"One September evening in 1785, the merchant Jonah Hancock hears urgent knocking on his front door. One of his captains is waiting eagerly on the step. He has sold Jonah’s ship for what appears to be a mermaid.
As gossip spreads through the docks, coffee shops, parlours and brothels, everyone wants to see Mr Hancock’s marvel. Its arrival spins him out of his ordinary existence and through the doors of high society. At an opulent party, he makes the acquaintance of Angelica Neal, the most desirable woman he has ever laid eyes on… and a courtesan of great accomplishment. This meeting will steer both their lives onto a dangerous new course, on which they will learn that priceless things come at the greatest cost.
Where will their ambitions lead? And will they be able to escape the destructive power mermaids are said to possess?
In this spell-binding story of curiosity and obsession, Imogen Hermes Gowar has created an unforgettable jewel of a novel, filled to the brim with intelligence, heart and wit." (blurb from goodreads.com)
Rating: 3/5
It's been some time since I read this book, over two years I think, so my memories of it are rather dim. I'd come across many positive reviews of it, which was why I wanted to read it. All the more so since it is in one of my favourite genres: historical fiction with a touch of magical realism.
Reviewing it is not easy, and not because I read it some time ago. I remember my impressions after I'd finished it well enough.
After I turned the last page, I was not sure to think of this novel... On one hand, I loved the style, the way the historical context was brought to life with details such as the clothing or the food. It was well-written, and particularly poetic.
The characters were well-drawn, though, to be honest, I was not particularly drawn to any of them. However, they felt quite realistic, and even real - and their different motivations and actions were believable.
On the other hand, I was a bit disconcerted... Maybe because the story was not quite what the title had led me to imagine. But I will not say more, as to not give any spoilers. Only, do not expect to find in that book the sort of mermaid you do in fairytales... And do not expect the mermaid of the title to be an actual character, or rather a character like the others.
Another point that bothered me was that the reader gets a glimpse of different stories, pertaining to secondary characters, which remain unresolve, leaving you to wonder: what was the point of writing them in such detail in the first place? It's very frustrating to have no proper ending to those stories. Were they only there as filler to keep up the reader's interest?
In spite of all that, this is still a book that I'd recommand for lovers of evocative historical fiction.
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