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eyreguide's review
4.0
This novella is a lush, lyrical read that captures the heartrending emotion of Hans Christian Anderson's "The Little Mermaid". It reads like a fable, with it's very descriptive and evocative prose, and with the heartfelt and innocent longings of Désirée or Ti Moune as she is also called. Her family discovered her orphaned after a storm, and raised her as one of their own, and although she works hard and loves her family, when Ti Moune hears Daniel Beauxhomme's car crash near her village, she falls immediately in love with him and works tirelessly to save him. Even when the demon of death comes to claim him she strikes a deal - she promises her life for his. The four gods that are present in this story - who seem to give Ti Moune the chance for love despite the difficulties that would make it seem impossible - are an interesting addition. They are the gods of the land, sea, love and death, and it's such a simple economy of power and shows what truly rules the peasants of the island.
Because the story reads like a fairy tale, the reader must take it on faith that Daniel is the only love of Ti Moune's life, even though his greatest asset seems to be his beautiful face. I thought their connection for a time when Ti Moune was at the Beauxhomme castle was sweet, but always tinged with sadness because the foreshadowing indicates that there can't be a happy ending. The writing is so beautiful and illustrates the love of Ti Moune for Daniel so well, that when the ending does come, it is so tragic. The ending is a bit different from the Hans Christian Anderson tale, which I found interesting and rather thought provoking when trying to analyze what the author is trying to say with this story. I thought this book was a great read and a fabulous retelling of "The Little Mermaid."
Because the story reads like a fairy tale, the reader must take it on faith that Daniel is the only love of Ti Moune's life, even though his greatest asset seems to be his beautiful face. I thought their connection for a time when Ti Moune was at the Beauxhomme castle was sweet, but always tinged with sadness because the foreshadowing indicates that there can't be a happy ending. The writing is so beautiful and illustrates the love of Ti Moune for Daniel so well, that when the ending does come, it is so tragic. The ending is a bit different from the Hans Christian Anderson tale, which I found interesting and rather thought provoking when trying to analyze what the author is trying to say with this story. I thought this book was a great read and a fabulous retelling of "The Little Mermaid."
mimichang's review against another edition
4.25
Love love love - a very quick read although I wanted to pace myself and savor the experience of reading the source material of Once On This Island, which I hold so dear to my heart! So much darker and more tragic at the end — they definitely made it more of a “fairytale ending” for the musical.
nicoleankenmann's review against another edition
4.0
I came to this book after falling in love with the musical adaptation, Once on This Island, advertised broadly as a combination retelling of The Little Mermaid and Romeo and Juliet. I think the book lives up to that literary frame, and sits comfortably in the category of beautiful tragedy. My Love, My Love is a modern myth that treads the surprisingly thin line between cynicism and hope in a nation overtly fractured along racial lines. Worth reading.
cossettereads's review
4.0
It took me a few tries to get into the headspace of reading this book. Admittedly, I only read this book after getting into the musical, Once on This Island, and I was surprised at how different the endings were...
spalmer24's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
alliepeduto's review
3.0
As far as retellings go, this was an extremely faithful adaptation of “The Little Mermaid,” but set in the Caribbean. And for those of you like me who grew up with the Disney version, I’m not referring to our lovely red headed Ariel here; I’m talking about the extremely depressing original version written by Hans Christian Andersen. I actually read the original story last year and was absolutely horrified, and reading this definitely brought that back. Still, it’s a very well written story! And I’m very excited to see the musical adaptation “Once on this Island,” though I’m desperately hoping that it’s Disney-fied, or I’m going to leave it crying.
yushra's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
this book is beautiful and I loved the sort of retelling of the little mermaid from a creole standpoint however i just dislike the trope of girl falls in love for and completely upending her life for no reason.
zoracious's review
4.0
This beautifully-written story is an interesting modern rendition of Hans Christian Anderson's "The Little Mermaid" and compared together, bring about important comparisons. They share the same main ideas, yet the distinct difference that help emphasize the different themes expressed by both stories.
In My Love, My Love, the teenaged dreamer here is named Desiree Dieu-Donne, an island Ti Moune (or orphan) who, while without parents, is raised by her affectionate adoptive parents, Tonton Julian and Mam Euralie. Just like the character namesake in "The Little Mermaid," Desiree's life is changed when she falls in love with a comely young prince, Daniel Beauxhomme, a youthful rich mulatto who she nurses back to health after he is in a car accident. Daniel, just like the mermaid's prince, is of a different world, and not meant to be a love interest at all, and Daniel, just like the prince, must return to his old world, taking with him the simplistic heart of his young lover.
Both girls in these stories go to extreme lengths to be reunited with their sweethearts. Desiree leaves her family and village and places her life in the blood-stained hands of Papa Ge, the island's horrid messenger of the sea. An interesting feminist symbol is utilized as Desiree, forced to wear a new pair of shoes, endures the immense pain in her feet even though each step was "a new experience in torture." While the mermaid gives over her voice for freedom, Desiree is a mute in her own sense since she knows not the languages of the foreign diplomats.
The interloper who moves in the way of the two "star-cross'd lovers" in both stories is everything the protagonist is not: confident, articulate, and rich. Desiree, like the mermaid, realizes that she has endangered her life over a man who looks lost to her.
Hidden in My Love, My Love is the sometimes sad and total cost of challenging established circumstances and status quo. It shows how high the price can be for selfless love.
It is interesting to note the commonalities between "The Little Mermaid" and this modern rendition. Throughout, there are subtle, and less-than-subtle allusions to that well-loved, later-Disney-fied classic. Just note the allusion made by one of the characters, Mama Euralie: "She [Desiree] gives up her honor to this man, born of a world as different from hers as land is from the sea."
For good comparisons and a more interesting reading experience, read this novel after, or alongside, the version of Hans Christian Anderson (and no, it is quite different from Disney's cartoon!). I recommend this for adolescents and adults, as well as anyone interesting in modernized fairy tales, or in the true non-Disney versions of the stories we love.
In My Love, My Love, the teenaged dreamer here is named Desiree Dieu-Donne, an island Ti Moune (or orphan) who, while without parents, is raised by her affectionate adoptive parents, Tonton Julian and Mam Euralie. Just like the character namesake in "The Little Mermaid," Desiree's life is changed when she falls in love with a comely young prince, Daniel Beauxhomme, a youthful rich mulatto who she nurses back to health after he is in a car accident. Daniel, just like the mermaid's prince, is of a different world, and not meant to be a love interest at all, and Daniel, just like the prince, must return to his old world, taking with him the simplistic heart of his young lover.
Both girls in these stories go to extreme lengths to be reunited with their sweethearts. Desiree leaves her family and village and places her life in the blood-stained hands of Papa Ge, the island's horrid messenger of the sea. An interesting feminist symbol is utilized as Desiree, forced to wear a new pair of shoes, endures the immense pain in her feet even though each step was "a new experience in torture." While the mermaid gives over her voice for freedom, Desiree is a mute in her own sense since she knows not the languages of the foreign diplomats.
The interloper who moves in the way of the two "star-cross'd lovers" in both stories is everything the protagonist is not: confident, articulate, and rich. Desiree, like the mermaid, realizes that she has endangered her life over a man who looks lost to her.
Hidden in My Love, My Love is the sometimes sad and total cost of challenging established circumstances and status quo. It shows how high the price can be for selfless love.
It is interesting to note the commonalities between "The Little Mermaid" and this modern rendition. Throughout, there are subtle, and less-than-subtle allusions to that well-loved, later-Disney-fied classic. Just note the allusion made by one of the characters, Mama Euralie: "She [Desiree] gives up her honor to this man, born of a world as different from hers as land is from the sea."
For good comparisons and a more interesting reading experience, read this novel after, or alongside, the version of Hans Christian Anderson (and no, it is quite different from Disney's cartoon!). I recommend this for adolescents and adults, as well as anyone interesting in modernized fairy tales, or in the true non-Disney versions of the stories we love.
dollyshouse97's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Grim ending