The Bottom Line
- Romantic descriptions of mermaids, island life and the ocean
- Underdeveloped or unlikeable main characters
- Adultery central to plot - supposed to be a love story, but only convincing as shallow affair
- Smug tone at points
- Too much introspection from a shallow viewpoint, not enough plot & character development
Description
- Jessie returns to the island where she grew up to deal with an accident involving her mother
- The island brings up memories of Jessie's father's tragic death when she was nine
- Jessie is discontent with her marriage and whines a lot about her life
- Jessie commits adultery with a monk on the island
- A legendary "Mermaid Chair" at the monastery is mentioned throughout the story
Guide Review - Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd - Book Review
In theory, The Mermaid Chair sounds intriguing--a woman on an island filled with a mix of Catholicism and native lore coming to terms with her past as she searches for love and self-fulfillment. In reality, mermaids and island lore take a backseat to pages and pages of story about a married woman committing adultery with a monk.
I am not against characters doing things I think are wrong. Take, for instance, Humbert Humbert in Lolita. He is certainly evil; however, he is also intriguing. Jessie Sullivan, the main character in The Mermaid Chair, is not intriguing. Reading Jessie talk about her adultery as if it were the only way for her to find her true self was irritating, as were her wishy-washy moral declarations, like "what matters is giving over to what you love." Her journey to self-fulfillment was not convincing.
The sub-plots about Jessie's mother and about her father's death were sort of interesting. Perhaps I would have enjoyed The Mermaid Chair more if the sub-plots were a little more prominent.
The ending of The Mermaid Chair was better than I expected. I also did enjoy some of the island descriptions. Still, I would not recommend The Mermaid Chair very highly, especially compared to The Secret Life of Bees.
