Mermaid by Carolyn Turgeon

They say you can see things here, at the end of the world. Faces in the clouds and waves and leaves. Branches becoming arms and then branches again.

But there it was a flash of white.
Margrethe blinked repeatedly, and the sea air seemed to cut through her.
She wiped tears from her eyes and cheeks and leaned into the wind. The sea
seemed to shift from foam to water, from dark to light, swirling. In the distance,
rocks jutted. It would be easy to mistake one for the monstrous fin of a great fish, the prow of a ship sinking down.
And then: a curving, gleaming tail flaring out of the water. A moment
later, another flash and a pale face emerging, disappearing as quickly as it had
appeared. A woman's face. The tail of a fish stretching out behind her. Silvery,
as if it were made of gems...
Mermaid. The name came to Margrethe automatically, from the stories that had rooted themselves in her mind, the ancient tales she had read by firelight as the rest of the castle had slept.
She no longer felt the wind or the cold as she stood transfixed, watching
the mermaid move through the water. Margrethe had not known such things
could really exist, but the moment she saw the mermaid, it was as if the world
had always contained this kind of wonder...
As the mermaid approached the shore, Margrethe saw that she was carrying
something. A man.

So this just happens to be the third review I have done for Carolyn. I knew in 2010 this book was in route to being published. As with the two previous novels, I most certainly wanted to read it. Thankfully Carolyn offered to send it to me before I had to beg for it. LOL!

Carolyn Turgeon is like Calgon...take me away! From page one until page 240 her words develop such vivid imagery of the scene she writes about. In this novel it features the classic tale of "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen, only with the author's up-to-date adaptation. There are two princesses: Margrethe the human, and Lenia/Astrid the mermaid princess. The story is told from both of their perspectives alternating by each princess per chapter, essentially this is almost like two books in one.

There was a section that was purely poetic to me, some may think in a morbid way. The portion I am speaking of talks about a comparison of human and mermaid death; with humans we rot and with mermaids they turn to foam. This was so beautifully written and phrased that Carolyn can even make death sound pleasant.

Unlike the Disney, way too cheer-y version, this take is definitely nowhere near that. In this version the sea witch is not some psycho lunatic mad woman under the sea. She actually has a very sad back story. I think this is one of the huge differences that made a significant impact upon this story. While on this topic, I felt that Lenia's character gave a more realistic offering for the spell of her transformation from mermaid to human. It was drastically more gothic than that of any other mermaid tale, yet it provided

Mermaid is a fairy tale book of melodic metaphors. When Lenia/Astrid saw Christopher again the lack of her ability to speak causes such a depth of sadness for the reader. Before I began reading Ch. 16 I went to check my email on Yahoo. As soon as I logged on I quickly seen an article about a mermaid book becoming a movie. I knew just what book this was for! I couldn't help but get excited for both the book and Carolyn.

During Chapter 16 I began to get so overwhelmed with frustration with the play of events. I expected one thing but got another. This was further expanded into Chapter 23. During that chapter there was a whirlpool of emotional events with the three main characters: Margrethe, Lenia/Astrid and Christopher. Upon reaching the ending of the novel I was even more frustrated with the ending. Society has turned fairy tales into splendid, glorious tales of happiness. Although I wasn't happy with the ended, the story ended just as it should have. It is a welcoming feeling to know that Carolyn has brought back a true and authentic adaptation of such a classic fairy tale...or in this case fairy tail!

Favorite quotes:
"No one could be whole in a universe so divided."

"Go and you will see nothing is as wonderful as our dreams can make it."

"How many of us can choose to leave one self, one world behind and embrace another, better one?"

"So much pain and euphoria, a sense that, even though her own heart was broken the world could contain such beauty and magic she almost could not bear it."

"I believed in beauty, in magic, because of you..."

Spring Update

Hey everyone! I know it's been awhile. I've been so busy with many things involved on campus as the school year is coming to a close and a new one begins. I will be posting some more reviews soon.

I have since been contacted by my good friend Amanda Ashley to review her upcoming novel Bound By Night. This book will be in stores sometime in September. I was also contacted by a publisher to review Before Versailles by Karleen Koen. This is a new author for me and what appears to be a new genre of reviews as well. You will find this novel in stores June 28, 2011.

So stay tuned and I'm so sorry once again for the lack of my posts. Best wishes and happy reading!

xoxo

Update

Hey followers! I know my posts have been lacking and I am sincerely sorry for that. School this quarter (winter) is killing me worse than fall. I still have reviews I have finished that I need to post. I also have new books to my library and I just won a book off of Good Reads again and a new ARC from Ms. Carolyn Turgeon. I will do another post about this later tonight. If possible.
xoxo

Rain Village by Carolyn Turgeon

Young Tessa is a diminutive girl, far too small for farm work and the object of ridicule by both her own family and the other children in their isolated Midwestern community. Her father seems to believe in nothing beyond his crops, certainly not education for his misfit daughter. When a mysterious, entrancing librarian comes to town, full of fabulous stories, earthy wisdom and potions for the lovelorn, she takes Tessa under her wing, teaching her to read and to believe in herself, and a great new magical world of possibilities opens up. But even as she blooms, Tessa's father begins sexually abusing her. And then her mentor, who carries a dark secret of her own, drowns herself.

Tessa runs off, following Mary's footsteps, to join the circus as a trapeze artist, where she marries a loving man and finds a fulfilling new life for herself amid her new circus family. But she remains haunted by her past. And when a stranger from one of Mary's fabulist tales shows up, she risks everything to follow him to Rain Village where she might finally understand the meaning of her mentor's tragic secret.

Set in the early part of the 2oth century, steeped in emotional turbulence and down-to-earth wisdom, RAIN VILLAGE is an enchantment, pulling us into a world of mystery and possibility where love, friendship and loyalty might either destroy or set one free.

Although this novel came out a few years ago, before Godmother (see previous review posting) I felt compelled to do a review on it anyways. This eccentric story weaved religion, superstition and fairy tales with reality- and sometimes the reality isn't a pretty one! I think that any person faced with racism or even as an outcast will find this an empowering journey into their own psyche. There's just about every possible form of pain featured: physical abuse, sexual abuse, mental abuse...

Although the synopsis states Mary's suicide, the way the story is written you still feel like you were thrown a curve ball. This is when the story becomes interesting. Throwing you into the circus life. You get to know so many fun characters it's like meeting the cast of a real one. As I enjoyed Godmother, likewise did I enjoy this book too.

I did feel the first couple of chapters were slow flowing, but once you pushed past them you keep coming back for more. I also think the title seems a bit off? It's not until the last two or three chapters that you are really involved in Rain Village. Aside from that, this adult fairy-tale like novel is a heart warming tale of a young girl's journey to find happiness, love and most importantly a place to belong. Great summer read!

Favorite quotes:
"...People have a habit of doing that sometimes-just falling away, out of some lives and into other ones..."

"It's a good place this library. Like entering another world."

"A cup of tea can't change someone's heart, no matter how powerful the herbs in it are. But you make people believe in extraordinary things, and extraordinary things will happen."

"People try to shut out beauty wherever they can in this world, but it's a mistake."

"It is strange, how people drop out of your life, like tears. The way the whole world can shift and change, the way you can choose to remake it. Choose to become someone new."

"Love is an illusion, and there is a bitter nut at its core."

Opening Day

I recently aquired a book titled "Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story" by Carolyn Turgeon. Before this book I had no remote clue there was such a thing as ACR's (Advanced Copy Reviews) also called Galley's. So I began doing some research and found out that anyone can request such a copy as long as they provide a review of sorts.

This is what caused me to join Blogger. Along with my various social networking sites, Blogger will help keep readers up to date with upcoming releases. I review and you get the heads up! :) Well my time is up and Godmother is calling my name. I wonder if she can help me with my Prince Charming?

xo xo