Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey

43 reviews

cassiemagee598's review

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt

cm93's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Suicide, Colonisation, Sexual harassment, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Cursing, Sexism, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail

dannilmp's review against another edition

emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Not a book I would have normally picked up, but chose for Storygraph's read around the world challenge 2023. A story about a mermaid and her encounter with humans on Black Conch. While there were elements of the story I found difficult to read, such as the mermaid's poetry or the way speech dialogue was written; I found these reflected both the mermaid's lack of understanding of language and the speech helped to immerse me into the setting of the story. 

While this was a relatively shorter book compared to those I usually read, I felt the pacing of this book to be quite slow and the pages seemed a lot more than what they were. I found myself only being able to read a chapter at a time before needing to take a break. However, there was a beautiful story to be told throughout these pages and one that certainly got me thinking and reflecting on human behaviour, specifically those negative emotions of jealousy and hatred. 

Not a book I would reread but it was certainly worth a read to broaden my horizons to the other types of literature out there. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Blood

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

lyssylyssy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Classism, Colonisation, and Racial slurs

Minor: Grief, Alcohol, Body horror, and Blood

culown's review against another edition

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

pkc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Rape, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Vomit, Death, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

laurahartfield's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt

_inge_'s review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This story is set on the fictional Caribbean island of Black Conch. It is the story of a mermaid who gets caught and then changes back to human, from the point of view of the man who loves her. There are also some parts from the mermaid's point of view and a narrator which include the stories of the people who befriend the mermaid while she is on land, in human form.

I like the way the author takes an ancient story of women being cursed into mermaids and imagines what might happen when one of them comes back ashore, in contact with modern human life. There are elements of what here life was like before she was a mermaid, her time in the ocean and back on land a couple of centuries later. Then we also see what modern life on a tiny Caribbean island is like, including the echoes from its colonial past into modern relationships. The story of Reggie, a dead young boy, is not just a random addition but he knows how to communicate with the mermaid because of it.

Overall, plot is not terribly complicated but very engaging. The writing style is interesting. The different voices are truly different and there is some use of local dialects. Not as a gimmick, but as part of the characters. The relationship of David and Aycayia is well done, it is realistic and not rushed. Would recommend to read this if you like books which explore non-western lore, diverse characters but not too many, and if you like your romance as an aside instead of a main dish.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide attempt

guzzie's review

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

emry23's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

Moderate: Abandonment, Racism, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, and Trafficking

Minor: Genocide