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A review by alongreader
The Surface Breaks by Louise O'Neill
3.0
A surprisingly grim retelling of The Little Mermaid. There's one male character who is actually nice, and another who might have been if he hadn't gone mad. Almost without exception, the others are self important rapists who have to shut women up in case they discover that they're actually people. Oliver, the exception, is hedonistic, shallow and deliberately cruel to his mother. The females are mostly either cowed or bitter. The Sea Witch is the only person able to speak her mind, and that's because she's accepted banishment in exchange.
The writing is good, apart from a jarring moment near the end when the Sea King is tied up by wrists and *ankles*. He is a *merman*, he doesn't *have* ankles. However, I was reading a proof, so this may have been corrected by the time the book prints; I will check and amend as necessary. (In the published book, he is tied only by his wrists.) Gaia also summons magic powers from *somewhere* for the climax. It's probably meant as a metaphor for women discovering their power or something along those lines. I don't understand, though, since she seems to be an all powerful witch now, why she still has to go along with the deal. The ending also seems to imply that she's going to kill any man she can get her hands on, despite knowing they aren't all raping murderous animals. What will happen if she finds George on a ship?
Well written, but grim, grim, grim.
Receiving an ARC did not alter my review in any way.
The writing is good, apart from a jarring moment near the end when the Sea King is tied up by wrists and *ankles*. He is a *merman*, he doesn't *have* ankles. However, I was reading a proof, so this may have been corrected by the time the book prints; I will check and amend as necessary. (In the published book, he is tied only by his wrists.) Gaia also summons magic powers from *somewhere* for the climax. It's probably meant as a metaphor for women discovering their power or something along those lines. I don't understand, though, since she seems to be an all powerful witch now, why she still has to go along with the deal. The ending also seems to imply that she's going to kill any man she can get her hands on, despite knowing they aren't all raping murderous animals. What will happen if she finds George on a ship?
Well written, but grim, grim, grim.
Receiving an ARC did not alter my review in any way.