Have you heard? Sue Monk Kidd has a new book out! I’m so excited, and as soon as I can get my hands on it…I’ll review it!
This is not that review. But, hearing about her new one made me think about her other two gorgeous books, so I had pull The Mermaid Chair off my shelf for a reread. And I can’t promise The Secret Life of Bees won’t make an appearance sometime soon. *wink*
The Mermaid Chair is a Goldilocks story–you know the kind that is juuuust right? Not too long, not too short. Not too fancy, not too boring. Just enough whimsy to be interesting, but not so much that it crosses over out of reality. Reading this kind of book is like sliding into your favorite pair of slippers.
What is it about Carolina islands? They all seem to have some kind of legend, don’t they? Even though this one is fictional, it fits right in. The mermaid who is seduced on land, and the monk who steals her tail so she cannot leave, forcing her to become a saint. Oh, and don’t forget the perpetual island dog.
Kidd’s underlying plot reads like traditional marriage vows. Sickness, health, better, worse, death do us part. (I guess it’s lacking in the richer/poorer section.) The tests and trials of marriage are mixed together with a heavy dose of religion, Catholic flavor, but mostly it is a story about love and trust and remembering.
I love this book, hence the reread. I am very much looking forward to Kidd’s new one, so I’ll be certain to share it with you guys once I find it!
As I Lay Reading 