Kidd, Sue Monk. The Mermaid Chair.I really wanted to like this one. Kidd's prose is lovely and there are places that seem to be longing to be read aloud. The plot, however, and the characters seemed too pat. Annoyingly so.
The novel seemed three-dimensional only in the sense of a diorama. (As I wrote that, I remembered that Jessie used the term diorama in an attempt to describe her art). There was apparent depth, but it lacked resonance.
Religious and mythical symbolism is all over the place, and while it is great fun to pick up on symbolism, when the symbolism is spoon-fed over and over, it becomes difficult to swallow.
Was that all that annoyed me? No. The plot itself grated.
[SPOILER] Falling in lust with a monk is one thing, but love at first sight? And a monk? How wonderful that this interlude allowed her to regain her "self" and inspired her art and gave her marriage a new lease on life and somehow leads to an understanding of her mother's penchant for self-mutilation, but only after her self-absorption has kept her from recognizing her mother's increasing desperation resulting in the loss of another digit, and...
Fiction. Romance? 2005. 332 pages.
I'm with you...I wanted to like this one so much and was so excited to read it after having read and adored Bees...sigh...so disappointed!
ReplyDeleteThat's too bad. I'm kind of afraid of reading this book because I liked The Secret Life of Bees so much, and I'd love to feel the same way about it. But all the reviews I've seen make me suspect I'd be disappointed too.
ReplyDeleteI actually really liked this one--and was surprised that I did. However, there were aspects of the book that resonated with me. Maybe it was just a case of my reading it at the perfect moment in my life when it would have made the most sense to me.
ReplyDeleteI know most people were put off of this one though, so you are definitely in the majority.
Debby - I do like her prose, but yes, after The Secret Life of Bees, I expected much more.
ReplyDeleteNymeth - It was a disappointment, especially since her prose is so graceful, to discover that I felt manipulated by the story.
LF - Certain books really do appear at the right (or wrong) time in your life. I've re-read books with a different emotional outlook and found them very different from my original opinion--for better or worse.
Oh I adored Secret Life of Bees - so much so that I re-read it and adored it even more. I was so excited to get this one and hated it. Despised it with a passion. It's now on my worst books ever list.
ReplyDeleteSuziQ - How odd, I had no idea that so many people felt so strongly about this book! I really thought most people loved it--which is why I was excited about finally getting around to reading it. I even worried about giving such a harsh review.
ReplyDeleteI was extremely disappointed with The Mermaid Chair after reading Secret Life. The book was as lyrical, but I never found myself growing attached to the characters.
ReplyDeleteI just think there is something wrong about the idea of having a monk as a character in your book when your name is also monk. That should have been her first clue that this was a bad idea. :)
ReplyDeleteAnon - I agree about finding it difficult to grow attached to the characters, especially when the plot is lacking as well.
ReplyDeleteCarl - You made me laugh! I hadn't paid attention to that detail!
I thought I was the only one who was left cold by the Mermaid Chair. I'm another one who loved Secret Life of Bees.
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Anon - Evidently, we are not alone!
ReplyDeleteI was extremely disappointed in this book too. I thought maybe it was because I am not a fan of romance and that it bothered me that a married woman flitted off to take care of her mother and struck up a sexual relationship with a MONK (of all people) while she was there.
ReplyDeleteI loved The Secret Life of Bees (even the movie is excellent).
Mercy's Maid - It was a pretty bizarre set up, wasn't it?
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