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abookishaffair's review
4.0
"The Mermaid of Brooklyn" was the perfect day for me to while away the afternoon with. I definitely got sucked into this book. It's good fiction with a heavy dose of magical realism, an element that I absolutely love. It takes the ordinary and makes it fantastic. The main character, Jenny, is possessed by a rusalka (slavic for mermaid) when Jenny jumps off the Brooklyn Bridge. It has been awhile since I have read a book full of magical realism.
The whole story is narrated from the point of view from Jenny, a harried stay-at-home mom who is abandoned by her husband who goes on a crazy adventure to gamble. Jenny is one of those characters that I really didn't care for at first but she grew on me once the magic started happening. Jenny freaks out when her husband leaves (rightfully so). She is already overwhelmed by her motherly duties and is suffering from post-partum depression. She is sent over the edge when her husband leaves even if she didn't think that he was particularly helpful in the first place. Throughout the book, Jenny ruminates a lot on things like what it means to be a wife, a mother, and whether or not she is happy in her own life and what she can do to be happier. She doesn't always make the best choices throughout the book (as an animal lover, I absolutely hated when she got rid of the dog; it made me so sad!), but Jenny is definitely a character that you will be rooting for.
I really liked Shearn's writing style in this book. This is the first book that I have read by her and I know that I definitely want to read more by her in the future. Having Jenny narrate the book really pulls you into the story. You get a first row seat to Jenny's failures and triumphs. I really think that it's the writing that helps to turn Jenny into a character that you want to read about!
Bottom line: This is a good story for when you want an uplifting story about coping with a magical twist!
The whole story is narrated from the point of view from Jenny, a harried stay-at-home mom who is abandoned by her husband who goes on a crazy adventure to gamble. Jenny is one of those characters that I really didn't care for at first but she grew on me once the magic started happening. Jenny freaks out when her husband leaves (rightfully so). She is already overwhelmed by her motherly duties and is suffering from post-partum depression. She is sent over the edge when her husband leaves even if she didn't think that he was particularly helpful in the first place. Throughout the book, Jenny ruminates a lot on things like what it means to be a wife, a mother, and whether or not she is happy in her own life and what she can do to be happier. She doesn't always make the best choices throughout the book (as an animal lover, I absolutely hated when she got rid of the dog; it made me so sad!), but Jenny is definitely a character that you will be rooting for.
I really liked Shearn's writing style in this book. This is the first book that I have read by her and I know that I definitely want to read more by her in the future. Having Jenny narrate the book really pulls you into the story. You get a first row seat to Jenny's failures and triumphs. I really think that it's the writing that helps to turn Jenny into a character that you want to read about!
Bottom line: This is a good story for when you want an uplifting story about coping with a magical twist!
pgchuis's review
3.0
This was an odd sort of book really - very light in many ways, but with an underlying theme of mental illness. I wasn't sure if we were supposed to suspend disbelief about the whole mermaid thing or see it as a coping mechanism. If the former, I don't really like that kind of book, and if the latter, she was a mother of two small children who couldn't remember doing various things or what happened during hours at a time. It was funny in places and very accurate about how toddlers "play" with each other. The ending seemed realistic.
thefictionaddictionblog's review
5.0
The advert on this book — “sometimes all you need in life is a fabulous pair of shoes” – signaled sassy airport chick lit to me, and so I put off reading the book until I was in the right kind of mood. (That’s not meant as snark. I do love frothy chick lit, when I’m in the mood for a spirited heroine, her quirky best friend, a handsome man, and hilarious antics on the seventy-thousand word path to true love. Sometimes you want that, just like sometimes you want to reread Harry Potter for the millionth time.) But The Mermaid of Brooklyn is not a series of comical misunderstandings and glossy retail therapy on the path to romance.
The Mermaid of Brooklyn is set in a very real Brooklyn. Park Slope moms whisk their babies from baby language classes to expressive fingerpainting. Changing times are bringing her in-laws’ candy gift-basket company to a slow, painful bankruptcy. The city manages to be both glowing with possibility, and summer-sticky.
Full review on my blog
The Mermaid of Brooklyn is set in a very real Brooklyn. Park Slope moms whisk their babies from baby language classes to expressive fingerpainting. Changing times are bringing her in-laws’ candy gift-basket company to a slow, painful bankruptcy. The city manages to be both glowing with possibility, and summer-sticky.
Full review on my blog
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