The Mermaid Chair
Ratings26
Average rating3
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.
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I really wanted to like this book. And I would have if it had revolved around Jessie's coming back home and getting back in touch with herself, rebuilding her relationship with her mother, being part of this amazing group of women and getting that much needed time to heal and recharge. It was obvious that she needed to break from the endless routine that was her life to be able to, from a distance, see what needed to be fixed.
SPOILERS!!!
What really annoyed me about this book was the relationship with Brother Thomas. It was dishonest and unnecessary. I was annoyed from the moment, after a two-sentence conversation, they both decided they were “in love” with each other. When, in truth, their relationship was just a parenthesis before both of them went on with their lives. They were NOT in love. They just cheated on their lives and I wonder if it was really worth it to hurt the people around them.
Should be a 3.5.
I did enjoy the thoughtfulness of the story, particularly at the end. But there was lots of remembering in the narration, which I found myself skipping through. I could relate to the main character, but only tangentially; I probably am not the target audience for the book!
This story was intriguing as it tackles an unusual mother-daughter relationship through the daughter's exposure to one monk and a monastery.
