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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
I own the hardcover edition, and oh it's so pretty ;) What I loved most about "Mermaid Moon": The "marreminder" society is matriarchal. Sanna is strong, capable, ingenuous, intelligent and humble - a true heroine. But while she sets out to find her mother, her quest takes a completely different turn. And even though she finds her mother in the end, she has done and learned so much more along the way. To me, that's a quintessential truth of life: the best life stories are not those that head down a straight path, but those that take twists and turns.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A feminist retelling of The Little Mermaid, this little mermaid, Sanna, goes on land not for a prince, but to find her mother, who was a human woman. However the sea witch of her clan used a spell of forgetting on the mermaid tribe so that no one would remember Sanna’s birth.Sanna apprentices herself to the sea witch, who is not the villian in this story, in order to learn how to transform her tail into legs and go on land to search for her mother. Once she does, she falls into the clutches of the novel’s “prince” and his mother the baroness, who is the villian of the story. The baroness and to wed Sanna to her son so that she has access to Sanna’s powers to increase her immortality.
Sanna is the mermaid in this story and she is a smart young girl who is very resourceful and self reliant. The novel starts in the middle of the action, so we don’t get much back story on her until about 100 pages in. Also she’s taller than everyone which is funny. She is a little bit naive though, she knows she’s likely in danger yet doesn’t try to escape.
The baroness, Thyrla, is a sort of evil queen archetype, and is a really good villian. She’s vicious and has some cool magic powers that are really spooky. She has the “wicked, vain stepmother vibe” which is a little disappointing I was hoping for more depth in the villian. Still her relationship with her son had some depth to it.
So the story does take place in the real world, as it mentions real countries, but the “Thirty- Seven Dark Islands dont exist, so it’s a fake kingdom in the real world. That’s interesting. The world building so far isn’t very clear, but so far we can just eek out the elemental magic system and how it works in this story. There’s a lot the author can do with that so I hope she expands upon it.
As the mermaid tribe is matriarchal, it’s a refreshing take on the fairytale. The merman have to defer to the wishes of the mermaids, which I imagine is a big part of Sanna’s self-possession and brains. The merpeople also put a great importance on family love. Not only that, but among them same-sex relationships are the norm, so good going there. It would be so much more interesting to me if the story was more focused on the mermaid’s culture than the humans.
Religion, or rather what it means to everyday people, seems to also be a theme in this novel. I think that it’s fun to watch someone who has no experiences with religion watch how it effects a community. This is a very unique take as usually with small villages and magic it’s “burn the witch” not “she made magic happen she’s a miracle worker!” Still I think it took away from all the mermaid-y goodness the story had to offer. I don’t read for the humans I read for the mermaids.
There are some nice homages to the original fairytale, with Sanna’s mermaid family watching and waiting for her while she’s on land and the sea witch being a more sympathetic character. Also I really enjoyed the mermaid lore, and hoped for a little more of it.
Overall this is a refreshing take on the fairytale, but I wish there was more mermaid life in it and less focus in boring humans. But maybe that’s just me I like my stories to have lots of sea-folk lore. If you’re a mermaid lover like me definitely pick this up!
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
If you ask a loving parent, they might say that the happiest day of their lives was the day their child was born.
For the parents of Sanna, a sixteen-year-old mermaid (marreminder), the day their daughter was born was a day to forget - quite literally.
Sanna is the product of a union between a merman - a “seavish” man - and a human (“landish”) woman, and on the night her mother gave birth, the witch of her father’s clan (flok) - an old woman called Sjældent - cast a powerful spell of forgetting on all those present. This included her mother.
But now Sanna is of age and, seeing the relationships the other girls of her flok have to their mothers, she is more determined than ever to find her own. She offers herself as Sjældent’s apprentice, not only so she can learn magic, but to discover how to transform herself so she may walk on land - and reunite with the woman who birthed her.
All Sanna has to go on is a name - Lisabet - and the last location the members of her flok can recall seeing her birth mother - the Thirty-Seven Dark Islands, in the far northern reaches of the medieval world.
But finding her mother isn’t the only quest Sanna has - Sjældent has also set her tasks to perform.
What obstacles will stand in Sanna’s path? And will she ever discover her mother’s true identity?
Mermaid Moon is a fairy tale, but to call it only a fairy tale would be to do it a disservice.
The novel is fiercely feminist in the way it depicts the society and culture of the seavish people as skewing towards a power-based matriarchy. The only male in Sanna’s flok is her father, Bjarl. Same-sex relationships are common. Males seem to be of little use here - except in cautionary tales told to young marreminder of lascivious landish men who will rape them given the opportunity. This mirror society of women’s dominance allows Cokal to challenge the tropes of our real-world patriarchal storytelling and women’s roles within its fables.
Susann Cokal’s decision to portray her seavish society as a matriarchal one is explained in her authors note:
“...why should the most powerful creatures in the stories, the ones who can ruin or save you - and the ones who can change their bodies to walk on land if they choose - still be a subject class? Why don’t they run the show?”
-Susann Cokal, “Notes on history, with gratitude”, Mermaid Moon, p. 484
Mermaid Moon is also a thoughtful exploration of what happens when magic and religion intersect, and questions the power of faith and belief. In her authors’ note, Cokal discusses the concept of syncretism, particularly with regard to religious sites. She defines it thus:
"Everyone knows that we build new civilisations on the ashes of the old. A new sovereign - or emperor or dictator, or president - moves into the castle of the one defeated. Or a warlord or -lady builds a fortress over a dragon's lair; then someone else comes along, storms the fortress, and adds on to it, making a castle or palace."
-Susann Cokal, “Notes on history, with gratitude”, Mermaid Moon, p. 485-6
Cokal's ideas about syncretism are explored in the form of the church building in Dark Moon Harbour. The centre of village religious life, the church was constructed upon the remains of a religious site predating the arrival of Christianity and it transforms again during the course of the novel, to commemorate the first of three miracles that occur during Sanna's stay.
The way Cokal describes this process blurs the line further between magic and spiritual belief, for it appears that the site itself possesses its own indefinable spiritual quality. It is magic in Sanna’s blood that causes surprising events, but the superstitious villagers -- spurred on by the priest, Father Abel - are quick to hail these as miracles, and Sanna herself as a saint.
The suspicious Baroness Thyrla - who possesses formidable magic of her own - quickly takes matters in hand, locking Sanna up in the castle and betrothing her to the Baroness’ handsome but vacant, immature son, Peder.
The fact that up until this point the villagers’ lives had been predictable and mundane only sharpens their belief that here, before them, is a living, breathing manifestation of the divine. Sanna, who among her own flok is considered somewhat of an afterthought, is bewildered and at times terrified by the reverence the landish folk lavish upon her.
The threat to Baroness Thyrla’s hold on her subjects with the arrival of Sanna ties into a classic fairy tale trope found most notably in “Snow White” - the older woman, jealous of a younger woman’s beauty, popularity, and power, schemes for the other’s downfall.
Mermaid Moon is a novel that is beautifully and evocatively written, though its steady pace and occasionally whimsical and offbeat tone may test the patience of some readers. I admit I occasionally struggled with the pacing and tone. But ultimately the complex ideas Cokal explores, along with her imaginative world-building, make Mermaid Moon an absorbing, memorable read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder
There is a scene in which a sea witch performs what I can only term a necrophilic act with the dead body of a young man as part of a magic spell
I received this book from Candlewick Press in exchange for an honest review.
Sanna is an oddity among her matriarchal mermaid 'flok'; she has been raised by her father and nobody can remember her mother. A spell has been cast to make everyone forget her birth - because her mother is human. Sanna begins to work with her flok's seawitch to learn magic, specifically to learn to walk on land to find her mother.
She stumbles into a town's feast for a saint and accidentally turns bushes of white roses into red roses in front of the whole town and the imperious Baroness Thyrla. Before she knows it, Sanna is engaged to marry Thyrla's thick son, worshiped as a saint by the townfolk, and engaged in a subtle battle of magic with Thyrla, all while searching for her mother.
Sanna is a decent main character. She's thoughtful, intelligent, and driven, with a kind heart. Though she was an outsider amongst her flok, and an outsider among the humans, her empathy for others isn't damaged.
Mermaid Moon felt a little bit different than a lot of current YA, the style reminded me more of Patricia McKillip or Anne McCaffrey than most 21st century YA. I liked that there was little to no romance and that the resolution of the story was not what I expected.
I do think Sanna's driving force - locating her mother - was a little too neglected and left me mildly unsatisfied as different plot threads took precedence.
Sanna is an oddity among her matriarchal mermaid 'flok'; she has been raised by her father and nobody can remember her mother. A spell has been cast to make everyone forget her birth - because her mother is human. Sanna begins to work with her flok's seawitch to learn magic, specifically to learn to walk on land to find her mother.
She stumbles into a town's feast for a saint and accidentally turns bushes of white roses into red roses in front of the whole town and the imperious Baroness Thyrla. Before she knows it, Sanna is engaged to marry Thyrla's thick son, worshiped as a saint by the townfolk, and engaged in a subtle battle of magic with Thyrla, all while searching for her mother.
Sanna is a decent main character. She's thoughtful, intelligent, and driven, with a kind heart. Though she was an outsider amongst her flok, and an outsider among the humans, her empathy for others isn't damaged.
Mermaid Moon felt a little bit different than a lot of current YA, the style reminded me more of Patricia McKillip or Anne McCaffrey than most 21st century YA. I liked that there was little to no romance and that the resolution of the story was not what I expected.
I do think Sanna's driving force - locating her mother - was a little too neglected and left me mildly unsatisfied as different plot threads took precedence.
Sanna was born to a human mother and a merman father. Powerful magic allowed everyone to forget her mother - and for her mother to forget her - and for Sanna to live with the merpeople. Now she has developed magic of her own as well as curiosity about why she is different from the others. She sets out to find the truth in the world of the humans. Things go terribly wrong.
While the writing is symbolic, rich, and evocative, the story itself did nothing for me. I did not relate to any of the characters, the plot was slow and tedious. I can see a few of my students who this may appeal to but it's a fairly narrow niche.
While the writing is symbolic, rich, and evocative, the story itself did nothing for me. I did not relate to any of the characters, the plot was slow and tedious. I can see a few of my students who this may appeal to but it's a fairly narrow niche.
*I received a free ARC of this novel, with thanks to the author, Candlewick Press and NetGalley. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Mermaid Moon takes the familiar story of a young mermaid begging a sea witch for legs to walk on the land, and turns it on its head.
Sanna isn’t chasing after a man, for a start; she is searching for clues to find her human mother, forgotten due to a magic spell on the night of her birth. And she is no helpless ingenue. She has strength and resources, and plenty of magic of her own.
Strangely, despite this, she still seems easily trapped and spends a large portion of the story passively waiting for answers to reveal themselves to her. Caught up in the selfish plots of the landish baroness and the desperate hopes of the townspeople, her own search is constantly sidelined as she is manoeuvred around the story-board like a pretty pawn. Until towards the end, when she suddenly takes control of events and begins to think, and act, for herself!
The writing is beautiful – conjuring up, not only an exotic underwater landscape and society, but also a landish society rich with magic and mythology of its own, and the juxtaposition of Sanna’s viewpoint with Baroness Thyrla’s as they consistently misunderstand and misinterpret each other’s behaviours is a very clever illustration of the human tendency to project ourselves onto others.
I was often reminded of the animated film of Peter S. Beagle’s story The Last Unicorn, with its old-fashioned other-wordly feel – strange and hauntingly unnatural, but beautiful – with Sanna as Lady Amalthea, Kett as Molly Grue, Tomas and Peder as Schmendrick and Lir, and Baroness Thyrla as King Haggard. However, the ‘red bull’ of danger in this story is actually, as mentioned previously, our speed and willingness to jump to erroneous assumptions about those around us. The characters here are all so focused on their own wants and needs that they unwittingly and repeatedly shroud themselves and each other in confusion.
Far darker and more adult in theme than the average Disney mermaid tale, Mermaid Moon, weaves a slow and strangely haunting tale around the reader, overwhelming them with the scent of salt tears and cloying, blood-red roses, and drowning the sounds of siren song with the clacking clamour of dust-dry bones.
Fans of slow-paced narratives, focused strongly on female-centric themes, will enjoy this swim in magical waters.
As I step toward them, I get another sensation, that which we call the Down-Below-Deep. I feel as if I’m moving below the sea’s striae of buoyancy, so far down it takes days first to swim and then to sink to the bottom. Anyone who reaches that place risks being held by the weight of water until it crushes her to death.
I am almost afraid enough to turn back, but I don’t. I am sworn to the quest. And anyway, my poor new feet can’t walk to the water again, and my grip on my magic is weak; I might not be able to change.
So I take a deep breath, and then the last few steps into sun and the edge of the crowd.
– Susann Cokal, Mermaid Moon
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com/2020/04/02/mermaid-moon-susann-cokal/
Mermaid Moon takes the familiar story of a young mermaid begging a sea witch for legs to walk on the land, and turns it on its head.
Sanna isn’t chasing after a man, for a start; she is searching for clues to find her human mother, forgotten due to a magic spell on the night of her birth. And she is no helpless ingenue. She has strength and resources, and plenty of magic of her own.
Strangely, despite this, she still seems easily trapped and spends a large portion of the story passively waiting for answers to reveal themselves to her. Caught up in the selfish plots of the landish baroness and the desperate hopes of the townspeople, her own search is constantly sidelined as she is manoeuvred around the story-board like a pretty pawn. Until towards the end, when she suddenly takes control of events and begins to think, and act, for herself!
The writing is beautiful – conjuring up, not only an exotic underwater landscape and society, but also a landish society rich with magic and mythology of its own, and the juxtaposition of Sanna’s viewpoint with Baroness Thyrla’s as they consistently misunderstand and misinterpret each other’s behaviours is a very clever illustration of the human tendency to project ourselves onto others.
I was often reminded of the animated film of Peter S. Beagle’s story The Last Unicorn, with its old-fashioned other-wordly feel – strange and hauntingly unnatural, but beautiful – with Sanna as Lady Amalthea, Kett as Molly Grue, Tomas and Peder as Schmendrick and Lir, and Baroness Thyrla as King Haggard. However, the ‘red bull’ of danger in this story is actually, as mentioned previously, our speed and willingness to jump to erroneous assumptions about those around us. The characters here are all so focused on their own wants and needs that they unwittingly and repeatedly shroud themselves and each other in confusion.
Far darker and more adult in theme than the average Disney mermaid tale, Mermaid Moon, weaves a slow and strangely haunting tale around the reader, overwhelming them with the scent of salt tears and cloying, blood-red roses, and drowning the sounds of siren song with the clacking clamour of dust-dry bones.
Fans of slow-paced narratives, focused strongly on female-centric themes, will enjoy this swim in magical waters.
As I step toward them, I get another sensation, that which we call the Down-Below-Deep. I feel as if I’m moving below the sea’s striae of buoyancy, so far down it takes days first to swim and then to sink to the bottom. Anyone who reaches that place risks being held by the weight of water until it crushes her to death.
I am almost afraid enough to turn back, but I don’t. I am sworn to the quest. And anyway, my poor new feet can’t walk to the water again, and my grip on my magic is weak; I might not be able to change.
So I take a deep breath, and then the last few steps into sun and the edge of the crowd.
– Susann Cokal, Mermaid Moon
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com/2020/04/02/mermaid-moon-susann-cokal/
This book is about a mermaid with magic, trained by the sea witch since she was a child, to be the new witch of the tribe.
The story begins when the young mermaid is leaving the sea in search of her mom. The tricky thing is that her mom and all the mermaids have been put under a forgetting spell because mermaids are not to have relationships with the humans
The mermaid was a relatable character but very naive in regards to the situations that she finds herself in. It was interesting to see the migration of religious views from Christianity and Pagan worship, that are scattered all over this book, and how it ties into the magic systems the author creates.
Thanks to Netgalley and Candlewick Press for an advanced copy of this book. It was really engaging concept.
The story begins when the young mermaid is leaving the sea in search of her mom. The tricky thing is that her mom and all the mermaids have been put under a forgetting spell because mermaids are not to have relationships with the humans
The mermaid was a relatable character but very naive in regards to the situations that she finds herself in. It was interesting to see the migration of religious views from Christianity and Pagan worship, that are scattered all over this book, and how it ties into the magic systems the author creates.
Thanks to Netgalley and Candlewick Press for an advanced copy of this book. It was really engaging concept.
3.5* (rounded up to a 4)
The first part of this was like a low 3 star for me. Very slow, I did not care for the characters although the writing was beautiful and the way the mermaids and everything was described was also very fascinating. I was considering putting it down at one point when I just felt like the story wasn’t going anywhere. It is certainly a book that is not very plot-driven, and something I enjoyed more for the writing and the language, however...
The last third of the book was more like a 4 star (hence the 3.5*) I really started getting more interested in the story and couldn’t put it down after things really started happening, and ended up being very satisfied with it. I’m surprised that I grew to care more for the characters towards the end (although not as much as I would have wished for.)
Definitely not something I would have usually picked up, and probably won’t ever read it again as I’m more into the fast paced books with more action, twists, world building and a more fleshed out plot, relationships etc. I do also understand that this book really did not need all that, to be it’s own thing. This book definitely is not for everyone, I find myself neither hating nor loving it. It was simply an okay story, layered underneath and delicately woven in with Susann Cokal’s very lyrical and beautiful writing style, that I grew to enjoy a lot.
The first part of this was like a low 3 star for me. Very slow, I did not care for the characters although the writing was beautiful and the way the mermaids and everything was described was also very fascinating. I was considering putting it down at one point when I just felt like the story wasn’t going anywhere. It is certainly a book that is not very plot-driven, and something I enjoyed more for the writing and the language, however...
The last third of the book was more like a 4 star (hence the 3.5*) I really started getting more interested in the story and couldn’t put it down after things really started happening, and ended up being very satisfied with it. I’m surprised that I grew to care more for the characters towards the end (although not as much as I would have wished for.)
Definitely not something I would have usually picked up, and probably won’t ever read it again as I’m more into the fast paced books with more action, twists, world building and a more fleshed out plot, relationships etc. I do also understand that this book really did not need all that, to be it’s own thing. This book definitely is not for everyone, I find myself neither hating nor loving it. It was simply an okay story, layered underneath and delicately woven in with Susann Cokal’s very lyrical and beautiful writing style, that I grew to enjoy a lot.
I never felt like the story was a very slow moving read. Hard for me to pick up so I mainly just listened to the audio and even that was slow for me.