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autumnkym's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this feminist retelling of the Little Mermaid. I'm a fan of the original story and the Disney version and this is a lot closer to the original tale, though there were definite references to the Disney version in the dialogue between Gaia and the sea witch.
There's no getting away from the fact that Gaia is massively naive and actually for most of the book is frustratingly dim. It's only at the end where in the last chapter she realises the truth, so she isn't the feminist hero of this tale.
Its all about the sea witch. She doesn't have a massive part in the story but still manages to champion body positivity and allyship as well as addressing slut shaming.
There's no getting away from the fact that Gaia is massively naive and actually for most of the book is frustratingly dim. It's only at the end where in the last chapter she realises the truth, so she isn't the feminist hero of this tale.
Its all about the sea witch. She doesn't have a massive part in the story but still manages to champion body positivity and allyship as well as addressing slut shaming.
eily_may's review against another edition
4.0
The feminist retelling bit is definitely a tad oversold - Gaia doesn't have her feminist awakening until very very late in the book. Still, an interesting take on the story of the Little Mermaid and I enjoyed the sort of "Gaelic" feel of parts of the book :)
katie_is_dreaming's review against another edition
3.0
A few years ago, I read a collection of fairy tale retellings by another Irish author, Emma O'Donoghue, in which she also retold The Little Mermaid. I'm mentioning it here because O'Donoghue's short story has become the feminist retelling I judge every other feminist retelling by. O'Neill's effort is a fair YA retelling, but nothing I haven't seen before.
It suffers from what most retellings of The Little Mermaid seem to suffer from - the instalove the mermaid feels for the prince she rescues. At least O'Neill adds to the mermaid's reasoning for going to the human world: she also wants to find more information on her mother. Still, I wish the obsession with the prince hadn't played such a big part in this story. I'm sometimes ok with instalove, but not when she knows next to nothing about the man.
O'Neill also adds in the mythology of the rusalka, the drowned human maiden who spends her afterlife in the sea taking revenge on men. That is an interesting twist in this story. As is the mermaid's father's domineering of his daughters and the merpeople. The Sea Witch, Ceto, was an interesting character too.
This is definitely an interesting read for YA readers wanting to engage with feminism in fiction, and O'Neill's writing here is pretty good. Still, I think there are better retellings of this story, O'Donoghue's, for one.
It suffers from what most retellings of The Little Mermaid seem to suffer from - the instalove the mermaid feels for the prince she rescues. At least O'Neill adds to the mermaid's reasoning for going to the human world: she also wants to find more information on her mother. Still, I wish the obsession with the prince hadn't played such a big part in this story. I'm sometimes ok with instalove, but not when she knows next to nothing about the man.
O'Neill also adds in the mythology of the rusalka, the drowned human maiden who spends her afterlife in the sea taking revenge on men. That is an interesting twist in this story. As is the mermaid's father's domineering of his daughters and the merpeople. The Sea Witch, Ceto, was an interesting character too.
This is definitely an interesting read for YA readers wanting to engage with feminism in fiction, and O'Neill's writing here is pretty good. Still, I think there are better retellings of this story, O'Donoghue's, for one.
becca_is_reading's review against another edition
3.0
TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of Suicide, Domestic Violence, Sexual Harassment, Fat Shaming, Homophobia, Slut Shaming, Violence Against Women
I wanted so much from this book. I love retellings, and the premise of this one and its' cover had me so intrigued. However, the statement that this is a feminist retelling s very misleading. The Sea Witch is a feminist character, and the last thirty pages or so are full of female empowerment. But, the rest of the book is not. The sea kingdom is extremely patriarchal, and while the main character does question some things, she makes no major moves to change things. Insta love is a large part of this book although it is addressed in those last thirty pages. There were elements of fat and slut-shaming that angered me as well as sexual harassment scenes. These again were briefly addressed in the last pages but for this book to be marketed as a feminist retelling is misleading and grasping at straws. Something that I did enjoy is the inclusion of the pain of walking on feet, and the penalty of death is the little mermaid fails. I also like that the Sea Witch's history is explained although I wish it weren't left till those last chapters. I didn't hate this book but, it was not, in my opinion, a good retelling of a beloved fairytale. False Advertising.
I wanted so much from this book. I love retellings, and the premise of this one and its' cover had me so intrigued. However, the statement that this is a feminist retelling s very misleading. The Sea Witch is a feminist character, and the last thirty pages or so are full of female empowerment. But, the rest of the book is not. The sea kingdom is extremely patriarchal, and while the main character does question some things, she makes no major moves to change things. Insta love is a large part of this book although it is addressed in those last thirty pages. There were elements of fat and slut-shaming that angered me as well as sexual harassment scenes. These again were briefly addressed in the last pages but for this book to be marketed as a feminist retelling is misleading and grasping at straws. Something that I did enjoy is the inclusion of the pain of walking on feet, and the penalty of death is the little mermaid fails. I also like that the Sea Witch's history is explained although I wish it weren't left till those last chapters. I didn't hate this book but, it was not, in my opinion, a good retelling of a beloved fairytale. False Advertising.
treeandme's review against another edition
4.0
Review originally posted on: https://museofnyxmares.wordpress.com/2018/08/24/review-the-surface-breaks-by-louise-oneill/
I didn’t expect this book to be quite so dark and I was pleasantly surprised at just how far the author went, in order to bring out some of the overlooked, gruesome elements of The Little Mermaid. Although I don’t fully recall everything that happened in the original tale, I know enough to appreciate that the author highlighted in a very poignant, feminist way some of the more disturbing aspects of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale.
One of the most horrific parts is when the Sea Witch tells Gaia what she will have to sacrifice and endure, if she chooses to follow the human boy into his world. The proposition is just the same as in The Little Mermaid, but it is made very clear through O’Neill’s emotive, haunting language just how barbaric this exchange would be. And the feminist spin is really evident here, as Gaia would essentially be mutilating her body and sacrificing her voice for a man. What is even more troubling is that in the consideration of the deal, Gaia tries to reason with herself that her looks and her body is all she would need to make a man fall in love her, as that is what women are spoon fed in her underwater kingdom.
The writing was so powerful, it wasn’t flowery and poetic, but brutal and honest, exactly what this dark story required. I personally think that the feminist take was done very well and can’t really understand why people believe that this is a case of false advertising. Some have criticised the character of Gaia, stating that she says and does things that don’t reflect feminism, such as remarking on the Sea Witch’s weight and making homophobic remarks. However I truly believe that it is really dismissive of the author’s hard work to not consider the context of the comments and most importantly to not question, does the character still feel like this at the end of the novel? And if the answer is no, then maybe the author has shown that character developing as an individual, freeing themselves of the beliefs that have been pushed on them their whole lives.
This book is definitely a coming of age story, as Gaia goes on a journey physically and metaphorically, searching for answers about her mother, what she wants from life and how she views herself and women at large. She is trying to navigate her way in an overbearingly patriarchal society, were she is abused and dismissed repeatedly, it would of been a miracle and highly unrealistic if she survived this kind of upbringing without being heavily influenced. It was so beautiful to see her slowly questioning things as she ventured out on her own, encountering women that her father would have heavily frowned upon, such as Oliver’s mother, Eleanor, and the Sea Witch. I loved everything that the author made Ceto, the Sea Witch stand for, she was unapologetically powerful, did not adhere to others beauty standards and she isn’t evil, although to a man like The Sea King, who thinks women should be seen and not heard, I guess she is.
I think that the author handled the famous unrequited love situation with the human boy, in this case Oliver, very well! As a reader, I was initially taken in by him, like Gaia was and was equally disappointed, when the more unpleasant parts of him began to surface. I absolutely hated the way that he treated his mother and was so impressed with how O’Neill initially made it look like his outbursts towards her were solely because of his concern for Gaia. But as the novel progressed it was clear how much of a petulant child he was. It was really intriguing that the ‘prince charming’ was the one who fell short of expectations in the end, as they are normally portrayed in fairy tales as perfect.
I’m aware that people have argued that every man, bar one, was portrayed as somewhat of a tyrant. Whilst I agree that most men in the book were vile, I believe that this wasn’t done in a ‘men are the enemy’ way, but rather in order to show Gaia the similarities between her male oppressors in the Sea Kingdom and those on land. Without seeing a version of her situation reflected in strangers, she may have never continued to question who she was and how women are treated spanning land and sea.
I would definitely recommend this book, as I thoroughly enjoyed it, there was never a time when I was bored, It held my attention all the way through. It’s my favourite mermaid book that I’ve read, and despite it’s beautiful cover it contained some ugly truths of oppression, prejudice and longing, it was captivating and presented some very important issues through its feminist lens. I’m keen to get my hands on more of this author’s work as I have fallen in love with her storytelling, I couldn’t quite give a full five stars as I wasn’t completely happy with the ending, but overall it was fantastic.
I didn’t expect this book to be quite so dark and I was pleasantly surprised at just how far the author went, in order to bring out some of the overlooked, gruesome elements of The Little Mermaid. Although I don’t fully recall everything that happened in the original tale, I know enough to appreciate that the author highlighted in a very poignant, feminist way some of the more disturbing aspects of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale.
One of the most horrific parts is when the Sea Witch tells Gaia what she will have to sacrifice and endure, if she chooses to follow the human boy into his world. The proposition is just the same as in The Little Mermaid, but it is made very clear through O’Neill’s emotive, haunting language just how barbaric this exchange would be. And the feminist spin is really evident here, as Gaia would essentially be mutilating her body and sacrificing her voice for a man. What is even more troubling is that in the consideration of the deal, Gaia tries to reason with herself that her looks and her body is all she would need to make a man fall in love her, as that is what women are spoon fed in her underwater kingdom.
The writing was so powerful, it wasn’t flowery and poetic, but brutal and honest, exactly what this dark story required. I personally think that the feminist take was done very well and can’t really understand why people believe that this is a case of false advertising. Some have criticised the character of Gaia, stating that she says and does things that don’t reflect feminism, such as remarking on the Sea Witch’s weight and making homophobic remarks. However I truly believe that it is really dismissive of the author’s hard work to not consider the context of the comments and most importantly to not question, does the character still feel like this at the end of the novel? And if the answer is no, then maybe the author has shown that character developing as an individual, freeing themselves of the beliefs that have been pushed on them their whole lives.
This book is definitely a coming of age story, as Gaia goes on a journey physically and metaphorically, searching for answers about her mother, what she wants from life and how she views herself and women at large. She is trying to navigate her way in an overbearingly patriarchal society, were she is abused and dismissed repeatedly, it would of been a miracle and highly unrealistic if she survived this kind of upbringing without being heavily influenced. It was so beautiful to see her slowly questioning things as she ventured out on her own, encountering women that her father would have heavily frowned upon, such as Oliver’s mother, Eleanor, and the Sea Witch. I loved everything that the author made Ceto, the Sea Witch stand for, she was unapologetically powerful, did not adhere to others beauty standards and she isn’t evil, although to a man like The Sea King, who thinks women should be seen and not heard, I guess she is.
I think that the author handled the famous unrequited love situation with the human boy, in this case Oliver, very well! As a reader, I was initially taken in by him, like Gaia was and was equally disappointed, when the more unpleasant parts of him began to surface. I absolutely hated the way that he treated his mother and was so impressed with how O’Neill initially made it look like his outbursts towards her were solely because of his concern for Gaia. But as the novel progressed it was clear how much of a petulant child he was. It was really intriguing that the ‘prince charming’ was the one who fell short of expectations in the end, as they are normally portrayed in fairy tales as perfect.
I’m aware that people have argued that every man, bar one, was portrayed as somewhat of a tyrant. Whilst I agree that most men in the book were vile, I believe that this wasn’t done in a ‘men are the enemy’ way, but rather in order to show Gaia the similarities between her male oppressors in the Sea Kingdom and those on land. Without seeing a version of her situation reflected in strangers, she may have never continued to question who she was and how women are treated spanning land and sea.
I would definitely recommend this book, as I thoroughly enjoyed it, there was never a time when I was bored, It held my attention all the way through. It’s my favourite mermaid book that I’ve read, and despite it’s beautiful cover it contained some ugly truths of oppression, prejudice and longing, it was captivating and presented some very important issues through its feminist lens. I’m keen to get my hands on more of this author’s work as I have fallen in love with her storytelling, I couldn’t quite give a full five stars as I wasn’t completely happy with the ending, but overall it was fantastic.
mostorosso's review against another edition
3.0
Italian Edition:
Good story of taking back power and revenge. Very freeing and while i think I understand the historical context, the "all women suffer and have to take back their power, all men are evil and/or weak willed and unthrustworthy and never have to face consequences for their actions" is a bit reductive.
SPOILER: It turns out the protagonist's uncle was killed by her father as a way to get her young mother to marry him. So this evilness and entitlement IS hurting men too, but it's brushed over. Yet againg, in a book where irish "Mother and baby homes" are mentioned, I understand the need for a retelling like this.
I haven't read the original story by Christian Andersen in ages, so I don't know if some of the weird things are Louise O'Neill creations or not. Examples: the characters are often described as sitting somewhere while being mermaids literally floating in water. Why the castle has stairs? There's no need for them. Why mermaids have breasts, as they are not mammals, and why are they considerated more desirable when thin, in an enviroment when they swim all the time? I feel like you could read this book and forget it is set in a underwater world with mermaids. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had more underwater-equivalent examples of sexism and misogyny and discrimination. This doesn't apply to the mention of homophobia, that can stay.
TW: violence against animals, people, Sexual Assault and Abuse, Rape, Torture(?), Pedophilia Implied (as two of the male characters are described to have taken interest in their future mate when they were adult while the mermaids were twelve)
There are some graphic descriptions of violence, but those happen in dreams or to animals. The most gruesome descriptions are used for the pain Gaia endures while having her new legs. I feel this could resonate with people with "hidden" chronic health conditions, but I am not one myself so take this with a grain of salt. Overhall, I enjoyed the book and appreciated the ending (I feared it would be depressing, but it's not) and I look forward to check out this author's other novels.
Good story of taking back power and revenge. Very freeing and while i think I understand the historical context, the "all women suffer and have to take back their power, all men are evil and/or weak willed and unthrustworthy and never have to face consequences for their actions" is a bit reductive.
SPOILER: It turns out the protagonist's uncle was killed by her father as a way to get her young mother to marry him. So this evilness and entitlement IS hurting men too, but it's brushed over. Yet againg, in a book where irish "Mother and baby homes" are mentioned, I understand the need for a retelling like this.
I haven't read the original story by Christian Andersen in ages, so I don't know if some of the weird things are Louise O'Neill creations or not. Examples: the characters are often described as sitting somewhere while being mermaids literally floating in water. Why the castle has stairs? There's no need for them. Why mermaids have breasts, as they are not mammals, and why are they considerated more desirable when thin, in an enviroment when they swim all the time? I feel like you could read this book and forget it is set in a underwater world with mermaids. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had more underwater-equivalent examples of sexism and misogyny and discrimination. This doesn't apply to the mention of homophobia, that can stay.
TW: violence against animals, people, Sexual Assault and Abuse, Rape, Torture(?), Pedophilia Implied (as two of the male characters are described to have taken interest in their future mate when they were adult while the mermaids were twelve)
There are some graphic descriptions of violence, but those happen in dreams or to animals. The most gruesome descriptions are used for the pain Gaia endures while having her new legs. I feel this could resonate with people with "hidden" chronic health conditions, but I am not one myself so take this with a grain of salt. Overhall, I enjoyed the book and appreciated the ending (I feared it would be depressing, but it's not) and I look forward to check out this author's other novels.
geodoble's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely an interesting take that I wasn’t expecting, I thought of Disney before I thought of Grimm which of course added to the story. But even though I liked this different retelling it somehow felt more childish than I expected, even with all the twists, which barely included any feminist retelling it so boldly advertised. Unfortunately I find most books are rushed in the final chapters and this one was no exception.
kimberly_hoffman_author's review against another edition
4.0
Good story, but dark.
O'Neill paints a world that is very misogynistic to the point that women have virtually no voice, no power and are suppressed by the males in their society. Gaia (the little mermaid) obeys, but wants to break free of these constraints as she feels she is about to be lost forever in an unwanted, arranged marriage. The story explains the lengths she goes to in order to escape her situation and the consequences that decision brings. There is imagery throughout to drive home the reality of her plight.
I enjoyed the tale and the creativeness the author added, bringing her own twist to the story, but I was a bit uneased by the ending. (SPOILER) I felt Gaia should not have become that vengeful. I understand where she was coming from, but she changed to a very negative, spiteful and vengeful girl. I had anticipated her changing at the end, but was hoping for a matured character who had power under control and would be there to teach her sisters the truth.
Definitely an interesting read, especially if you are found of fairy tales. Just be aware this one is more toward the originals than a Disney version.
O'Neill paints a world that is very misogynistic to the point that women have virtually no voice, no power and are suppressed by the males in their society. Gaia (the little mermaid) obeys, but wants to break free of these constraints as she feels she is about to be lost forever in an unwanted, arranged marriage. The story explains the lengths she goes to in order to escape her situation and the consequences that decision brings. There is imagery throughout to drive home the reality of her plight.
I enjoyed the tale and the creativeness the author added, bringing her own twist to the story, but I was a bit uneased by the ending. (SPOILER) I felt Gaia should not have become that vengeful. I understand where she was coming from, but she changed to a very negative, spiteful and vengeful girl. I had anticipated her changing at the end, but was hoping for a matured character who had power under control and would be there to teach her sisters the truth.
Definitely an interesting read, especially if you are found of fairy tales. Just be aware this one is more toward the originals than a Disney version.
lettieredrose89's review against another edition
5.0
So my thoughts on this book are wide and varied. They’re not all good and they’re not all bad.
At the most basic level this book is a fleshed our version of the Little Mermaid. The original and not the Disney version.
A definite undertone to the book was the feminist aspect which I know has put off a lot of people from reading some other reviews. To be honest with me it was just something that I sort of ignored or rather accepted as part of the story but it certainly didn’t seem to be the most important part of it to me.
The writing style of this author was really good. It drew me in and kept me hooked until the last two chapters which were by far the best part of the book.
The character of Gaia or Muirgen was very interesting. She was a relatable character who had a goal I think a lot of people could understand. I liked reading her interactions with the other characters.
One criticism I had about Gaia’s character was she was a little naive throughout the whole book. There were a few points where the author could have developed her a character a little more but didn’t. In my opinion a missed opportunity to make Gaia a little more down to earth and realistic.
Overall though an enjoyable book that definitely made me feel a little empowered after reading it. I would recommend reading this and forming your own opinions.
At the most basic level this book is a fleshed our version of the Little Mermaid. The original and not the Disney version.
A definite undertone to the book was the feminist aspect which I know has put off a lot of people from reading some other reviews. To be honest with me it was just something that I sort of ignored or rather accepted as part of the story but it certainly didn’t seem to be the most important part of it to me.
The writing style of this author was really good. It drew me in and kept me hooked until the last two chapters which were by far the best part of the book.
The character of Gaia or Muirgen was very interesting. She was a relatable character who had a goal I think a lot of people could understand. I liked reading her interactions with the other characters.
One criticism I had about Gaia’s character was she was a little naive throughout the whole book. There were a few points where the author could have developed her a character a little more but didn’t. In my opinion a missed opportunity to make Gaia a little more down to earth and realistic.
Overall though an enjoyable book that definitely made me feel a little empowered after reading it. I would recommend reading this and forming your own opinions.