A transcendent tale of a woman’s self-discovery—the New York Times–bestselling second work of fiction by the author of The Secret Life of Bees and the forthcoming novel The Book of Longings Inside the church of a Benedictine monastery on 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 … mermaids and dedicated to a saint who, legend claims, was a mermaid before her conversion.
When Jessie Sullivan is summoned home to the island to cope with her eccentric mother’s seemingly inexplicable behavior, she is living a conventional life with her husband, Hugh, a life “molded to the smallest space possible.” Jessie loves Hugh, but once on the island, she finds herself drawn to Brother Thomas, a monk about to take his final vows. Amid a rich community of unforgettable island women and the exotic beauty of marshlands, tidal creeks, and majestic egrets, Jessie grapples with the tension of desire and the struggle to deny it, with a freedom that feels overwhelmingly right, and with the immutable force of home and marriage.
Is the power of the mermaid chair only a myth? Or will it alter the course of Jessie’s life? What happens will unlock the roots of her mother’s tormented past, but most of all, it will allow Jessie to discover selfhood and a place of belonging as she explores the thin line between the spiritual and the erotic.
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I really enjoyed that people were real- faults, virtues, success, failure- and mostly they wanted the best for the people they loved. It was a story about triumph over sadness, misunderstandings that comes with forgiveness and love.
I like this author and this book. The temptation to look into “greener pastures” is with all of us – in this case, the characters and settings were expertly written so I felt part of the story as I was reading it.
Read this book when it first came out-loved it. So did my husband that hates to read.
It was my first book to read written by the Author. And I really enjoyed the read.
I find books in which protagonists cheat on a good spouse very uncomfortable. In places, the book is exciting and engaging, and in other places a bit over-dramatic for my tastes. It was fun to try to puzzle-out all the symbolism.
The Mermaid Chair could have been a more enjoyable story had the author focused more on the relationships of the islanders than on Jessie’s self absorption. I didn’t care for the profanity. It’s unnecessary in a story.
I borrowed a copy from my local library. All views expressed are my honest opinion.
I love Sue monk Kidd. I enjoyed this book but it wasn’t my favorite by her
Loved this book. Quirky characters & inviting to read.
Understandable but a bit strange….a little too “out there” for me.
Inside the church of a Benedictine monastery on 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.
When Jessie Sullivan is summoned home to the island to cope with her eccentric mother’s seemingly inexplicable behavior, she is living a conventional life with her husband, Hugh, a life “molded to the smallest space possible.” Jessie loves Hugh, but once on the island, she finds herself drawn to Brother Thomas, a monk about to take his final vows.
The book was quite a page turner and I could not predict the ending.
I enjoyed this book but not the sa e reading and quality of Secret Life of Bees!
This was in no way as good as THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES.
Great setting on a spiritual Carolina island. A discontent middle aged woman recreates herself after being a wife and mother for so many years.
Our book club just finsihed reading this book. Our review for THE MERMAID CHAIR by Sue Monk Kidd. Jessie the main character, seems to be going through a mid-life crisis and begins to question her marriage to Huge after twenty years. At the same time her mother Nellie is having mental-health issues. Jessie travels alone to tend to her mother’s needs who has lived alone since the death of Jessie father when Jessie was only six and had always thought it was her fault. While visiting her mother, Jessie has an affair with a monk called Witt and is ready to leave her husband. The story then unfolds many truths, some of which are shocking. Surprisingly we all had different opinions about the book. One member absolutely loved everything about the book, from the author’s style of writing, the main character Jessie, whom she could relate to and reminded her of herself. A couple of us didn’t like Jessie or the way she treated her husband and left us feeling angry with her. Why didn’t she talk to her husband about how she was feeling? A big bombshell was dropped in the story about her father’s death that none of us were expecting and also created anger with other characters of the book. We all felt sorry for the husband Huge because of the way he was treated and felt disappointed with him in the end. (Well I know I did.) Overall it was a good story with some unexpected twists. Parts of it dragged on and became too descriptive for some of us, to the point we had to check back and see what she was describing. We gave this book 4 Stars.
Can’t recommend this book; hard to follow.
Love anything by Sue Monk Kidd
It was unique. Very good descriptive writing. Very imaginative. I loved it.
ENJOYED DETAILS ABOUT THE ISLAND.
One of the very best books I’ve ever read!
Not as strong a work as the author’s earlier work–The Secret Life of Bees.