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A review by lauraslittlebooknook
The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this one.
Roffey tells us the story of Aycayia, a young women cursed into a mermaid by the women in her community because of her youth and beauty. When Aycayia is caught off the coast of Black Conch by a group of American tourists, David, a local fisherman, can’t bear to see her tied up and sold off, and steals her in the dead of night.
What follows is a story of friendship and found family, with some deeper, darker themes of colonialism, racism, isolation and more.
This really was a lovely modern retelling of the classic mermaid mythology, with some wholesome and loveable characters, a little dark fantasy and a lot of poetic writing.
However, I wasn’t overly keen on some of the sexualised descriptions of Aycayia - possibly because these were written from David’s perspective.
Other than that one small thing, I really enjoyed this story!
Roffey tells us the story of Aycayia, a young women cursed into a mermaid by the women in her community because of her youth and beauty. When Aycayia is caught off the coast of Black Conch by a group of American tourists, David, a local fisherman, can’t bear to see her tied up and sold off, and steals her in the dead of night.
What follows is a story of friendship and found family, with some deeper, darker themes of colonialism, racism, isolation and more.
This really was a lovely modern retelling of the classic mermaid mythology, with some wholesome and loveable characters, a little dark fantasy and a lot of poetic writing.
However, I wasn’t overly keen on some of the sexualised descriptions of Aycayia - possibly because these were written from David’s perspective.
Other than that one small thing, I really enjoyed this story!