katherine’s father is killed for being an illegally practicing Catholic, she discovers treason wasn’t the only secret he’s been hiding: he was also involved in a murder plot against the reigning Queen Elizabeth I. With nothing left to lose, Katherine disguises herself as a boy and travels to London to fulfill her father’s mission, and to take it one step further–kill the queen herself.
Katherine’s opportunity comes in the form of William Shakespeare’s newest play, which is to be performed in front of Her Majesty. But what she doesn’t know is that the play is not just a play–it’s a plot to root out insurrectionists and destroy the rebellion once and for all.
The mastermind behind this ruse is Toby Ellis, a young spy for the queen with secrets of his own. When Toby and Katherine are cast opposite each other as the play’s leads, they find themselves inexplicably drawn to one another. But the closer they grow, the more precarious their positions become. And soon they learn that star-crossed love, mistaken identity, and betrayal are far more dangerous off the stage than on.
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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂