A review by spellvexit7
The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

The opening few chapters were disturbing for me in regards to the treatment of the mermaid.  It does get less uncomfortable after that, though I think it's apparent early on that this tale is not going to end in rainbows and sunshine.  It was a beautiful, earthy ride, with characters and cultures depicted with nuance and care.

While I found the narrative arc of this book to be fairly predictable, it really was more of a fairy tale than a tale rife with surprise plot twists.  The descriptions of the mermaid were particularly striking, and the narration switches between different styles, points of view, and even dialects.  I did find myself wishing for a small glossary for some of the local terminology (pot hounds, steupsed, and dou dou come to mind), but it's nothing a bit of Internet sleuthing wouldn't address. 
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