Ever since I read Phantastes: A Faerie Romance by George MacDonald which was described as a “fairy tale for adults”, and then later on, Snow, Glass, Apples, a short story by Neil Gaiman, I’ve wanted to read more of this “literary genre”, if it can be called that. Just like Gaiman takes the “Snow White” fairy tale and rewrites it into an amazing new story, I was hoping that Mermaid would go through a similar transformation.
This version of “The Little Mermaid” is actually not that far from the original – Lenia, the beautiful young mermaid, goes to the surface as part of her eighteenth birthday ritual, which all merpeople could follow if they so wished. There’s a terrible storm and she saves a young man from a sinking ship. She takes him to the shore, where Margrethe, the daughter of a king, finds him and saves his life.
The story goes back and forth between Lenia and Margrethe, with the prince in the middle – a love triangle which seems to stay pretty solid until the end. The drama comes not from the two girls trying to push each other out of the prince’s way but from the capacity of one of them to sacrifice herself so the other can have a chance at happiness as well. Lenia dreams of a marriage with the prince, a way to fulfill her love and gain a soul, something that merpeople did not have. Margrethe hopes that through a marriage with the prince, she can bring peace to a land torn by war between two kings, which seems a little too good of an excuse for her to marry the man she wants. In the end, only one of them gets her happily ever after.
As a fan of mythological creatures, legends and fairytales, I can say I have enjoyed this story, even though it brought too fewer new elements to the already known story of “The Little Mermaid”. I liked it because it managed to captivate my attention and to make me a part of that world – a nice diversion from my reading pattern. The writing is basic and unpretentious with romantic insertions but without being cloying.
Some of the paragraphs I liked:
“He was so beautiful. She had never seen anything so beautiful. But she could feel the life leaving him, and knew that she had done all she could do, that it was time to let other humans take care of him so that he could live. She looked up at the girl on the cliff, standing there watching them, transfixed. Her black hair blowing around her, her pale skin and brown eyes, her furs.
You, she thought again. Come now.”
“How can any of us tell when that thing comes that will make everything different? As she stood in the frozen convent garden at the end of the world, all those centuries before now, Margrethe had no idea that she was about to witness a miracle – the last mermaid to come to land, at the very end of the days when mermaids still longed to return to it.”
“Now, many centuries after those days when the mermaid came to earth and left it, after so many daughters and sons have been born, there are people all over the world who carry the mermaid inside them, that otherworldly beauty and longing and desire that made her reach for heaven when she lived in the darkness of the sea.”
*
I would recommend this book to someone who wants something easy and delightful to read, a reminder of a classic fairytale and an uncomplicated story that takes you away from the ordinary world. It may not be much in the way of surprises, but it is enjoyable nevertheless.
P.S. I wonder why the mermaid’s hair color on the cover of the book is not blonde like it was supposed to be in the story. Just a silly little detail that stood out for me. That, and the author’s name.
*Read in February 2012
I just read and reviewed Chalice by Robin McKinley. I think she is one of the most liked and literary authors in this genre.
I have another one of Turgeone’s books here, Godmother. I also like it when the world building is so good that we can really see it and live in it for a while. You might like Robin McKinley. I will read Godmother first but Mermaid sounds like a book I’d like. It’s one of my favourite fairytales. I need to see if I have that Gaiman story you mention.
I’m not familiar with Robin McKinley’s books but I will look into it. Is Chalice based on a well known fairytale or is it a new story?
If I were to compare the two, I’d say Gaiman wrote a more interesting story based on a fairytale. I’ve read it again in his book called “Smoke and Mirrors”, one I will review soon.
I got Smoke and Mirrors, I will try it soon. I think Chalice, like some of her other books, is based on Beauty and the Beast. But this is the third she wrote based on that fairy tale and it’s kind of hard to recognize.
Looking forward to your “Smoke and Mirrors” review.
I’m curious to see which stories you like.
Sounds delightful! It is fun to see familiar fairy tales be reworked by modern authors. And I suppose her hair is red becuase Ariel from the Disney movie had red hair!
Oh, I didn’t know about that particular detail! Now it makes sense. Thanks, Jen.
It was a fun book to read.
Beautiful review, Delia! This looks like an interesting and wonderful book. I liked all the passages you have quoted. My favourite was the one which started like this – ““Now, many centuries after those days when the mermaid came to earth…” The author’s name does look interesting 🙂
Delia, I always leave your reviews with a very good idea of whether I’ll like a book or not. This one, I think, is not for me – I’m not really into fantasy and fairytales, and while I’d be happy to set aside my prejudices for something really good, neither the story nor the extracts really grabbed me. But thanks for posting about it, and for making me think about mermaid’s hair colour for a few minutes 🙂
Thanks for connecting with me on Goodreads – took me a while to realise who you were, with the different name and different location! Alter ego? I like it. Might try that myself…
Hi Andrew,
I’m starting to like fantasy more and more, even though this time I hoped the story would just take the main idea from the original fairytale and create something different. I am not complaining, though, it was an enjoyable read. I would have been surprised it it was your kind of book. 🙂
As for Goodreads, I’ve had that account since before I started my blog, that is why the details are different.
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