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stephbrittoleal's review against another edition
1.0
Before anyone asks, y'all kids can have my feminist ID and kick me out of the club, if this will make anyone happy.
Maybe the editors' Portuguese prologue rubbed me too wrong (calling the original tale deliciously brutal, which is just a bit tad insensitive), with that eagerness of making the Disney movie the villain of everything even though people have been remaking The Little Mermaid long before Disney, and dragging the original tale along, as the original was just about a hetero naive girl having some cray cray ideas about love (and not one of the saddest queer love stories ever written, but okay, go off I guess).
Well, some things are on point: how older men groom girls into dating/marrying them, how we do a lot of things that hurt in order to be beautiful to society, how society pity women against women... But also, this book is no better than the last medieval torture porn I have read.
We need to stop thinking a girl is just a good character after she's brutalized. After she suffers so much she becomes cynical and violent. That a female character is just good if she have a lot of acceptable (toxic) masculine traits.
Putting the reason to be of the Salkas in one man (they are like that because a man....) Instead of placing that over not only the patriarchy, like no other kinds of dominance and prejudice existed.... The most powerful group of creatures in the sea are made because of men, when they could have decided on their fate for many other reasons. Idk, it rubbed me the wrong way.
Also, this straight-washed the entire story. Ofc it's all about a girl silencing herself for a man, like a stupid romantic silly girl, amiright? The Little Mermaid has nothing to do with longing for being loved in a world that tells you you are sinful and damaged, in a world that underwater or not, your love seems like an imposibility and people tell you those gays will go to hell (cough cough, the mermaid didn't have a soul, and sometimes people treat LGBTQ+ people as soulless, yeah), the fact that the Mermaid had a voice, but that didn't matter in her kingdom or out, it says a lot about the queer experience.
ALSO WHAT A SIN TO MUTILATE YOUR BODY TO LOOK LIKE A WOMAN WHEN YOU HAVEN'T BORN A WOMAN, AMIRIGHT????
Ffs, I can't even.
And one minor character being gay in the background isn't inclusive.
Gaia not being "a feminist" until the last two lines or whatever is not an issue, it's not even a thing. She has always been quite in favor of giving voice to the mermaids. A woman doesn't get less feminist for falling in love for the wrong guy (very progressive of some to judge a teenage girl for making mistakes).
I won't talk about the men here. The men define the plot. Gaia mostly reacts to the things happening. Every single woman there is reactive. Just because you pepper a story with hot topics of the modern feminist movement, it doesn't make your characters good.
She decided to be human, I will grant you that. But why not kill the fucker? I'm still to understand.
She's 16 and any older person could make her do things. I am not trying to tell a 70 something elder recruiting teen soldiers is manipulative. Not at all. She's not her mentor. If she cared, she wouldn't wait to the most convenient moment for herself to recruit a heartbroken and mind-shattered kid. (In her place, I would do exactly the same thing, but I am not nice).
And in the end, what changes from this super-woke Retelling and some oh so dark and edgy retelling only worried about torturing the women involved even more than the original? Nothing. In the end, after all fight, her grandma was right: living differently only brought her pain and no freedom. In the end, her society's limitating mentality was right. Who is benefited by this kind of mindset? You defeat the rules and ends up wounded and fated to destruction.
Idk, it would be 100% more progressive to have Gaia fall for Ling and finding love and comfort between the humans.
But all this is just my take on the thing.
And, yeah, sure. This is pure white cishet feminism, but the cover is really nice.
Maybe the editors' Portuguese prologue rubbed me too wrong (calling the original tale deliciously brutal, which is just a bit tad insensitive), with that eagerness of making the Disney movie the villain of everything even though people have been remaking The Little Mermaid long before Disney, and dragging the original tale along, as the original was just about a hetero naive girl having some cray cray ideas about love (and not one of the saddest queer love stories ever written, but okay, go off I guess).
Well, some things are on point: how older men groom girls into dating/marrying them, how we do a lot of things that hurt in order to be beautiful to society, how society pity women against women... But also, this book is no better than the last medieval torture porn I have read.
We need to stop thinking a girl is just a good character after she's brutalized. After she suffers so much she becomes cynical and violent. That a female character is just good if she have a lot of acceptable (toxic) masculine traits.
Putting the reason to be of the Salkas in one man (they are like that because a man....) Instead of placing that over not only the patriarchy, like no other kinds of dominance and prejudice existed.... The most powerful group of creatures in the sea are made because of men, when they could have decided on their fate for many other reasons. Idk, it rubbed me the wrong way.
Also, this straight-washed the entire story. Ofc it's all about a girl silencing herself for a man, like a stupid romantic silly girl, amiright? The Little Mermaid has nothing to do with longing for being loved in a world that tells you you are sinful and damaged, in a world that underwater or not, your love seems like an imposibility and people tell you those gays will go to hell (cough cough, the mermaid didn't have a soul, and sometimes people treat LGBTQ+ people as soulless, yeah), the fact that the Mermaid had a voice, but that didn't matter in her kingdom or out, it says a lot about the queer experience.
ALSO WHAT A SIN TO MUTILATE YOUR BODY TO LOOK LIKE A WOMAN WHEN YOU HAVEN'T BORN A WOMAN, AMIRIGHT????
Ffs, I can't even.
And one minor character being gay in the background isn't inclusive.
Gaia not being "a feminist" until the last two lines or whatever is not an issue, it's not even a thing. She has always been quite in favor of giving voice to the mermaids. A woman doesn't get less feminist for falling in love for the wrong guy (very progressive of some to judge a teenage girl for making mistakes).
I won't talk about the men here. The men define the plot. Gaia mostly reacts to the things happening. Every single woman there is reactive. Just because you pepper a story with hot topics of the modern feminist movement, it doesn't make your characters good.
She decided to be human, I will grant you that. But why not kill the fucker? I'm still to understand.
She's 16 and any older person could make her do things. I am not trying to tell a 70 something elder recruiting teen soldiers is manipulative. Not at all. She's not her mentor. If she cared, she wouldn't wait to the most convenient moment for herself to recruit a heartbroken and mind-shattered kid. (In her place, I would do exactly the same thing, but I am not nice).
And in the end, what changes from this super-woke Retelling and some oh so dark and edgy retelling only worried about torturing the women involved even more than the original? Nothing. In the end, after all fight, her grandma was right: living differently only brought her pain and no freedom. In the end, her society's limitating mentality was right. Who is benefited by this kind of mindset? You defeat the rules and ends up wounded and fated to destruction.
Idk, it would be 100% more progressive to have Gaia fall for Ling and finding love and comfort between the humans.
But all this is just my take on the thing.
And, yeah, sure. This is pure white cishet feminism, but the cover is really nice.
uutopicaa's review against another edition
3.0
2,5
Es complicado hablar sobre este libro. La novela nos presenta un mundo muy machista bajo el mar y otro bastante parecido en la superficie. No diré que rozan lo absurdo porque sé que ham existido y existen sitios así, aunque parezcan realmente ajenos a mi realidad.
En estos mundos, nuestra protagonista es una sirena pelirroja que no conoce más que la opresión machista con la que ha crecido, pero que siente que "algo está mal" aunque no pueda ponerlo en palabras.
El mensaje de la historia sobre no dejarse oprimir por los hombres, por no vivir solo para complacerlos, es genial. Sin embargo, la historia en sí no es buena.
Primero que nada, porque este mensaje no cobra valor hasta el último capítulo, donde cae de repente y sin previo aviso (no es algo que se construye en la historia). Segundo, porque la historia en sí no es un retelling, sino la misma historia de siempre sin ningún elemento nuevo más allá del mensaje.
Dar mensajes positivos sobre la igualdad de género y la lucha contra el machismo me parece genial, y he leído libros muy buenos al respecto. Pero esta novela en particular solo tiene el mensaje en sí (y condensado en 10 páginas). La trama no existe, los personajes tampoco.
Una novela de ficción es más que un mensaje. Necesita de buenos personajes, de una trama cautivante y de un final que se construya con la acción de cada escena. Y, en eso, este libro falla.
A mí suelen gustarme mucho los retellings, en especial los más imaginativos (como los de Marissa Meyer o los de Danielle Paige). Esto parece mas un copypaste del relato original y de la película de Disney con apenas el mensaje añadido como novedas.
Una gran decepción para mi gusto.
Es complicado hablar sobre este libro. La novela nos presenta un mundo muy machista bajo el mar y otro bastante parecido en la superficie. No diré que rozan lo absurdo porque sé que ham existido y existen sitios así, aunque parezcan realmente ajenos a mi realidad.
En estos mundos, nuestra protagonista es una sirena pelirroja que no conoce más que la opresión machista con la que ha crecido, pero que siente que "algo está mal" aunque no pueda ponerlo en palabras.
El mensaje de la historia sobre no dejarse oprimir por los hombres, por no vivir solo para complacerlos, es genial. Sin embargo, la historia en sí no es buena.
Primero que nada, porque este mensaje no cobra valor hasta el último capítulo, donde cae de repente y sin previo aviso (no es algo que se construye en la historia). Segundo, porque la historia en sí no es un retelling, sino la misma historia de siempre sin ningún elemento nuevo más allá del mensaje.
Dar mensajes positivos sobre la igualdad de género y la lucha contra el machismo me parece genial, y he leído libros muy buenos al respecto. Pero esta novela en particular solo tiene el mensaje en sí (y condensado en 10 páginas). La trama no existe, los personajes tampoco.
Una novela de ficción es más que un mensaje. Necesita de buenos personajes, de una trama cautivante y de un final que se construya con la acción de cada escena. Y, en eso, este libro falla.
A mí suelen gustarme mucho los retellings, en especial los más imaginativos (como los de Marissa Meyer o los de Danielle Paige). Esto parece mas un copypaste del relato original y de la película de Disney con apenas el mensaje añadido como novedas.
Una gran decepción para mi gusto.
lateromantic's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I didn't enjoy it as much as Louise O'Neill's other books I've read, but she did a wonderful job of extending The Little Mermaid and showing the queer and proto-feminist aspects of the story. Some bad language and sex references, though I would say the sex references are OK for young high school students as it teaches them about relating to healthy desires in a safe way and consent. More on-the-nose than her other books, but likely because it's aimed at a younger audience than them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Misogyny, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Gore, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Eating disorder
saccalai's review against another edition
2.5
This was quite slow moving, and really not the feminist retelling I was expecting.
logolepsy_e's review against another edition
4.0
La piccola sirena Muireann vive sul fondo dell'oceano, in una società monarchica patriarcale che ricorda non poco il nostro medioevo. Circondata dal padre padrone, da una nonna che vorrebbe cambiare le cose ma non può e da sei sorelle che dovrebbero amarla, ma il cui amore è spesso ostacolato dall'invidia che provano per la più bella tra loro, Gaia guarda spesso il cielo, nascosto oltre il soffitto della superficie, sognando un mondo che non può raggiungere e rimpiangendo una madre che da lì è (quasi?) riuscita a scappare.
Ma cosa succederà dopo il suo sedicesimo compleanno, quando lei potrà finalmente avventurarsi da sola verso la superficie?
Louise O'Neill propone una reinterpretazione in chiave moderna (e femminista) della celebre fiaba di Handersen.
Quello che ne viene fuori è senza dubbio un romanzo nuovo, fresco, molto coinvolgente e pieno di tematiche che fanno pensare, riflettere e che spesso fanno anche un po' male.
Com'è consuetudine nelle opere della O'Neill, anche in questo romanzo è centrale la condizione della donna che, tramite l'espediente della creazione di un mondo che altro non è che un regno fortemente patriarcale, viene esasperata e portata all'estremo e che risulta quindi molto funzionale per il messaggio che vuole trasmettere.
La trama è ben strutturata e secondo me è un grande punto di forza; nonostante la storia di base sia ben nota e conosciuta, si ha comunque la voglia di continuare a leggere e di sapere presto cosa succederà e come. L'intreccio non è banale e mai scontato e si mantiene una tensione notevole fino alla fine.
Una delle cose migliori del libro è sicuramente l'atmosfera. Molto surreale e onirica, ma comunque ancorata alla realtà, a tratti potrebbe risultare un po' oscura, ma resta un'oscurità molto funzionale alla narrazione.
I personaggi sono tutti scritti molto bene e ben approfonditi, ci si relaziona molto bene con la protagonista e tra i personaggi secondari ne spiccano alcuni davvero notevoli; prima su tutti la Sea Witch, quella che apparentemente sembra il villain della situazione, porta una piacevole aggiunta alla storia. E' un personaggio molto bello, fuori dagli schemi e in grado di veicolare con facilità messaggi molto importanti.
Messaggi che sono, alla fine, il punto focale del libro. Sono tutti molto giusti, azzeccati e condivisibili, ma in alcuni punti sono stati anche uno dei pochi (forse l'unico) lati negativi del romanzo: alcune tematiche, forse un po' banali, sono eccessivamente sottolineate e spinte, quando non ce n'era in fondo così bisogno, e a volte possono risultare un po' troppe e troppo presenti nella narrazione.
Al di là di questo, è un libro che mi ha molto colpita, che mi ha tenuta incollata alle pagine e che mi ha davvero affascinata.
Sorvolando sulla meravigliosa bellezza visiva di questa edizione, trovo che sia una lettura perfetta per un target di ragazze molto giovani e sinceramente lo vedrei bene come lettura assegnata nelle scuole. Non resta che sperare che ne arrivi presto la traduzione italiana!
Ma cosa succederà dopo il suo sedicesimo compleanno, quando lei potrà finalmente avventurarsi da sola verso la superficie?
Louise O'Neill propone una reinterpretazione in chiave moderna (e femminista) della celebre fiaba di Handersen.
Quello che ne viene fuori è senza dubbio un romanzo nuovo, fresco, molto coinvolgente e pieno di tematiche che fanno pensare, riflettere e che spesso fanno anche un po' male.
Com'è consuetudine nelle opere della O'Neill, anche in questo romanzo è centrale la condizione della donna che, tramite l'espediente della creazione di un mondo che altro non è che un regno fortemente patriarcale, viene esasperata e portata all'estremo e che risulta quindi molto funzionale per il messaggio che vuole trasmettere.
La trama è ben strutturata e secondo me è un grande punto di forza; nonostante la storia di base sia ben nota e conosciuta, si ha comunque la voglia di continuare a leggere e di sapere presto cosa succederà e come. L'intreccio non è banale e mai scontato e si mantiene una tensione notevole fino alla fine.
Una delle cose migliori del libro è sicuramente l'atmosfera. Molto surreale e onirica, ma comunque ancorata alla realtà, a tratti potrebbe risultare un po' oscura, ma resta un'oscurità molto funzionale alla narrazione.
I personaggi sono tutti scritti molto bene e ben approfonditi, ci si relaziona molto bene con la protagonista e tra i personaggi secondari ne spiccano alcuni davvero notevoli; prima su tutti la Sea Witch, quella che apparentemente sembra il villain della situazione, porta una piacevole aggiunta alla storia. E' un personaggio molto bello, fuori dagli schemi e in grado di veicolare con facilità messaggi molto importanti.
Messaggi che sono, alla fine, il punto focale del libro. Sono tutti molto giusti, azzeccati e condivisibili, ma in alcuni punti sono stati anche uno dei pochi (forse l'unico) lati negativi del romanzo: alcune tematiche, forse un po' banali, sono eccessivamente sottolineate e spinte, quando non ce n'era in fondo così bisogno, e a volte possono risultare un po' troppe e troppo presenti nella narrazione.
Al di là di questo, è un libro che mi ha molto colpita, che mi ha tenuta incollata alle pagine e che mi ha davvero affascinata.
Sorvolando sulla meravigliosa bellezza visiva di questa edizione, trovo che sia una lettura perfetta per un target di ragazze molto giovani e sinceramente lo vedrei bene come lettura assegnata nelle scuole. Non resta che sperare che ne arrivi presto la traduzione italiana!
katykelly's review against another edition
5.0
Classic tale rewritten for older, contemporary readers.
And it's all the better for it. It's been years since I read Andersen's original, but phrases stood out as possibly taken from the tale, whole scenes were very familiar.
But the empowerment, the focus on subjugation, the new look at rose-tinted love objects, this was new. And very very welcome.
What Gaia goes through for her 'love' is even more horrific, and clearly so. The Sea Witch is no longer a creature of horror but a female who has broken free of her chains and is revelling in a life of her choosing.
This is not for young readers. There are some graphic descriptions of sexual coercion/rape, physical brutality, emotional abuse. This is for those who have read their fairy tales, dreamed their dreams and are growing up into a world where the stark reality differs vastly from their old stories.
O'Neill has done a marvellous job of interweaving the ultimate princess tragedy into something contemporary, powerful and uplifting.
Loved the audio version, narrated with an Irish accent, giving a 'Celtic myth' feel to things. Very easy to listen to, and no singing crabs in sight.
And it's all the better for it. It's been years since I read Andersen's original, but phrases stood out as possibly taken from the tale, whole scenes were very familiar.
But the empowerment, the focus on subjugation, the new look at rose-tinted love objects, this was new. And very very welcome.
What Gaia goes through for her 'love' is even more horrific, and clearly so. The Sea Witch is no longer a creature of horror but a female who has broken free of her chains and is revelling in a life of her choosing.
This is not for young readers. There are some graphic descriptions of sexual coercion/rape, physical brutality, emotional abuse. This is for those who have read their fairy tales, dreamed their dreams and are growing up into a world where the stark reality differs vastly from their old stories.
O'Neill has done a marvellous job of interweaving the ultimate princess tragedy into something contemporary, powerful and uplifting.
Loved the audio version, narrated with an Irish accent, giving a 'Celtic myth' feel to things. Very easy to listen to, and no singing crabs in sight.
jonisbookquest's review against another edition
3.0
2,5*
Het kan zijn dat deze nog omlaag gaat qua score, moet hier even goed over nadenken.
Review to come.
Het kan zijn dat deze nog omlaag gaat qua score, moet hier even goed over nadenken.
Review to come.
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
4.0
Als iemand me meteen had gezegd dat dit een mix zou zijn van Hans Christian Andersen en Damsel, had ik het boek waarschijnlijk al opengeslagen op de dag dat het hier op de deurmat gevallen is. Nu is het blijven liggen omdat ik eerlijk gezegd niet helemaal zeker wist of ik het wel leuk zou vinden en wel zou kunnen waarderen. De juiste informatie bij de juiste lezers krijgen lijkt in YA land nog niet altijd te lukken.
Het duurde wel even voor ik echt door begon te krijgen waar dit boek heen wilde en welke invalshoek dit boek gekozen had. Het duurt ongelooflijk lang voor Gaia de zee verruilt voor het land, tot bijna halverwege het boek, wat toch een moment is waar de lezer op zit te wachten. Maar, die hele opbouw van de wereld onder water, van de heerschappij van haar vader en van hoe het er daar aan toe gaat, is wel ongelooflijk belangrijk en leidt daadwerkelijk ergens heen.
Niet alleen verklaart het voor een groot deel Gaia's gedrag en acties op het land, het geeft ook de zeeheks een heel sterk motief om te doen wat ze doet. Hierdoor ontstaat een heel grijs verhaal waarbij er eigenlijk geen goed of slecht meer bestaat en alle karakters wel een aantal lagen hebben. Dit maakt het verhaal naar mate het vordert en alle puzzelstukjes langzaamaan op hun plek beginnen te vallen heel interessant.
Wat razend knap is, is de subtiliteit van de onderliggende thematiek, die eigenlijk pas tegen het einde steeds verder aan de oppervlakte komt drijven en mij in de laatste hoofdstukken omver blies. Ik wist niet dat ik dit verhaal wilde en nodig had, maar ik kan je verzekeren: Ik wilde het en ik had het nodig. Vooral het bevredigende einde was ongelooflijk fijn om te lezen.
Wie denkt dat hij een schattige retelling gaat lezen van Disney's the little Mermaid komt bedrogen uit. Wie, net als ik veel meer, houdt van de versie zoals Andersen hem vertelde zal aan dit boek wel eens veel meer plezier kunnen beleven dan van te voren gedacht!
Het duurde wel even voor ik echt door begon te krijgen waar dit boek heen wilde en welke invalshoek dit boek gekozen had. Het duurt ongelooflijk lang voor Gaia de zee verruilt voor het land, tot bijna halverwege het boek, wat toch een moment is waar de lezer op zit te wachten. Maar, die hele opbouw van de wereld onder water, van de heerschappij van haar vader en van hoe het er daar aan toe gaat, is wel ongelooflijk belangrijk en leidt daadwerkelijk ergens heen.
Niet alleen verklaart het voor een groot deel Gaia's gedrag en acties op het land, het geeft ook de zeeheks een heel sterk motief om te doen wat ze doet. Hierdoor ontstaat een heel grijs verhaal waarbij er eigenlijk geen goed of slecht meer bestaat en alle karakters wel een aantal lagen hebben. Dit maakt het verhaal naar mate het vordert en alle puzzelstukjes langzaamaan op hun plek beginnen te vallen heel interessant.
Wat razend knap is, is de subtiliteit van de onderliggende thematiek, die eigenlijk pas tegen het einde steeds verder aan de oppervlakte komt drijven en mij in de laatste hoofdstukken omver blies. Ik wist niet dat ik dit verhaal wilde en nodig had, maar ik kan je verzekeren: Ik wilde het en ik had het nodig. Vooral het bevredigende einde was ongelooflijk fijn om te lezen.
Wie denkt dat hij een schattige retelling gaat lezen van Disney's the little Mermaid komt bedrogen uit. Wie, net als ik veel meer, houdt van de versie zoals Andersen hem vertelde zal aan dit boek wel eens veel meer plezier kunnen beleven dan van te voren gedacht!