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Search - The Mermaid Chair
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The Mermaid Chair Author: |
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Book Information
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Other Versions of this Book: Audio CD (Unabridged), Audio Cassette (Unabridged), Hardcover, Hardcover
Book Description:
Sue Monk Kidd's stunning debut, The Secret Life of Bees, has transformed her into a genuine literary star. Now, in her much-anticipated new novel, Kidd has woven a transcendent tale that will thrill her legion of fans and cement her reputation as one of the most remarkable writers at work today.
Inside the abbey of a Benedictine monastery on tiny Egret Island, just off the coast of South Carolina, resides a beautiful and mysterious chair ornately carved with mermaids and dedicated to a saint who, legend claims, was a mermaid before her conversion.
Jessie Sullivan's conventional life has been "molded to the smallest space possible." So when she is called home to cope with her mother's startling and enigmatic act of violence, Jessie finds herself relieved to be apart from her husband, Hugh. Jessie loves Hugh, but on Egret Island--amid the gorgeous marshlands and tidal creeks--she becomes drawn to Brother Thomas, a monk who is mere months from taking his final vows. What transpires will unlock the roots of her mother's tormented past, but most of all, as Jessie grapples with the tension of desire and the struggle to deny it, she will find a freedom that feels overwhelmingly right.
What inspires the yearning for a soul mate? Few writers have explored, as Kidd does, the lush, unknown region of the feminine soul where the thin line between the spiritual and the erotic exists. The Mermaid Chair is a vividly imagined novel about the passions of the spirit and the ecstasies of the body; one that illuminates a woman's self-awakening with the brilliance and power that only a writer of Kidd's ability could conjure.
Inside the abbey of a Benedictine monastery on tiny Egret Island, just off the coast of South Carolina, resides a beautiful and mysterious chair ornately carved with mermaids and dedicated to a saint who, legend claims, was a mermaid before her conversion.
Jessie Sullivan's conventional life has been "molded to the smallest space possible." So when she is called home to cope with her mother's startling and enigmatic act of violence, Jessie finds herself relieved to be apart from her husband, Hugh. Jessie loves Hugh, but on Egret Island--amid the gorgeous marshlands and tidal creeks--she becomes drawn to Brother Thomas, a monk who is mere months from taking his final vows. What transpires will unlock the roots of her mother's tormented past, but most of all, as Jessie grapples with the tension of desire and the struggle to deny it, she will find a freedom that feels overwhelmingly right.
What inspires the yearning for a soul mate? Few writers have explored, as Kidd does, the lush, unknown region of the feminine soul where the thin line between the spiritual and the erotic exists. The Mermaid Chair is a vividly imagined novel about the passions of the spirit and the ecstasies of the body; one that illuminates a woman's self-awakening with the brilliance and power that only a writer of Kidd's ability could conjure.
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Top Member Book Reviews
Catherine B. (
11 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book was a huge disappointment to me. THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES was so wonderful and even magical in some ways. I found it very hard to care about Jessie the main character. She seems to have a great husband but she has decided that she isn’t happy anymore. She feels the she needs to get away from her husband and be on her own. Jessie begins having an affair with a monk, who had not yet taken his final vows. I just found this entire book a little bit disturbing.
The author's first novel, THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES was wonderful and had a magical quality that has stayed in my mind for weeks. THE MERMAID CHAIR left me feeling empty.
6 member(s) found this review helpful.
This was an excellent but melancholy love story about what a woman wants, the truth of life, and what she really has. I appreciate books that are real and that don't try to make everything picture perfect. I liked this book better than Sue monk Kidd's other novel, The Secret Life of Bees. It was difficult to put down!
6 member(s) found this review helpful.
An island. A romance. A rediscovering of what it means to be true to one's heart and truly alive.
6 member(s) found this review helpful.
This was a very interesting book. Interesting in the sense as to where it took me. I did not like the Protagonist, Jessie. I thought the idea of her going to the island to tend to her mother and falling immediately in love with “Brother Thomas” was sinful and hateful and so totally not real life. But then, with about 100 pages left in the book, I was enlightened and it made more sense. I won’t give away the ending but it was unexpected. I was totally down a different path in my mind so the ending was surprising. I am not sure I would agree with the ending. I think in real life the husband (Hugh) would have left her (Jessie). I honestly skimmed thru some of the mermaid, spiritual stuff. In some ways, it’s almost unnecessary. However, I guess it gave the book more color. The rating for this book improved after I finished it.
6 member(s) found this review helpful.
A complete disappointment from Sue Monk Kidd. I found the story to be boring, laughable and ridiculously unbelievable.
6 member(s) found this review helpful.
Poignant book about woman dealing with self-evauluation.
Enjoyed the book.
5 member(s) found this review helpful.
I loved this book. The characters are well developed, the love story is mature, and the atmosphere is breathtaking. I can't wait for Kidd's next novel!
5 member(s) found this review helpful.
Not good, not bad. Just kind of bland.
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
does not compare to The Secret Life of Bees
Sue E. (
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
A vivid imagined love story between a woman and a monk, a woman and her husband and ultimately a woman and her own soul.
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Please Rate these Book Reviews
Kidd can really draw you into her story. This one was intriguing, and I couldn't decide how I wanted it to end! I wasn't sure I wanted to finish it and find out what happened, but of course I did. Very good book!
From the author of The Secret Life of Bees". Another tale set in the south ... you will enjoy it!
Definitely enjoyed this book although The Secret Life of Bees was better in my opinion. I found some aspects of the story a little hard to reconcile as far as the characters' choices but that's part of reading books, right? Appreciating other peoples' perspectives.
very good book, I had trouble putting it down, and was pleased with the ending
This is a story of a woman's self discovery with of course a really deep entwined character plot. Another "beach" read. I very much enjoyed it.
I could not put this book down. The story is set in Egret Island, and it is kind of mysterious. A love story about a woman and a monk.
THis book is well written, has interesting characters but its plot tends more toward the fantasy genre than my taste.
Read All Book Reviews of "The Mermaid Chair"
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