I usually just drop my stars and run, but after realizing this is one of the lowest-rated books I've ever seen on Goodreads, I feel like I have to justify myself in liking it as much as I did.This novel is beautifully written. And sometimes, if a novel is written really, really well, I find myself almost not caring what it's saying (*almost*). I just like the way it's saying it, if that makes sense. It was constructed so well, and written so beautifully, that I was more caught up in the words than in the story itself. With that said, I *did* enjoy the story, too. I loved the history with Jessie's father and his mysterious death, and her mother's unraveling. I loved how it came together at the end. I loved the friendship between Nelle, Kat, and Hepzibah, I loved the quirky little stories from Jessie's childhood, Whit and his honesty/confusion about his spirituality, and I loved seeing how Jessie's art opened up as the novel progressed. The way she captured Jessie's marriage and home life was so spot-on that I wondered if this was semi-autobiographical for the author.I noticed a few reviewers commenting that they were tired of this whole concept, that a bored, dissatisfied wife runs off and falls in love immediately with someone she met 2 minutes ago, has a wild and unrepentant sexual romp, then realizes she misses her home life (which was never bad enough to condone leaving it behind in the first place), and returns without any real consequences. And that is *exactly* what happened in this novel, but here's the thing: I haven't read any of these novels before. I can see how this would be SO annoying to see done again and again. But this was my first time with it, so I think I was a lot more patient with it than I would have been if I'd read this sort of thing before.And although I hate that whole idea, I have to admit, I didn't find myself judging Jessie very harshly. I can absolutely see how a person who has spent her entire adult life making her family's lives possible finds herself feeling lost and alone and without an identity. I'm a stay-at-home mom of 2 young kids right now. Their wants and needs occupy my ENTIRE existence. It's not much of a stretch for me to imagine that a wife and mother not unlike myself could feel totally lost and completely empty with this role. I could understand Jessie's motivations and why she made the choices she did. I wasn't rooting for her to mess around with Whit, but I could understand why she did.BUT. And this is a fairly big BUT. I'm not sure I understand why sex had to be a component of her 'reawakening,' or whatever you want to call it. From a feminist perspective, I'm kind of bothered that she went straight from a somewhat male-dominated home environment to escape to . . . sex with a different dude, which fixed everything and gave her an identity again. Couldn't this person who helped her find herself, rediscover her passion and excitement for life, just as easily have been a close friend? Someone whose guidance and friendship helped her realize all the things that had been missing from her life (not including sex with a guy she met 10 pages ago)? I could see Kat or Hepzibah, her mother's old friends, filling that role without creating any sort of problem with her home and family life. Or even her mother--what if helping guide her daughter helped pull her away from her insanity? Gosh, it even could have been Whit . . . couldn't they have had some sort of relationship without it turning into a full-blown affair? Maybe this would have come across as cheesy somehow, and definitely wouldn't have been as exciting or dramatic of a story. But I guess I'm not sure that sex needed to be a necessary component of the story. It was heartbreaking to see the novel develop, to find yourself going along with Jessie and rationalizing, "Ok, this is all right, she's not doing anything SO terribly wrong, I can see why she's doing this," and then get to the chapter from her husband's perspective and see that this choice she made SHATTERED him. Also bugged that there were no real consequences after her affair. Her husband was mad for like 8 pages, and then everything was more or less okay. And her apology--"I'm sorry if I hurt you" or something pathetic like that. Totally unrepentant, which again, I realize was part of her 'development' or whatever, but still. Yuck.All things considered, I can absolutely see why so many people were so annoyed by this book. I didn't like the affair, and I didn't like the lack of consequences after, or her lack of remorse. BUT I also couldn't really hate Jessie for making the choices she did. And I thought it was all so well written and well constructed and insightful that I didn't give tons of weight to those aspects.
I picked this up at the faaaaabulous Reno book sale, and I'm not sure why. I really hated this same author's "The Secret Life of Bees," but I figured it'd be worth a try. I was surprised to find that I liked it, even if it read like a mixture of the Thorn Birds and a Lifetime movie. It's about a woman in her forties who is bored with her life. Her mom, who lives back on ye olde island that the daughter never goes back to (her dad died, all kinds of bad memories, yada yada), has cut off her finger with a meat cleaver. She goes back to take care of her mom, deal with the island, deal with her husband's death, and, oh yeah, have daily sex with a monk who's questioning his relationship with God.Kinda trashy but the writing is actually pretty decent, and it was enjoyable to read. However, the author likes to use symbolism but doesn't trust that her readers understand it, so a lot of time is spent telling us things we could probably figure out, for example, that water is a symbol of sensuality. Even if you didn't know that in the beginning, you'd know it after ten pages of reading about the intensely erotic relationship the main character has with it and the many erotic paintings she has created in an erotic, watery, sensuous kind of way. Because the water, you see, is erotic. And sensuous. And it makes her sensual and whole again. In a very erotic way. Like water.That said, it's enjoyable book to read. I applaud the author trying to get deep, and there's some nice writing, but gawd, someone tell her to stop hitting her readers over the head with the metaphorical stick. Or maybe it's an erotic stick. I'll have to get back to you on that one.
What do You think about The Mermaid Chair (2006)?
this book was horrid! if you want to read anything by sue monk kidd read The Secret Life of Bees that book has meaning and structure.i thought the premise of this book, middle aged woman decides she is dissatisfied with her life so she has an affair and finds out that the "terrible" secret from her past is really actually boring, was so hackneyed i couldn't even finish reading. i skimmed to the end to find out the secret, and then laughed at the absurdity of it all. don't bother with this book, spend your time somewhere else.
—Eliza
I did not like this book. That’s not entirely accurate. I loved the religious themes that ran through this book, I loved the stories of growing up on an island, I loved the Mermaid aspect of this story.So why the rating of “did not like?” I’m really tired of stories where the lead character decides they need to drastically change their life. Then they run off through either some decision they consciously make or through some twist of fate (as in this case) to “find” themselves. While finding themselves they find (surprise!) a new love interest. At this point they find themselves madly and inexplicably in LOVE with someone they met 10 minutes ago. They decide to walk away from a secure (albeit bland) life and a stable (albeit ordinary) lover/spouse who has given them a lifelong commitment.After making the decision to leave the said stable relationship the lead character always (and I mean ALWAYS) manages to convince themselves (and the reader) that it isn’t just “lust” that draws them into this new relationship—oh no, it’s TRUE LOVE. This new person is the person they were meant to be with.So they plunge into this new relationship (often without ending the first one) with great bliss. Headlong into the great unknown. Romping around, rolling in the hay, having a grand ole time convinced they are in love and life will be like this for the rest of their days. Nothing could be better. Nothing could end this bliss. This is what life is meant to be.And then……yep. Then another plot twist either separates the two new lovers, or throws the lead character back into the path of the stable relationship.And lo and behold……it turns out the new relationship isn’t all that great. And the first relationship is what they really need. (Smacks head loudly….d’oh!)And now our beloved lead character leaves the new-found love and goes back to the first love.And they live happily-ever-after.I’m really tired of authors using this device/plot. Really tired of it. I feel it cheapens the importance of marriage or a committed relationship, and makes the lead character (typically a woman) look naive and well, let’s be honest, like an idiot. (Okay…that’s overly harsh. It makes the woman look less than insightful at best.) Let’s call a spade a spade. The lead character wanted to have a steamy affair with their new-found love interest. And they felt guilty because they were already married. So they convinced themselves that they were at a point in their life where they needed to change and they found this amazing new person who could love who they now are. Why not just admit they want to have an affair and damn the consequences? At least have the decency to be honest with themselves and the reader about it. Sigh. Time to step off my soap box.I suppose this book hit me at just the wrong moment. There were parts I loved. But the overall plot frustrates me. It presents a stereo-type of women that doesn’t sit well with me. It is possible to “find” yourself while still honoring your commitments and keeping your integrity intact. And that’s a plot line I’d like to see more of!
—Spudsie
After glancing over the goodreads reviews of this book, and seeing how negative they were, I was expecting to dislike, or simply feel apathy for, this book. But I really loved it, surprisingly so. I enjoyed "The Secret Life of Bees", but I didn't connect to the characters as much as I connected to Jessie in this story. This book tackles a difficult subject: how can you fall in love with someone else while still married to a wonderful man who hasn't changed? The goodreads complaints were that Jessie has no reason to fall for another man--her husband is seemingly perfect, and she's just selfish and awful for not wanting him. But I loved the gray areas of the story, and I didn't find myself able to judge her easily (and I'm pretty judgmental!) The story is this: Middle aged artist and housewife Jessie returns to her childhood home off the coast of South Carolina to care for her aging and depressed mother. She has avoided home because of the sad memories she has of her father being killed in an accident when Jessie was a child, and she blames herself for his death. While there, she falls for a Benedictine monk who turns Jessie's life upside down. Kidd writes beautifully, and I read this faster than a lot of other recent novels. I thought she explained (but never excused) Jessie's confused emotions and behaviors realistically--nothing is ever black and white, even love. Especially love. And what she (and the reader) realizes at the end is how much she has closed herself off--from her mother, her husband, and especially herself. I was touched by the character's honesty and her humanity, and I thought it was a beautiful story of how a person has to sink to the very bottom before they can climb their way back to the surface.
—Erin
