I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Mermaid by Christina Henry Published by Berkley on June 19 2018
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A lovely blend of history and fantasy, The Mermaid is a beautifully written ode to the sea and one of the iconic creatures who lives there.
Those eyes were not of the shore, he thought. They were grey as the storm that boiled below them, the constant swirl and crash that was the sea. But more than that, they were alien. The expression in them was not of a fellow human but one who was apart from humanity and looked at him as something strange and curious.
I’m a big fan of Christina Henry’s darker books like Alice and Lost Boy, and so I was a little hesitant when I saw the cover of her latest, The Mermaid. With such a vibrant, happy looking cover, would there be any of her trademark darkness between the covers? Well, the answer to that question is mostly no, but I really enjoyed this, even without the darker elements. The Mermaid is filled with so many interesting historical details about the life of P.T. Barnum and his ability to create astounding attractions. Henry images how things might have gone down if Barnum had managed to get his hands on a real mermaid.
Most of the story takes place in New York City and focuses on the larger-than-life personality of showman P.T. Barnum, during the years when he created and ran Barnum’s American Museum, filled with marvels and oddities. Barnum gets wind of a rumor that there is a real, live mermaid living up north on the coast of Maine, and he knows a display like that could make him a fortune. He tasks his associate Levi Lyman to find and bring back the mermaid no matter what. Levi does indeed find her, a woman named Amelia living alone by the sea, but what he doesn’t expect is her refusal to go back to New York with him. Levi is dazzled by Amelia’s beauty and strength, and reluctantly leaves without her.
But later, Amelia realizes that she’s been waiting in vain for her husband Jack, lost at sea many years ago, and she decides she’s ready to leave the small village and see what New York has to offer. Filled with determination to earn enough money from Barnum’s show to one day travel the world, she tracks down Barnum in New York and agrees to work for him, provided he lets her quit whenever she wants. Barnum’s plan works and Amelia becomes the star of the museum, because she is, in fact, a real mermaid, who changes into her form when her legs touch sea water.
But the city turns out to be a very dangerous place, as Amelia discovers, and not even Barnum can always protect her.
My favorite section of the book is also the shortest. I adored the beginning which briefly describes Amelia’s charmed life when she meets and falls in love with Jack, a fisherman who catches her in his net but lets her go. I would have loved to read more about their life together. Jack stole my heart because he knew that Amelia was a creature of the sea and didn’t belong to anyone but herself. This section has a dreamy, fairy tale quality to it, and once Amelia makes her way to New York, this fairy tale quality disappears.
I couldn’t help but think about Alice Hoffman’s The Museum of Extraordinary Things, which also takes place in New York and involves a girl who pretends to be a mermaid for her father’s freak show. Hoffman’s story has historical elements as well, so it was hard not to compare the two. But Henry’s story felt quite different. The story develops slowly, but it gives the reader a chance to really get to know the characters. I loathed P.T. Barnum, he was such an ass, especially to his wife Charity. If you’ve seen The Greatest Showman, don’t expect a charismatic Barnum like the one played by Hugh Jackman. This Barnum is sneaky and will tell whatever lies he must to make a buck. I felt so sorry for Charity, and it isn’t until later in the story that Amelia finally breaks through her tough veneer and the women become fast friends.
Amelia is a wonderful character, not only because she is a mermaid, but because she has the strength to say “no” to just about every male in the story. I loved the way she embraces her mermaid self, but she’s also curious about the world and wants to experience life as a human woman as well. I also loved that she doesn’t look like the mermaid on the cover AT ALL. She’s covered in silver scales and has stormy gray eyes and sharp teeth. She’s more monster than fantasy creature which makes her unique.
The main theme of The Mermaid is being able to ultimately choose your own life, an especially difficult thing for a woman living in the early nineteenth century. Amelia is not only forced to deal with Barnum, who thinks he owns her, but she’s also trying to find her place in the world. She also eventually finds love in New York, but it only makes her choices harder: does she stay and make someone else happy, or should she follow the pull of the ocean, her true home, and leave? There is a bit of a twist at the end that I admit I saw coming, but even so I thought it was a lovely way to wrap up the story.
Even though I missed the darker themes of her other books, I’m glad I got to see a different side of Christina Henry. Fans of historical fiction and just a touch of fantasy will really enjoy this book.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
I just bought this last weekend but still need to start it. I’m really excited, though! Especially since you liked it so much.
I hope you enjoy it, Stephanie!
I do have the image of Barnum from The Greatest Showman in my head, I must admit. Wonderful review, and an interesting twist on mermaids plot wise.
All this talk of The Greatest Showman is making me want to rewatch it!
This novel might help me quite a bit to forget McGuire’s not-so-sweet mermaids…. 😀
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…Review: WRATH OF EMPIRE (Gods of Blood and Powder #2), by Brian McClellan
Ha ha, yes this mermaid is the complete opposite! Although she does have sharp teeth, she’s very loving:-)
I love the sound of this one – because mermaids! I’ve read a couple of mixed reviews but I still fancy it.
Lynn 😀
It’s hard to write a bad mermaid story, I think:-)
I’ve read a few reviews and I think that now that know it’s not as dark as Lost Boy, I won’t have my expectations too high and might actually enjoy this. It’s one of the three I plan on getting to next week while I’m off. Great review!
I hope you enjoy it! I’m glad I read it even though it wasn’t a Lost Boy type story.
I am glad you liked it, I was worried there wouldn’t be as dark a theme here so I didn’t grab it. I am glad it was still enjoyable but not sure if its for me.
Yeah, it might not be for you, and I do hope her next book goes back to the horror genre:-)
When I saw “Christina Henry” and then “The Mermaid”, I immediately was thinking a horror retelling of The Little Mermaid! But then I saw the cover…. and saw your nitty gritty that it wasn’t a retelling OR a horror…. Still! It does sound good and I’d be interested to see how how this compares to her darker tales.
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It’s definitely different from her other books, but I love seeing authors branch out, so this was well worth reading.
Great review!
I’ve never read anything my Christina Henry before, so I’m going to have to remedy that since Alice sounds like the perfect October read.
Yes, read Alice in October! It’s VERY dark, but I loved it.
I was initially very excited about this because I assumed it would be a dark take but now I think I’ll wait for an audio version to pop up at my library. Thanks for a great review!
Yeah, it might not be what you expect, especially if you loved her other books.
This one sounds right up my street – not too dark ticks my box and the writing is clearly lovely. While I enjoyed The Museum of Extraordinary Things, this one sounds more entertaining and character-driven. Thank you for sharing, Tammy – as ever, you reviews always make me wish to rush out and get hold of the book…
I can see you enjoying this! I learned a lot too, which is one reason I love historical fiction.
Sounds like a really good read. Because of the cover, assumed it was YA. I’d like to try it. Actually, I’d like to try any one of her books.
It’s not strictly YA but there wasn’t anything horrific so it could definitely be a cross over story.
The Greatest Showman definitely fooled me into thinking P.T. Barnum was a really charismatic, all-around awesome person, and then I read through his biography found out that the movie REALLY sugar-coated his character…:( That said, I’m super interested to experience Henry’s version of him!
Yeah, I discovered that as well. He is the one who coined the phrase “There’s a sucker born every minute,” which tells you a lot about his personality:-)
I didn’t enjoy this book as much as you did, but it was a decent read. I definitely had songs from The Greatest Showman playing in my head while reading it, haha.
Kaleena @ Reader Voracious Blog recently posted…Anticipated Reads for July 2018
Ha ha, me too! I do love her other books more.
Yeah, I didn’t mind the fact this wasn’t “dark” like her other fairy-tale books, but I just felt that the characters were a little lacking. Not her best book, but I still had fun 🙂
I think she wanted to try something different, which I think is great. Although I do hope she goes back to the darkside;-)
I really do have to pick this one up, it sounds like exactly my kind of book. Love that cover as well. Great review!
Thanks! It was good, especially if you love historical fiction.
I also wondered if this would maintain the darkness Henry is oh so good at. I might check it out but I’m hoping her next one gets back to her roots. 🙂