Reviews with content warning for Ableism - The Mermaid of Black Conch

Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey

7 reviews

sillyduckie's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense 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

Content Warnings

erebus53's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

When American tourists haul in a mermaid off the shore of a small Caribbean Island, a local fisherman does his best to save her, only to find that she reverts to being a woman. She is deeply ancient and cursed, and her presence on the island shakes up tensions between the locals. Thematically this explores gender roles, the Deaf community, and the history of colonisation and slavery in the Caribbean. The author is born in Trinidad.

There are some ominous and creepy bits in this book, which meant it fit in well sandwiched between some of my other October reads. It definitely has some supernatural themes.. (duh, mermaid..?!) I think it's well worth checking out the Audiobook version, if only because it catches the accent of the place. Content is a bit violent and bloody, and occasionally sexual in nature, so probably for older readers.

Content Warnings

writingcaia's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

A beautiful book that addresses issues of vengeance, jealousy, misogyny, ableism and love.
With a little queer rep and a Caribbean slang and color we are told the story of a mermaid, Aycayia, that has lived under the sea for a thousand years due to a curse put on her by jealous women, her only company an old turtle-woman, cursed alongside her, and the fish and sea creatures, that is until she meets the young Black fisherman, David, and because of him gets caught by American fishermen.
But, David, enthralled by the lure of the mermaid, feeling she’s his destiny saves her and tries to help her, with patience and love, and with the help of the crazy white lady with the deaf son, descendant of the owners of the whole town, because she too knows of broken love, knows what it is to be apart, what it is to have a bright son misunderstood by the town’s people, just like Aycayia.
The story seems hopeful as the mermaid becomes more human and love brews between her and David, but will the curse and the town really let them be?
The story is told with a few POV and in two timelines, present and past when David met Aycayia.
With themes such as the ones I mentioned, the love stories - yes because there’s also the love between the white lady and the Black man who left her pregnant with a deaf son - and a beautiful lyrical writing I really enjoyed this read, even if it was slow going in the beginning and didn’t introduce or develop the turtle-woman Aycayia speaks so much about.

Content Warnings