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A review by icarusandthesun
The Mermaid by Christina Henry
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
i went into this book expecting another 'lost boy', another 'girl in red', another 'horseman' - just famous and innocent tales twisted into something evil and brutal -, something that, in hindsight, i probably should not have done. because in comparison to all these fun and exciting stories, the mermaid was excruciatingly mediocre.
i was wholly underwhelmed and this was exacerbated by the fact the first half of the book was plain boring. the exposition was long, the writing felt very sober and unenganging. it really felt like someone was telling you a fairy tale - lots of telling instead of showing, mostly just sentences of action, hardly of feelings - but instead of listening to it excitedly, i found myself wondering 'okay, and then what?'.
i do have to say though that i ended up really enjoying the second half of the book, after it finally found its tone and thankfully stuck to it.
the choppy writing style evolved into something more relaxed and loose and then solidified. it was also incredibly immersive, which is not at all unusual for henry's writing.
the book stayed rather uneventful (except for one or two 'shocking' happenings) until the end, but at least the writing really managed to carry you through it, like a good carriage on a rocky road.
the characters were fine. i didn't particularly like any of them, but i respected their strengths - amelia's bravery and self-sufficience, levi's kindness, charity's solidarity and support (even in the face of her unwilling husband).
and i liked the ending. it was sort of predictable (them having a child, moving to this far-off island, levi and amelia getting together in general, which i'm still not sure i like ), but that didn't particularly ruin anything for me.
so yeah. a fine read once you make it through the first half.
if you haven't read any christina henry books yet and ergo haven't been blessed (or cursed in this case) with the absolute exciting brilliance and brutality of her other books, then you might enjoy this. and if you have, just don't expect this one to be the same as her other masterpieces.
i was wholly underwhelmed and this was exacerbated by the fact the first half of the book was plain boring. the exposition was long, the writing felt very sober and unenganging. it really felt like someone was telling you a fairy tale - lots of telling instead of showing, mostly just sentences of action, hardly of feelings - but instead of listening to it excitedly, i found myself wondering 'okay, and then what?'.
i do have to say though that i ended up really enjoying the second half of the book, after it finally found its tone and thankfully stuck to it.
the choppy writing style evolved into something more relaxed and loose and then solidified. it was also incredibly immersive, which is not at all unusual for henry's writing.
the book stayed rather uneventful (except for one or two 'shocking' happenings) until the end, but at least the writing really managed to carry you through it, like a good carriage on a rocky road.
the characters were fine. i didn't particularly like any of them, but i respected their strengths - amelia's bravery and self-sufficience, levi's kindness, charity's solidarity and support (even in the face of her unwilling husband).
and i liked the ending. it was sort of predictable (
so yeah. a fine read once you make it through the first half.
if you haven't read any christina henry books yet and ergo haven't been blessed (or cursed in this case) with the absolute exciting brilliance and brutality of her other books, then you might enjoy this. and if you have, just don't expect this one to be the same as her other masterpieces.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, Confinement, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Medical content, Violence, and Gun violence
Minor: Infertility, Animal cruelty, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Slavery, Blood, and Colonisation