Reviews with content warning for Miscarriage - The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock

Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar

20 reviews

cevec's review

mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Beautiful lyrical writing and a rich sense of history and place, but I found it overwhelmingly slow paced. Any sort of payoff by the end was not worth how long it took to get there!
I enjoyed the imagery and plot of the mermaid and how it could represent womanhood, femininity as a whole, particularly at that time, mirroring how each female character was trapped in someway, somehow at that time. And the longing to escape. But also on a wider scale of each character, each trying to escape their own lives for bigger, better and greater things. But do they, and do we, ever truly find it?

I found the scene of Mrs Chappell's death grimly fascinating, and how she sees who we can only presume is Polly right at the end. A juxtaposition of perhaps a "death" of one way life for women and Polly seemingly the start and symbol of perhaps a small bit of hope for freedom.

I just wish the book and plot had a bit more drive behind it, smore payoff and greater connections. More tightly written is what I think I was hoping for! Also, I don't think I actually really liked ANY of the characters, but the lovely writing and sense of place and time (the research the author put in shone through) was enough to keep me reading and find out what happened to them all in the end.

Content Warnings

darcyjanea's review

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious slow-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

4.25

Content Warnings

comraderowan94's review against another edition

Go to review page

slow-paced

3.0

Though it is historical fiction and the author seems to strive for historical accuracy, she uses a term that is inappropriate to use today. The respect for people alive today needs to outweigh the desires for historical accuracy in a fictional novel

Content Warnings

trippalli's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The philosophical and dark tale about mermaids and coveting of wealth and things and fame and power social judgments and reconciliation All in all a good story but a bit slow for me.
Interesting moral dilemmas, fascination, society, prostitution, marriage, miscarriage. pregnancies, new baby, moving, new neighbors, social judgement, the magic of mermaids the fascination of the historic Wunderkammer.. seeing and fighting for freedom in judgemental societies

Content Warnings

coolshades's review

Go to review page

emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

amberinbookland's review

Go to review page

medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

sofipitch's review

Go to review page

mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book is enchanting and immersive. The historical setting is really well done, I enjoyed that it explored aspects of society such as race and prostitution which are under-explored in Brirish historical literature. However, I wouldn't put this under the fantasy category, it matched magical realism much better. The mermaid herself is never fully described and it feels like it's left to the reader to decide if she is real.

Content Warnings