| Title | : | Mermaid |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0307589978 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780307589972 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 240 |
| Publication | : | First published March 1, 2001 |
Meanwhile, the mermaid Princess Lenia longs to return to the human man she carried to safety. She is willing to trade her home, her voice, and even her health for legs and the chance to win his heart...
A surprising take on the classic tale, Mermaid is the story of two women with everything to lose. It will make you think twice about the fairy tale you heard as a child, keeping you in suspense until the very last page.
Mermaid Reviews
-
What could have been a poignant retelling of "The Little Mermaid" turned into a sappy mess with a lot of unfinished ideas. The beginning was gripping and fantastically told, the middle desperately grasped at sensuality and tragedy, while the ending deflated and fell flat. I was left feeling disappointed and cheated by this story.
Even if you're not familiar with the original
Hans Christian Andersen tale, you've probably seen Disney's "The Little Mermaid." I thought at first that this would be like an adult version of Disney's story, and for the most part, it was. The names are different, and there's no singing crab, but the structure of the story remains the same: the youngest mermaid princess falls in love with a human man, and chooses to sacrifice her voice and tail and forsake her family and friends for the chance to be with him.
Turgeon decided to make this about a love triangle, and a supposedly tragic one at that. Margrethe, Lenia the mermaid's foil, is the daughter of the Northern king. She is being hidden at a convent because there are rumors that the South is getting ready to attack. So of course, the man who the mermaid saves just happens to be and both women fall in love with him.
There was a lot of talk about God, faith, fate, and destiny, but it's not really something the author explored to an extent that was meaningful. The mermaid's whole position was borne of blind faith, and it's something that just didn't sit well with me. The talk of God and everything seemed so shallow and not something I could relate to. Margrethe constantly talked about how she wished to achieve rapture, and to have the feeling of love she saw in the nuns and on the mermaid's face, but it just felt so artificial. Margrethe even fell in love with the man the mermaid saved upon first glance, when they had little in common other than being beautiful. I understand this is a trapping of fairy tales in general, but it just felt so unbelievable in this instance. Turgeon was trying to recreate a more modern, and therefore, believable, version of this classic tale, and she failed in both aspects.
The man was a philandering dolt who didn't deserve either woman. His personality was cardboard, and I felt more chemistry between the women than I did when he was with either of them.
The mermaid was a fool, and she should have been treated as such. How can you leave everything you've ever known for the minute chance that a guy who you were around for all of a couple of hours will love and marry you? This was just stupid, and insulting to women in general.
The ending robbed me of the tragedy I wanted, and I can't help feeling bitter at this.
Turgeon's writing wasn't anything special, and at times I felt like she repeated herself to fill up the pages. I can't say I'll never read her again, but I don't think she does this sub-genre any justice. -
I am very close to this author and think this might be the best book ever written.
=) -
Two words come to mind after reading Carolyn Turgeon’s Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale: missed opportunity. Turgeon proved in 2009’s Godmother, a loose retelling of the Cinderella fairytale, that she can craft a well-designed and modern story in the magical realism genre. Mermaid was her chance to address the shortcomings of her previous book, like a tendency to write flat characters or oversimplify a love story. What’s more, Mermaid was an opportunity to modernize a fairy tale for adult readers and bring a fresh and relevant perspective to arguably outdated themes. Sadly, she fails on both levels and her latest book disappoints and frustrates.
Mermaid follows its inspiration, Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, closely—so closely, in fact, that the need for Turgeon’s rewrite becomes uncertain. As in the original story, a young mermaid sacrifices her voice, family, and life in the underwater kingdom for a chance to win a human prince’s love and gain a soul. As an allegory, Andersen’s The Little Mermaid can be studied as a story of self-sacrifice and suffering required for spiritual immortality. Andersen’s mermaid ultimately surrenders her life to save that of her beloved, and in turn gains spiritual transcendence. Turgeon only briefly touches upon these themes, instead devoting the bulk of her novel to a trite love triangle.
The few attempts to include spiritual undertones come off as fragmented afterthoughts. Titular mermaid Lenia offhandedly comments that a human soul, a “web of light inside of her,” would allow her to live forever, rather than the 300 years of a mermaid’s life. The author leaves unexplored any deeper understanding of what it means to have a soul or why only humans possess them. The otherwise simplistic story would have benefitted from diving deeper into this theme or abandoning it altogether to concentrate solely on the love story.
Here is where Turgeon herself tragically fails. She attempts to craft a poignant story of love, friendship, and sacrifice that only succeeds in sounding dated and marginally offensive. Turgeon introduces a foil for Lenia in the character of Margrethe, a princess from Prince Christopher’s rival kingdom. Two women plus one man naturally results in a clichéd love triangle, and Turgeon doesn’t help with her lazy character development and lackluster plot.
Both Lenia and Margrethe are primarily defined by their overwhelming and perplexing love for Christopher, not to mention their tedious bellyaching over how to win his affection. They are such stock characters that their individual voices are almost indistinguishable. For modern, adult readers to accept the sacrifices both women make in the name of love, they must be able to relate to that love, but Prince Christopher is a cardboard cutout of a character, lacking any personality whatsoever. Simply describing his “warrior” build or eyes the “color of a dying weed” (how romantic!) doesn’t make him worth the cost of such suffering. Lenia bases her love on a single encounter with Christopher when he is near death. Her mermaid sister provides a voice of reason: “You only think this because the man was not conscious… You only saw a man who was weak, and so you thought you might love him… You are an adult now, too old for this fantasy.” To which Lenia affirms, “I do love him,” and repeats her blind desire for a soul (which, it must be noted, can only be granted by a man).
Presumably, Turgeon recognizes that her readers may feel the same skepticism as Lenia’s sister. She fails to adequately address this concern, however, and expects readers to believe in the fantasy that a handsome stranger is worth losing one’s voice, enduring a lifetime of physical pain, and forsaking one’s family. Such a sentiment can hardly go unquestioned in the twenty-first century. Not only does this archaic stance prevent readers from investing in and relating to the story, it offends. There are Disney princesses with more backbone and common sense than this character. Turgeon ignored the opportunities to reshape Lenia into an enlightened, inspiring heroine and to make the book relevant for today’s readers. Did she believe the concept of romance would transcend the rather destructive message that pain and self-sacrifice are forgiven in the name of love? For any self-respecting reader, that’s just not enough.
Margrethe is no better. She, too, becomes infatuated with the prince after two fleeting encounters, which Turgeon portrays through overused platitudes. “She walked to the window, threw it open, stared out at the snow and the stars. Wondered if he was staring at the same stars right then. Thinking of her.” Once Margrethe discovers that Christopher hails from the rival kingdom, she convinces herself that a marriage between them will end all war. Even when the prince rejects her, Margrethe tightens her grasp until the prince reluctantly concedes. Knowing the prince doesn’t love her, she fancies herself a martyr and thinks, “This is not about her happiness but about the good of the kingdom,” and “If only she could make her heart understand that its own wants did not matter.” Margrethe’s fragility and feeble personality only alienates her from readers.
To be fair, the story takes place in an unspecified past where such a mindset could be expected. Turgeon keeps the setting vague, alluding to the late middle ages through the characters’ vernacular and style of dress. Instead of challenging the implications of bygone beliefs, Turgeon succumbs to stereotypes that are no longer convincing. Old-fashioned gender roles, a passé fairy tale setting, and a wearisome plot combine for a tiresome reading experience. Why did Turgeon abandon the quirky, contemporary style she fashioned in Godmother? Mermaid lacks the sweetly wistful charm of which she is capable and adds nothing new or provocative to the classic tale. -
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟for purely sentimental reasons
When I was small there was a Japanese anime version of The Little Mermaid that would occasionally play on tv (channel 41 WDRB) on Sunday afternoon. This became my first exposure to a movie "princess" there was no Disney VHS when I was a child. I fell in love ❤️ with Prince Christopher along with the mermaid in the story. Little did I know that not too much younger than I had been, my daughter would do the same thing with a Prince Eric.
This story is timeless and guarantees to touch every little girl's heart. This author did an excellent job of now reaching our more adult ones'. I could read this again and again and feel the anguish, cry the tears, stare in awe, celebrate and turn to foam. I loved it!
3/23/18 audio reread # 31
2018 book for all seasons challenge:desert island read
2018 Reading Challenge: takes place at sea
I am SUCH a sucker for a fairy tale. -
¨Go and you will see that nothing is as wonderful as our dreams can make it.¨
★★★★: Lovely retelling of Hans Christian Andersen´s The Little Mermaid . I liked this story more than the original story. It´s sweeter and less cruel. At first I didn´t care for the Princess´ POV, I just wanted to read about the mermaid (duh). But later on, the Princess´ POV became also interesting and contributed to the story of the mermaid. -
This was a book I picked up as a result of browsing though other people's reviews and as I love the stories of Hans Christian Andersen I thought i would give it a go. (Note to self...delete your amazon account or move to a bigger house ). This book arrived yesterday and I read it last night. It took the original story and fleshed it out with back story of the three main characters. Sometimes this engorging with detail can cause adopted stories to flag but here I think it works quite well. The personalities are not particularly well drawn but atmospheres and backgrounds are well painted.
There is a simple device of moving back and forth chapter by chapter from the earthbound princess to the watery one and this serves to make powerful descriptive differences in a sometimes quite humourous way. I loved the rather gross way Lenia, the mermaid, gets rid of the taste of something foul from her mouth by simply snacking, as she glides along, from the smorgasbord of options swimming past her.
The story itself is well known but Turgeon ( I did wonder whether this was a 'stage name ' in its rhyming opportunity but maybe I am being too obscure )succeeds in re-telling and re-moulding the whole thing so as to make it move swiftly and yet uncertainly. The storyline is clear, the reader thinks, but the author throws in enough new details, i won't call them red herring for obvious reasons, that you are not sure of the outcome until the very end.
Having said that, I did find the ending a trifle underwhelming. I think it is because I like my fairy stories extreme with no compromise. Either, happy ever after or leaving me sobbing on the couch. This did neither so that is why, though I enjoyed it, it only ranks as a 3 -
I went through many stages of love/hate while reading Mermaid. It's an awesome example of why you should always finish a book(I don't always, by the way). It took me a couple of chapters to get used to the writing style, but once I did, I found it to be quite lovely(in a gothic sort of way). Then, I got so angry at the middle that I was tempted to stop reading and maybe throw it against the wall. By the end, the story redeemed itself.
If I wasn't halfway familiar with the original version of "The Little Mermaid", I imagine my opinion of Mermaid would be very different. It's not that I overly liked the story(either of them). The fact that Turgeon stayed so true to the original, though, I do like what she did with it, with a few exceptions. The original is not like the Disney version. It's very dark and sad. Turgeon did take different twists and turns, and again, I won't say I liked all of them, but it's still a beautiful story.
If you're determined not to like Mermaid, there's plenty that you'll find to dislike about it. The prince, for one. He's a sex-crazed JERK, and although he did redeem himself a tiny bit by the end of the story, I still didn't like him. It's not about the prince, though. Not at all! He plays an important part of the plot, but the story is mostly about the princess, Margrethe and the mermaid, Lenia. The chapters actually alternate between the two of them.
There's lots of spiritual talk, but I didn't really like it in the form it was portrayed. Souls are mentioned a good bit, along with God. It's an "in general" type of spirituality, as in all humans have a soul that automatically goes to Heaven when the body dies no matter what.
If you're looking for a "happily-ever-after" fairy tale, with a "knight-in-shining-armor", don't pick up this one. It's dark and sad and just plain gross at times. It's also beautiful and heartbreaking.
Overall, I liked it, considering the story it was based on. (Not everything, but most of it).
Content:
There are 3 sexual scenes throughout Mermaid. They are pretty mild. I've seen WAY worse, but they're still there and more than I'm comfortable with. I especially felt that one of them was completely uncalled for. Due to the plot, one of them was somewhat necessary. Nothing happened until past page 100. The first scene was so completely out of nowhere that I was left in shock.
There's no profanity at all, which I greatly appreciate! -
[All kinds of spoilers up in here.]
There are two protagonists in this book. The princess is hiding out in a nunnery because of vague threats from the southern country. The mermaid is obsessed with the surface. Both fall in instalove with the prince within a few hours of meeting him, to the point where both are willing to give up everything they have to be with him. This is obnoxious in and of itself, but more so because the two of them didn't really spend any time with him, and the reader hardly knows him at all. He has a brief conversation with the princess in which he is kind of bantery and flirty and almost kisses her by a horse (for no reason? they only spoke once?). The mermaid doesn't speak to him at all. She falls in love with him because of the way he feels in her arms(?) and because he's really pretty or something I guess. Throughout the book, the mermaid and the princess have more chemistry with each other than they ever did with the prince. (now that would have actually been "a twist on the classic tale")
The book is told like a fairytale, with a lot of grandiose writing that is very aware it is TELLING A STORY, like all fairytales do, so it didn't bother me that this wasn't a beautiful work of writing. It was, however, really annoying how the author used hyperbole to express feelings - "a pain worse than any she had felt in her entire life!" or "a love unlike anything she had ever experienced swept over her!" There is also no character depth to speak of. It's hard to care about a love story between characters who don't have much to their personalities.
And let's talk about this love story. The princess falls for him in this silly childish way, but sees marrying him as a reasonable way to unite their two countries. I can get behind that, and actually liked the blend of "swoon! only boy who ever touched me! must be my one true love!" and the mature reasoning that went behind her decision to marry him. It was a great way to show that she was becoming a woman but still a little girl. However, while she does decide to marry him based on uniting their countries, she spends so much of the book moaning about how he doesn't love her, and how she thought their time together "meant something" (it lasted all of 5 minutes stretched across two days ok).
The mermaid, on the other hand, gives up her voice and her family and her natural body to be with him. This is just a fact in the original story and in the disney film. I was hoping this author would do something interesting with it, though, since this is "a twist on the classic tale" but no. It follows the original tale like a script.
The mermaid wants to be with him a) becuase she looooves him, and b) because she believes that when you get married, your souls become ONE, and since she has no soul (only humans have souls), marrying him will mean getting an immortal soul. This whole situation caused the author to write the most cringe-worthy "omg someone wrote this in 2013 and meant it sincerely" line I've seen in my entire life - "She was just a vessel to hold him." Yikes. Instead of being romantic, their entire relationship comes off as creepy. From the instant they meet, he's groping at her, and when she doesn't object, he's like "you're not like most girls are you?" all starry-eyed with wonder over the fact that she actually WANTS to have sex!!! TRUE LOVE!!! So they do. They have sex. The sex scene is creepy and typical and old-fashioned. It hurts her. She bleeds. She feels guilty afterwards (even though there has been NO WORLDBUILDING to explain why a mermaid would have any guilt over premarital sex) and the rest of the characters make noises at her about "not making it too easy for men or else they'll never love you." Uuuugghhhh.
Their relationship is incredibly creepy. In the words of the prince - "You are so beautiful and yet you have no tongue. You are like a dream creature sent here just for me! I can say anything to you and you just look at me!" Ah yes, so romantic. A woman who just looks at you instead of talking. A woman who really really wants sex with you. How did he get so LUCKY? :D
At the end of the book, her sisters show up with the knife and say she has to plunge it into her prince's heart or else she'll die. You know the drill. But here is where it just gets absolutely ridiculous. On cue, the mermaid says she can't kill her truest love and decides to die instead. k. But then the princess stabs herself in the thigh, shouting about how since she married the prince, "his blood is my blood!" and dribbles her blood onto the mermaid, thus turning her back to her original form and saving the day. Um. Okay. So the mermaid's entire "I can't kill him!" thing is absolutely absurd if the spell can be broken by cutting open his leg. Why didn't she just do that in the first place? Why did we need this whole ending scene?
Plus... it's just very weird how religious this book was. Talk about sanctity of marriage. The princess and the prince were not in love but because they went through a ceremony, her blood is magically also his blood? That's making a lot of claims about the power of the religious ceremony, and means that everything the mermaid believed about souls and stuff was actually true and not just her beliefs. It feels weird and uncomfortable.
Strictly speaking, based on writing and characters and plot, this would have been a two-star book. But it's 2013 and this is a novel where two women have absolutely no interests or character or personality or anything except their love for a man, and they give up absolutely everything - literally - to be with him, when he isn't all that interested in either one. Ugh. One star. -
DNF, pg 50-some -- because I don't want to bother. I don't like the story; I don't like the repetitive, dreamy prose; I don't like the continual burbling about souls; I don't like the mermaid's yearning for patently, blatantly imperfect surface-bound life just to offer a 'fairytale lesson' about the grass being greener & being careful what you wish for.
...So why force myself to finish it? *shrug* Good question. And I'm not gonna. >:P
This is one of those books where you look at your younger self & ask what was I thinking? Because I don't like mermaids (except the Disney classic :D), retold fairy tales, or soppy moralistic lit-fic -- so why did I even have this on my shelf? Beats me. I must've picked it up with some YA years & years ago.
Oh well. On to better things. -
Sooo a weird supernatural pregnancy and just over-all...wtf did I just read? I'm not sure what I expected but I don't think that was it. Also it was too short I think, could have done with more fleshing out. I haven't read the original Hans Little Mermaid though i've just seen the Disney one and that's been awhile. Also wrapped up...too neatly....which is all i'll say for spoilers.
3 stars. It was very readable, I enjoyed a lot of it and it was is a fast read but sadly it just fell flat in too many areas and missed some marks.
Full Review on my book blog
Here. -
http://girlinchaiselongue.blogspot.pt...
Em 1848, Hans Christian Andersen dava voz a uma das histórias mais amadas de sempre e em 1989, a Disney transformava-a num dos filmes mais apaixonantes da sua história. Sujeito a várias adaptações de todo o género ao longo do tempo, a história da Pequena Sereia voltou a ganhar vida em 2011 pelas mãos de uma escritora americana, Carolyn Turgeon que conseguiu relembrar o público da história de Andersen e mostrar que este conto pode ser belo mesmo sem músicas animadas e peixes falantes e, que por trás da história com que todos crescemos, existe outra que menos feliz, traz uma lição em cada palavra escrita.
Quando escreveu aos oito anos o seu primeiro conto sobre um tapir desaparecido de um jardim zoológico, Carolyn não poderia imaginar que ia passar o resto da sua vida a escrever. Desde contos e poemas sobre a sua alma até aos primeiros excertos do seu primeiro livro aos empregos como escritora freelancer ou escritora numa empresa de engenharia até se puder dedicar exclusivamente aos seus livros, Carolyn nunca, nunca deixou de escrever e sonhar. Enquanto escrevia A Sereia, começou a receber fotos de sereias e em todas as viagens em que ia encontrava sempre algo relacionado à essa criatura mitológica, por isso, criou o seu blogue I am a Mermaid, onde entrevista outros escritores como Alice Hoffman sobre sereias e descreve as suas vastas experiências relacionadas com elas.
Nas profundezas do mar, navios naufragados jazem, refulgentes de tesouros e abandonados de vida, memórias de histórias passadas e esquecidos pelo mundo, pelo mundo da superfície pois os que habitam o fundo são mais do que mitos contados aos marinheiros, são seres vivos que nadam com os peixes e que pensam e se questionam como será o mundo que criou os esqueletos que jazem junto a eles, como será ter duas pernas como os cadáveres deitados, como será ter outra sensação que não a do mar à sua volta. Na terra, o desafio está sempre no ar pesado à espera de um gesto que o deixe ganhar vida para que a guerra volte a libertar ódios e quezílias antigas mas, dentro de salas fechadas, onde livros guardam histórias que todos julgam ser lendas e não recordações, os sonhos luzem como chamas e a paz ainda existe dentro de alguns corações. A Sereia é um recontar do clássico de Andersen, guardando a sua essência e mensagem no âmago da sua história para que todos recordem e ninguém se esqueça que o sacrifício, a coragem e a crueldade do sentimento chamado amor são os verdadeiros protagonistas de um conto que atravessou dois mundos, que viu as suas belezas e os seus horrores e, que no fundo, nunca conseguiu fazer a sua escolha.
Duas princesas, um amor, dois mundos e uma amizade capaz de sacrificar tudo pelo bem de outrém. Margrethe e Lenia são as mulheres que sacrificaram tudo por amor e que dariam tudo para estar no lugar da outra. Princesas de mundos diferentes, donas de personalidades diferentes, é a sua história que nos é contada ao longo destas páginas, onde uma história tão antiga quanto o próprio tempo retorna, onde os sentimentos por um homem, podem ser a razão mas não o fim do destino de cada uma delas. Margrethe é uma princesa humana, escondida para não ser usada como mão de troca e que toda a vida viajou por mundos maravilhosos através dos livros. Espelho da mãe e último amor do pai, é ela que terá de salvar dois povos, entregando-se nos braços do inimigo, do homem que ama. Lenia é uma sereia, filha da rainha do mar, inocente, doce e sonhadora que anseia pelas histórias contadas pela avó quando o mar está revolto e que se apaixona perdidamente pelo homem que salva a tal ponto, que é capaz de dar tudo o que foi seu para poder ter a esperança de o ter.
Cada uma delas caminhará pelo seu destino até chegarem ao que anseiam sem saberem que o que desejaram pode estar longe de ser o que sempre quiseram e que o destino pode mudar as cartas e mudá-las a elas para sempre. Num cenário onde cada esquina é um reflexo das profundezas e desejos da alma humana, o leitor ver-se-á rodeado das riquezas de um castelo medieval cristão, pela beleza do verde das florestas, pelo brilho do sol a bater nas faces, isto quando não estiver no fundo do mar, rodeado de tesouros e corais, onde a água o envolve como um manto. Imbuído de um espírito gótico, aquela que poderia ser uma história simples, é uma história feita de sensações e imaginário, uma história onde a crueldade e a verdade há muito que abandonaram os sonhos e as crenças.
Ao criar e apresentar dois mundos totalmente diferentes como uma mestria tão delicada, Carolyn faz os seus leitores voltarem a sonhar e satisfaz os espíritos inquietos que nunca adoraram a versão da Disney mas que também não se sentem satisfeitas com o conto original. Com descrições únicas de grande beleza e imaginação, ela transporta-nos para ambos, faz-nos conhecer o bom e o mau e amá-los aos dois como nos faz amar e simpatizar com as duas princesas. Uma escrita simples mas fluída e envolvente dá-nos não uma história magistral mas uma adaptação que apesar de diferente não perde o verdadeiro significado do conto de A Pequena Sereia.
Um livro para todo os amantes de contos de fadas, um livro para os que sonham com o mar e amam as sereias, A Sereia não é um livro perfeito mas é um que nas suas profundezas dá-nos muito mais do que seria de esperar. Desengane-se quem acha que vai encontrar uma cópia integral de Hans ou quem acha que vai ver a Disney em acção, isso não é o que encontrará neste livro mas sim a visão de uma mulher que sabe que na vida, muitas vezes não há vilões mas escolhas. -
I am not going to review this on my blog, so I'll jot down some thoughts here.
I got this book from the library and decided to read it for no other reason than it was about mermaids and I haven't read enough books with mermaids in them.
Anyway, Mermaid was a retelling of The Little Mermaid. The writing was good, but not good enough to redeem the awkward plot, two-dimensional characters, uncomfortable dialogue and half-built world. Mermaid, on the whole, is shockingly slow moving for such a short book. There were more than a few points where I'd find myself thinking, "okay, let's get to the point already...."
The book, overall, does have promise, but it's just an uncomfortable amalgamation of ideas and a very awkwardly balanced plot. -
I initially read about this book on "Entertainment Weekly", with the announcement that it was going to be made into a movie. I was immediately intrigued by the fact that it was based much more closely on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale than the *ahem* other mermaid stories out there currently. In other words, there are no talking animal sidekicks or murderous French chefs, and the sea witch actually ISN’T evil.
Lenia is the daughter of the Sea King, and has just turned 18. It’s a mermaid tradition that all merpeople are able to go see the land above for one day, only on their 18th birthday. Lenia emerges from the ocean’s depths to a violent storm, and sees a ship breaking apart before her eyes. She decides to rescue one of the sailors, as watching them all die is too terrible, and carries him to shore and safety. She is fascinated by the human man, remembering stories that her grandmother told her about humans and their souls. Mermaids live 300 years, and on that day gracefully turn to foam and become part of the ocean. Lenia finds this prospect too bleak, and is more attracted to the idea of the human soul, which lives forever in heaven.
Meanwhile, Margarethe, the daughter of the Northern King, is in hiding in a convent by the sea from the enemies of her father’s kingdom. She is out in the convent garden and sees the mermaid wash up on shore carrying the prince. She is entranced by the beautiful woman from the sea, and even more so by the love she shows the near-drowned man. At that moment, Lenia catches her eye and telepathically tells her to help the man. With a flick of her tail, she returns to the sea.
The mystery man is quickly nursed back to health at the convent, but both women remain haunted by their encounters with him and each other. Both are willing to make extreme sacrifices to recapture the sense of magic that they felt at experiencing the other’s world…
I’d read the original Hans Christian Andersen version of this tale, and while I was absorbed in the story, had a slight sense of dread for fear of the ending. I had trouble getting attached to both female leads because of the impending sense of tragedy. This is a gorgeously written book, both consistent in its period voice and attentive to detail in both the undersea kingdom and the world above. Both women are complex, though the fascination of each with religion gets slightly tedious (Lenia’s desire for a soul and Margarethe’s conviction that God sent the mermaid and man to her).
Turgeon takes a well-known tale and rewrites it beautifully- very few books are able to move me to tears, and this one definitely joins their ranks. I look forward to seeing any news on the movie adaptation moving forward. -
As an avid reader of the classics, it is impressive to find how close this was to Hans Christian Andersen’s tale. Obviously, there are some alterations to this latest “twist,” so don’t be expecting the exact fairy tale. The same gruesome cutting of the tongue for the mermaid’s payment is still there, but that’s an obvious necessity to the plot that could only have been downplayed by Disney (no offense to the movie – I still love the cartoon!).
There are some softer points to Turgeon’s version that help explain the feelings of both princesses and the prince a bit better. That’s the great thing about retold classics; the characterization is often improved, allowing readers to feel more attached to a mermaid with a heart, rather than a one dimensional image with a courageous tale – pun intended.
Sexual tension, a love triangle, and child rebellion – this is the kind of fairy tale that even this era can relate to. I don’t remember these details in the former mermaid stories, but the emotions added to this whole mix is what actually pulled on my own heart strings more.
Although I admit that “The Little Mermaid” is one of my all-time favorite tales, I cannot help rolling my eyes in aggravation with every version I read, seeing these young mermaids throw their lives away for a man they met once. Just Once! At least Turgeon managed to evoke my empathy better, and all I can figure is that this tale was, and still is, intended to teach young maidens to be weary of sacrificing much of themselves for the love of a man – a strange man, nonetheless.
Teaching lessons is the point of a fairy tale, right? Right? Lesson or not, it is a good read. -
I've been obsessed with The Little Mermaid for as long as I can remember. First, the story by Hans Christian Anderson, then the cartoon based on his story, then Disney's version. I love them all.
When I saw The Mermaid on the shelf in the store, I didn't think twice--I bought it. Then, I was nervous. It would be such and easy thing to mess up the story and give me a bitter taste in my mouth about my favorite story--Like the Broadway musical did (ugh). It was also highly probable that it would simply be a retelling, bringing nothing new or creative to the story.
Every fear was proven a waste of time. I devoured this novel. Beautiful writing. Easy to read, but maintaining a sense of literary importance. My favorite parts were the sections told from the mermaid's perspective--especially when she was still a mermaid. I loved the creative and believable descriptions of the mermaid society and environment. Gorgeous and fascinating.
As much as I didn't want to care for the princess's sections (she's the reason for the mermaids trauma, after all), I grew to love her as well.
I suppose it could be said the prince is a rather flat character in this novel (as he is in every version of The Little Mermaid). However, it seems sort of intentional in this retelling. The story isn't about him--never was. This story, true to the original, is about love, sacrifice, and ins and outs of our souls.
I'd love to comment about the ending, which took me by surprise, but I don't want to give anything away. All I'll say is, Great Job, Carolyn Turgeon! You've got a life long fan! -
*This review contains spoilers*
5 stars as a mermaid story, 3 for reading experience.
Okay This is a TOUGH review to write.As a quick summary, this is a re-telling of The Little Mermaid (the original) but instead of being told from the perspective of the mermaid alone, you get half of the POV from the human princess who is trying to marry the object of the mermaid's affection instead.
In so many ways this book was absolutely mesmerising. I thought that the author's style really suited the era and subject matter and flowed along at a decent pace. It would be a bit clinical in the modern sense but this is a fairytale retelling so it had to come off as a little bit starched and highbrow, and I didn't mind the way it fast-forwarded a certain percent of the book while delving into a lot of detail in others.
The portrayal of the characters, setting and mood was 6 star writing. Everyone was beautiful, perfect, mysterious and poetic, and the awesome thing was that the author had a way of describing such romantic, wild and fantastical scenes and people without falling fluke-first into a sea of cliché's.
I loved the heroine (and I do see Lenia as THE heroine) despite her obvious proclivity to be irrational. She's all heart and no head, but she's a teenager and a mermaid too experiencing so many new things that she can be forgiven for that. That's the point to the original story after all, isn't it? Mermaid gives up EVERYTHING for want of a man? It's one of the very first cautionary tales, so bravo for the author for nailing that theme unapologetically. Either way, I was on her side from the get go and she held me there, even though, if she'd been my daughter, I would have throttled her for the stupid decisions she made, I felt 18 and hopeful and frightened and idealistic right along with her.
I thought this was a YA book when I started to read it but I'm still not sure if it was or not. There's sex in it, and I was sort of thrown by how steamy it was. The author didn't use any sort of brazen X-rated language to drive the erotic notion home, and yet it was pretty damned erotic and once again, a little bit ugly and unapologetic. Realistic, almost, for a fantasy. I really enjoyed those scenes, and overall, the writer kept me exactly where she probably wanted her readers to be: Excited, nervous and full of dread but still, turning page after page with a hopeful heart. I was moved to tears quite a few times, especially near the end.
But there were some pretty BIG problems. For starters, I never believed that the prince was in love with Lenia, and I couldn't tell if even the author thought he was. Up close, he was kind of flippant and treated her like she was disposable, and then you'd pan out from another character's point of view, and he seemed irrevocably smitten with his mermaid catch, and willing to move heaven and earth and defy his kingdom for love of her. Then you'd zoom in again and you'd be back to- okay does he like her or LIKE like her? Is he into the human princess? WTF just happened? I think the author made a big mistake by not clueing us in on his thoughts and feelings, as she did with the human princess and the mermaid… maybe the story wasn't about him, but that got lost in translation because it was ABOUT him, you know? So without knowing what he wanted or needed or felt, you end up feeling disenchanted with him and clueless as to whether Lenia would be better off with or without him. If the author wanted us to feel that, then bravo, but I can't imagine why she would.
Then, there was Margarethe who in the beginning, seemed like the kind of girl you could get on board with and who had lessons to learn, but her personality rapidly unravelled, and just near the end, when you think she's going to come through and do something truly selfless- she does something else and I don't know about everyone else but it was NOT enough for me. Maybe she was supposed to seem strong and reluctant but self-sacrificing but by the time she's in bed with the prince it was more like: 'Conniving S&^%! A plague o' both your houses!!!'
Okay so anyone who's read The Little Mermaid- the freaky original version- knows that this story doesn't end well and I read it taking this into account and bracing myself for a world of hurt. And until about 60% of this novel, the writer follows the original arc of the story and so you're like: 'Oh okay, this is gonna suck…but I'll be okay 'cos I can see that coming…batten the eyelid and tear-duct hatches!'
But THEN shit gets interesting and wanders off the original garden path and you sit up in bed thinking: 'Oh! oh oh OH!' is she gonna twist at the end? Is she going to moor it on a Disney dock after all? Will I finish this happy and grinning that someone got the BEST of both classic stories right? 'Am I GOING TO GET A HAPPY ENDING DESPITE THE LACK OF SINGING CRABS?! Please God YES!'
And then she doesn't, you don't and I wept for want of my singing crabs. It was brutal. And what annoys me is that I think the writer thought she was being generous by giving you a bit of a glimmer of a HEA. Things don't go down the plughole, like with the original, not completely- but they end up at the bottom of the sea anyway and I blame Margarethe entirely. She's standing there with the knife, you know what she has to do- what she OUGHT to do, to win your affections entirely and twist this story like a mother fo… but she does something else and it's so limp and lame that I couldn't actually cry. I'd been crying before that, big fat poor-Lenia martyrdom tears of: 'They'll never know happiness once they understand!' but those had dried in time for the big twist and I was kind of disgusted after. It's like coming second in Wheel Of fortune and ending up going home with the board game version, really. 'Hey! Now you have the rest of your life to reflect on your failure! But wasn't it nice of the winner, to feel sort of bad for you?'
In short- read this if you'd like to read a re-telling of The Little mermaid that doesn't end QUITE as tragically, and takes some of your bittersweet, maudlin misery today and leaves you a bit pissed off instead.
That being said, I am in love enough with the author's style to brave one of her other books- if this book had had a true HEA, it would probably be counted as one of my favourites. -
As much as I love retellings, and I do, this one was not for me and this being my second try, I figured I can safely admit I tried.
When I read this, the first time, I thought maybe I had missed some dialogue or scenes but no I didn't as this time I tried the audiobook version and realized that the author actually did write what I read and I was left wanting on both occasions.
The characters felt very one dimensional, especially I think the prince, who is supposed to be the love interest as he's not charming, smart, witty, or any other trait that would endear me but did the two princesses which also I questioned as to what they saw in this boy.
As well written as the first 1/4 was, I lost interest in these characters easily enough to dismiss them even while still reading it. -
As a big fan of 'Disney's The Little Mermaid' and having read Ms. Turgeon's Godmother a few years back, I knew that I could not go without reading this dark and gothic retelling.
Obviously Hans Christian Andersen's tale of The Little Mermaid is the back bone of this story, but sadly I've never read his version so I can't do any comparisons to his work. What I can tell you is that this is the story of two sheltered princesses. One princess resides on the land while the other lives "under the sea" (I couldn't help myself!).
Using alternating chapters you learn of both princesses and how their lives collide. Princess Margrethe lives in a world of turmoil. Her northern kingdom is at constant war with the South and at the current moment she finds herself in hiding at a convent. Lenia is the youngest daughter of the merfolk King and Queen. She loves her life, home and family but constantly finds herself longing for more than what she has. Since she has now reached an age where she can go to the surface, she finds herself saving a young prince who is nearly drowned. She knows to save him she must return him to land and does so leaving him in the care of Margarethe. From this selfless act, Lenia, Margarethe and the prince, all from different worlds, will find themselves bound together forever.
There were so many things I loved about this book. Ms. Turgeon's writing is unique and even poetic at times. I found that I felt as if someone were reading the story to me. I found it atmospheric in its medieval setting - although you never truly know where it takes place or during what year. I enjoyed reading of Margarthe's kingdom and how bleak their lives are due to the constant warring with the South. But I absolutely devoured Lenia's chapters. I love her descriptions of life "under the sea" (haha), her sisters, her kingdom and their beliefs.
My only qualm with the story was how both women fell in love with the same prince and the guy had barely even spoken a sentence. I understand it's a fairytale retelling and these things just happen when it comes to fairytales... but it still irked me that he was the reason why Lenia would have her tongue cut-out, live in constant pain the moment she gained her feet and quite possibly give her life for him. Margarethe was also willing to make sacrifices in order to gain the Prince's attention. But although I found that my Girl Power! feelings were hurt, I still think Ms. Turgeon handled the situation wisely. She made you, in time, understand the inner turmoil within the young women, and their intense feelings for their Prince. She also expertly described the love that Margarethe felt for Lenia - one that could leave you forever aching and restless.
This was definitely a fairytale for adults - one that I'm glad that I had the opportunity to read. It had the dream-like quality that I find necessary for a fairytale to work, but it was also riddled with very real and strong emotions leaving the reader wanting more of this world. -
Acho fantástica a capacidade que algumas histórias têm de saltar do nosso imaginário pueril e nos atingirem na maturidade com a mesma intensidade de outrora, de um outrora em que desconhecíamos os desígnios da paixão, de um outrora em que ser-se sereia era um sonho quase tangível de alcançar.
É entre o vento frio das terras altas norte e o murmurar selvagem das ondas do mar que conhecemos as três personagens principais desta história que reavivarão as memórias da nossa infância, não com uma mas, desta vez, com duas princesas corajosas que farão tudo por aquilo em que acreditam.
Margrethe e Lenia são duas princesas oprimidas, pelas escolhas dos seus reis, pais, que as inibem de encontrar o que realmente anseiam. Enquanto Margrethe vive enclausurada num convento devido às guerras travadas pelo homem em nome da honra, Lenia encontra-se presa no mar, sem poder vir à superfície, longe dos caminhantes que a fascinam com os mil tesouros que deixam perdidos no oceano, até ao dia do seu 18.º aniversário, dia em que vem a terra e, por coincidência salva um homem muda para sempre aquele que era, como certo, o seu destino, Christopher. Entre o salvamento de uma vida e o despertar de desejos singulares, proibidos, este jovem valente sem armadura irá tornar-se a esperança e o amor de uma mulher e de uma sereia que através de uma estranha amizade mudarão o rumo dos seus reinos na terra e no mar.
Com um valor genuíno que irá atrair muitos leitores esta narrativa encontrou o equilíbrio perfeito, entre a inocente felicidade da adaptação Disney e o verdadeiro, trágico, clássico de Hans Christian Andersen, através do seu triângulo amoroso, desigual e familiar, que prima pela intensidade das emoções vividas e as peculiares alusões ao reino do maravilhoso que apelam ao deslumbramento na mesma medida em que desperta antigas fantasias que prevalecem na memória de todos nós. E, embora exista uma boa dose de ambas as histórias neste livro, a verdade é que é imenso o que se encontra exposto para lá da belíssima capa que acompanha esta publicação Planeta Manuscrito.
Dos cenários épicos, onde os reis são suseranos, à profundeza dos oceanos, que explodem em melodias e cores, o amor continua a ser a principal força impulsionadora daqueles que dão vida a estas páginas mas são os seus pormenores, constantes, que conferem uma nova luz aos contornos fantasiosos onde se encontram as encantatórias sereias. As diferenças entre a vida em ambos os reinos, a par com o contraste entre o brilho e as trevas que neles existe, é outro dos pontos fortes desta história que se expõe numa vertente mais ousada, surreal e adulta onde vingam as vozes das suas protagonistas arrojadas que combatem o perigo em nome do amor.
Sim, esta é uma obra para os amantes de antigas histórias de encantar e para os corações mais românticos, mas também para um público diversificado de fantasia que dá primazia ao lado negro da luz que aventura a morte, a espuma, em nome de algo maior.
Opinião completa:
http://historiasdeelphaba.blogspot.pt... -
Andersen’s The Little Mermaid is about love and sacrifice. The little mermaid falls in love with a man she cannot have, gives up everything to be with him, and is rejected in favor of a human girl, and as a result dies and is turned to sea foam. It’s a story about sacrificing everything and getting nothing in return, of wishing you could give up everything if only something would turn out your way. Of wanting what you know you cannot have, hoping against all hope. And this is what Turgeon really manages to capture in her novel, Mermaid.
One of the things I really appreciate about this novel is that it’s told in two voices. The chapters alternate between Lenia, the mermaid, and Margrethe, a northern princess. Margrethe is staying at a convent where her father has sent her into hiding from their southern enemies. While she is standing on the cliff looking out over the ocean, Margrethe witnesses what she thought to be impossible; a mermaid pulling a drowning man out of the water. The mermaid is Lenia, a princess of the sea kingdom. She’s the youngest of all her sisters and has always been fascinated by the human world. But what fascinates Lenia the most is the idea of a human soul. Her grandmother told her that humans have souls which have eternal life; when a human dies, his body may rot but his soul will live forever. Mermaids, on the other hand, live three hundred years and then turn to sea foam and are no more.
On her eighteenth birthday, which also happens to be the night of a terrible storm, Lenia swims to the surface of the ocean for the first time. She witnesses a terrible shipwreck, and while countless sailors drown around her, she decides that she can save at least one of them. Swimming between the sea and sky, Lenia falls in love with him, but she realizes that they are of two worlds; although she can bring him to shore, she cannot save his life once he is there. So when she sees Margrethe she calls to her, save him.
Despite my mild dislike of the ending, I loved the book overall. It was poignant, unflinching, and bittersweet. It explored both sides of this story, and acknowledged that it is not a love story, but rather a story of longing for love. I also appreciated that this was a relatively faithful adaptation to the Andersen version, but that it also elaborated hugely on the principle characters. Would I read it again? Definitely.
Read my full review, including spoilers, here:
http://fairytalecritic.tumblr.com/pos... -
I haven't read the original Hans Christian Anderson version of this story, so I'm not sure how closely it relates... but it is much different than the movie. I enjoyed this gothic retelling of the little mermaid. It has darker slightly somber tone which made the story very atmospheric. It’s a book about sacrifice and the lusting of love. I liked that it subtly explored the lesson of falling in love with the IDEA of someone vs falling in love WITH someone. I think there is an aspect of the little mermaid we all cringe at.... you know, her giving up EVERYTHING for a man she literally met once. And I feel like this story touched on that just a LITTLE BIT without overtly coming out and saying it, while also staying on the original storyline. I'm not a huge fan of love triangles.. but it worked for this story because of the relationship between the mermaid and the princess.... But I have to add, If you are looking for a good romance that gives you all the feels.. this isn't the one. There is romance, but I found it to be less about the "romance" and more about the women's personal journeys and their yearning for their idea of the perfect love. This was an interesting, whimsical tale and I am glad I read it.
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One of my favorite fairy tales has always been The Little Mermaid. Mermaids fascinate me; I’ve been writing stories about them since elementary school. With this tale, while I’m obsessed with the sugary Disney version I grew up with, I also love the original story. It’s so sad and tears my heart apart. The mermaid goes through absolute hell in order to be with the man she loves and in the end, it still isn’t enough. Mermaid by Carolyn Turgeon deals with the Hans Christian Anderson version of TLM, but with her own twist. For the first time (that I’ve seen), the tale is told through the eyes of the princess in addition to the mermaid we all know and love. As soon as I realized we were going to get her perspective on everything, I knew I had to buy Mermaid and bring it home.
The novel doesn’t disappoint, either. I was swept away by Turgeon’s lush descriptions. I wanted to live beneath the sea with Lenia (The Little Mermaid) and her kin. I loved her description of mermaids, the way their skin was hard and diamond-like, able to withstand the cold. Turgeon introduces her own mermaid lore as well. When a human is touched by a mermaid, a trail of shimmer and diamond is left on his or her skin in that spot. Additionally, she describes the way mermaids and humans used to be one race until the king and queen had a major falling out. The king tore up the sea and created land and gave his followers legs instead of tails. There was so much to envision and explore that I never saw coming.
Whenever I read a re-telling of The Little Mermaid, it always tends to follow the Disney route, complete with a happily ever after. I was enamored with the way Turgeon takes Lenia down the sadder path. It was interesting to see why she made the decisions she did, why she fell in love, her obsession with souls, etc. After making her deal with the sea witch, her tongue is torn out and I can feel her pain, but even more so when she tries to walk. I agonized with the mermaid every step of the way. Turgeon really brought her plight to life. Same with the princess. Hidden at a convent so her father’s enemies won’t find her, Princess Margrethe stumbles upon the mermaid and a washed-up sailor. She never realizes he’s the prince of the enemy kingdom, takes him in, and saves his life. Seeing the way her life pans out really fleshes out the original version of the tale. The princess was nothing more than an afterthought then, with no motivations of her own. I loved seeing the way Turgeon brought everyone together and carried out the story I love so much.
Even knowing the original tale, there are still new twists and turns that will come as a surprise to readers. Because of this, the novel never got old or boring. My only complaint was that at times, the lack of using contractions in sentences stood out, but this was forgivable due to the fact that people spoke in such a fashion back then. Turgeon tried very hard to keep to her time period without any modern influences. For example, the focus on religion and a joining of souls worked well. It wasn’t preachy, but rather laid things out in a “this is how the world is” fashion. Mermaid very much read like a proper periodical and I was completely drawn into the world in which everything took place. -
I'm a sucker for fairytale retellings. I really, really am. Which means I am doomed to read even bad ones, because maybe, just maybe it will be good, or at least have an intriguing spin on an old tale.
The best thing about this book was that it has a beautiful cover. Really, really nice. Also, shiny.
Oh, and the author follows the original Little Mermaid really closely (yay authenticity). Unfortunately, she doesn’t make the characters any smarter/more likeable than in the original.
I didn't like this book at all. One, this book was dull. Two, this book was set in an indeterminate Dark Ages Scandinavia alternate world. There were Vikings and convents and The Odyssey and Christianity but also rum (not really in Europe until the Caribbean sugar trade) and characters named Josephine (not a Scandinavian name at all). Plus, where exactly were the North/South kingdoms? Norway/Denmark? Sweden/Denmark? Either set it in history or don’t; mixing and matching is confusing.
And then there were the characters! Ouf! Everyone was dumb as sticks and twice as boring. Princess Margrethe is all, “I talked to this guy for two minutes BUT HE IS TOTALLY THE LOVE OF MY LIFE. I am going to run away to marry him. I mean, unite our kingdoms. Ah, screw it, it’s totally because he’s hot and not about politics/peace at all.” Mermaid Princess is all “I never talked to this guy at all BUT HE IS TOTALLY THE LOVE OF MY LIFE. I am going to give up everything for him. I mean, to get a soul. Ah, screw it, it’s totally because he’s hot and it’s not about getting a soul at all.” The prince is all “Sweet, I get TWO hot girls.”
Are we supposed to like the prince? He is the Worst Love Interest Ever and I’ve read a lot of junk YA with possessive stalkerish jerkass love interests. His response to meeting Lenia (the mermaid) is: I will screw her every night and then dump her for my political marriage. He waxes poetic about the girl who saved him (not knowing it was Lenia) and how much he loves that girl TO Lenia right after sleeping with her. He never tries to get to know Lenia. He in fact tells her “You’re so perfect, so beautiful, and yet you have no tongue. You’re like a dream creature, sent here just for me.” Because mute women are the bestest! All they do is stare at you adoringly and have sex with you whenever you want and you don’t have to listen to their goddamn chattering. Of course, Lenia is too stupid to even try to pantomime her situation. Jesus, woman. How can I feel bad for you when you are just too dumb to live? And Lenia should’ve totally stabbed Prince Christopher to get her tail back. The bastard deserved it.
And what’s with Princess Margrethe’s not being totally creeped the hell out that her now-husband was openly flaunting his mistress, got reluctantly dragged into marriage, and then was immediately like, “we have now had two conversations and I was disrespectful and rude and unkind to both you and my mistress, but I totally love you.”? Margrethe and Christopher both seem like they will be TERRIBLE rulers.
Oh, and Turgeon doesn’t seem to understand that people without tongues can still make noise. It’s not like Lenia’s goddamn vocal cords were cut. She just can’t make recognizable words. -
Mermaid
by Carolyn Turgeon
Genre: Paranormal Romance | Fantasy | Historic
Two princesses (one earthbound, one aquatic) vie for the heart of a prince in this new twist on the classic fairy tale.
For 18-year-old mermaid princess Lenia, the world of men could not be a more exotic or fascinating place. Although her experience with humans is limited to the shipwrecks and dead sailors she comes across in her ocean-floor kingdom, she yearns for more. She gets her wish when she is finally permitted to go up and explore the surface, and has to save a young man from drowning during a storm. She delivers him to the shores of a convent and into the arms of a young novice.
That girl, Margrethe, is actually the daughter of the northern king, hiding at the convent for her own protection. And, as luck would have it, the rescued sailor, Christopher, is the son of her father’s arch nemesis, the southern king. The two royals share an attraction, without knowing each other’s identity, and Christopher leaves without knowing Margrethe’s secret.
Back with her merpeople family, a smitten Lenia pines for the prince and strives to find a way to be with him. Her quest takes her to the sea witch, Sybil, who informs her that becoming human is indeed possible, but comes with a steep price. Lenia has to give up her beautiful voice, and her lovely new legs will cause her chronic pain, like walking on knives. Also, Christopher must marry her if she is to survive and acquire a human soul. No matter. Lenia takes Sybil’s potion and goes to her beloved, who is indeed charmed by the mute otherworldly creature Lenia has transformed into. They become lovers, but she has competition.
In order to stave off an almost inevitable war, Margrethe hatches a plan to marry Christopher herself, and unite their kingdoms. But while that might be good politics, it does not bode well for Lenia, who is unable to explain her situation to anyone.
WOW! What a great book. I was totally expecting some silly modernized mermaid version similar to Forgive My Fins, but was pleasantly surprised with a classic fairy tale that still had a bitter twist. I'm a sucker for fairy tales and loved this book even more because it wasn't your normal 'Little Mermaid' story. It's easier to describe this books concept as being more along the line of the gritty/gruesome tales of ol' that the Brother's Grimm created (ie. we're talking dark topics like death & decomposition). Both of the kingdoms, on and off land, were fascinating to me and I thoroughly enjoyed all the characters created, especially the friend/nemesis relationship between Lenia and Margrethe. It is truly a magical tale that comes off more as folklore than fantasy, but all in all . . . good stuff!!
Likes: I highly enjoyed the chapter splits between "Princess" and "Mermaid" and couldn't stop reading about both.
Dislikes: Not much to dislike about this story, I just wish there was more! -
Turgeon's interpretation of the original Little Mermaid is an entertaining, interesting read. At its best, it is intriguing and original, in that it delves not only into the perspective of the mermaid, but her rival, the princess. However, as entertaining as the book can be, and at times, even a little touching, it falls short of being really good with typical pitfalls.
Again, the exploration of Margrethe's--the princess whom the mermaid's beloved prince is supposed to wed--perspective is original and at times lovely. Margrethe begins with promise. She's sensible and interested in the mermaid--one could argue that her relationship with Lenia, the mermaid, is far more important than either of their love stories with Prince Christopher. However, Margrethe's instant love for Christopher and complete acceptance of his shortcomings annoyed me. On the one hand, I suppose that a princess would almost expect her betrothed to do what he did. On the other, I found the fact that she wasn't even that irritated, merely sad, frustrating. Her forgiveness of Lenia, I could understand. But Cristopher? He deserved a bit less fawning and a bit more consternation.
Of course, Christopher's character is somewhat problematic. He really annoyed me. I didn't see the girls' love for him, as he basically did nothing but have sex. He wasn't supposed to be a fleshed out character, I saw that. Lenia and Margrethe were rightfully more important. But... He could at least be more tolerable, and not falling in love with every other woman who worshipped him. The fact that he found Lenia's muteness a turn-on was actually kind of disgusting. Whoever ends up with him, the reader figures, doesn't really get a happy ending. But Turgeon doesn't seem to realize that.
Lenia, I forgave a bit more for her naivete. She's a mermaid. However, the innocent mermaid deal does become a bit tiresome. I actually found the novel's sensual aspects refreshingly out of the norm for the genre, and one of its strong points. The scenes weren't romance novel explicit, either, and thus did not disrupt the flow of the text, which I found charming and suitably fairy-tale like.
Again, Lenia and Margrethe's relationship was a strong point. Their lack of rivalry was a nice change of pace, though the over-used of the word "shimmery" whenever Margrethe thought of/saw the mermaid got a little boring. Still, I really enjoyed the re-tooling Turgeon gave to that part of the story. Really, their few scenes together were the most touching of the entire book.
It's worth reading if you're a fairy tale/mermaid lover, though the characters will get on your nerves. A sexed up, flawed, and nevetheless somewhat-fascinating take. -
The first half of this was a stronger book than the second half, IMO.
I was very pleased with how in-tune Turgeon was with HCA's Christian themes in the first half - and she managed to incorporate his themes without turning it into an explicitly Christian novel.
But somehow, once Lenia became human, her longing for a soul got lost amongst the love triangle. The love triangle is absolutely necessary for this book - don't misunderstand me - but in the first half it's clear she loves the idea of a soul as much as she loves the idea of the prince. Or perhaps she loves the idea of a soul MORE than she loves the idea of the prince, because the whole reason she loves the idea of the prince is because she loves the fact that he has a soul. Yet, once she meets him in human form, it becomes a physical, rather than spiritual affair, and the soul is only mentioned as an afterthought a handful of times.
The ending did surprise me a bit. -
Unlike Disney, Turgeon stays relatively close to the original, which let me just say is dark and depressing as all get-out. If you can spare (if that) an hour, read it if you haven't already.
She does, true to promise, deliver a bit of a twist. Not really in the sense that it switches between the princess from the convent and the mermaid, but rather in what happens towards the ending. Taking the land-bound princess's angle was in a sense predictable, since the story was a love-triangle from the beginning (even to some extent in the Disney version). The alternative would have been the prince, who pretty much comes off as a jerk, in my opinion. I suppose there's some development on his part. He turns out to be a jerk semi-reformed by responsibility to his country.
As for the two women who form the linchpin of this story, they both fall rather flat. I'm not sure why exactly, except to say that the entire tone of this book is rather more simplistic than I was expecting. It says true to a fairy-tale style telling rather than the messy, emotionally overwrought adult novel I was expecting. Not that it isn't adult - there are a few sex scenes, etc. but from an emotional standpoint I would say the writing is more for young-adults.
I didn't hate reading it, and it was very easy to go through...I was just mildly disappointed that the opportunity for deep complexity was lost. Which, to be fair, is usually my gripe when I don't give a book a high rating. If you enjoy YA novels and/or retellings, give it a shot.
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast and a host of other retellings, adult or YA, are better in my opinion, but you may find enjoyment in it. -
As an avid reader of the classics, it is impressive to find how close this was to Hans Christian Andersen’s tale. Obviously, there are some alterations to this latest “twist,” so don’t be expecting the exact fairy tale. The same gruesome cutting of the tongue for the mermaid’s payment is still there, but that’s an obvious necessity to the plot that could only have been downplayed by Disney (no offense to the movie – I still love the cartoon!).
There are some softer points to Turgeon’s version that help explain the feelings of both princesses and the prince a bit better. That’s the great thing about retold classics; the characterization is often improved, allowing readers to feel more attached to a mermaid with a heart, rather than a one dimensional image with a courageous tale – pun intended.
Sexual tension, a love triangle, and child rebellion – this is the kind of fairy tale that even this era can relate to. I don’t remember these details in the former mermaid stories, but the emotions added to this whole mix is what actually pulled on my own heart strings more.
Although I admit that “The Little Mermaid” is one of my all-time favorite tales, I cannot help rolling my eyes in aggravation with every version I read, seeing these young mermaids throw their lives away for a man they met once. Just Once! At least Turgeon managed to evoke my empathy better, and all I can figure is that this tale was, and still is, intended to teach young maidens to be weary of sacrificing much of themselves for the love of a man – a strange man, nonetheless.
Teaching lessons is the point of a fairy tale, right? Right? Lesson or not, it is a good read.
- EZ Read Staffer, Amelia -
I picked up this book with fond memories of retold fairytales I'd read in the past and loved. I really hoped this book would fit into that category. It did not.
First of all, there was way too much God in this book. I don't usually have an issue with religion in literature (though I can't say many of the books I read contain much in the way of serious religion), but this felt so forced. The princess was hiding in a convent, the mermaid was moved by the sight of the cross, she wanted to be connected to God, she felt that sending her soul to God would make her immortal ... she's a mermaid, for crying out loud! She has no idea what God is and yet she's totally obsessed with the religion that is never given a name in the book. I just didn't buy it.
Secondly, the mermaid was entirely stupid. She was so egotistical. I could not feel for her ... except for when she had her "voice" taken. That part sucked. But really, she wasn't doing anything for anyone but herself, which was too bad considering how everyone was doing everything for her.
I did like the princess, though, which I think you're supposed to do. She was pretty cool, with her interest in ancient literature and peace treaties. And the prince seemed like a nice guy once he got over his anger at the princess because he thought she was a nun ...
I do wish they'd expanded on a few storylines. Like, was Agnes once a mermaid? And was the sea witch once a human? And why the hell didn't Margarethe tell Christopher that Lenia swam him to shore?
Oh well. I'm gonna go read a 1000 page book now. It's that time of year again. I'm gonna look awesome schlepping this thing on Muni. -
2.5 stars
The thing that bugs me the most about fairy tales is the insta love and the fact that the characters aren't given much depth.This book was hardly an exception.
We have the human princess who was sent to a convent because of the threat of attack on the North from the South. After the mermaid princess brings the Southern prince to the convent they both fall in love with him. Everything was almost identical to the original The Little Mermaid story except for maybe the ending which kind of made Lenia's story feel pointless.
But the good thing was that the story kept me guessing and it wasn't entirely predictable. I also liked how we got to see things from both the human and mermaids point of view and the descriptions of the sea were quite enchanting if unrealistic.
But overall
