Product Description

Jessie Sullivan has been married half her life, and has become accustomed to her role. But when she returns to the isolated island she grew up on to establish why her mother has been behaving oddly, she is to find a lot more than she came looking for. A loving, exuberant character, who believes herself to be happy, she has forgotten a hidden part of her spirit - the part represented by the beautiful, vibrant and legendary mermaid carved on a chair in the island's monastery. When Jessie falls passionately in love with a monk who is close to taking his final vows, she discovers a place in herself that she had never previously imagined could exist. THE MERMAID CHAIR is the story of a woman trying to save her outgrown life - the roles, identities, securities and illusions she had created for herself - before finally emerging as something far more alive and powerful.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24270 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Review
"'Monk Kidd spins a highly charged tale full of sexual and spiritual desire. Every bit as convincing and moving as her previous, bestselling novel, THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES' Mirror; 'The powerful follow-up to the international bestseller, THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES' Grazia; 'Impulse, excitement and the anticipation swell within Kidd's prose which is magical, imaginative and effortless' The Big Issue (North); 'A fascinating look at how the deepest ties can be tested when you meet the right person at the wrong time' Glamour"

Review
'Monk Kidd spins a highly charged tale full of sexual and spiritual desire. Every bit as convincing and moving as her previous, bestselling novel, THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES' (Mirror )

'The powerful follow-up to the international bestseller, THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES' (Grazia )

'Impulse, excitement and the anticipation swell within Kidd's prose which is magical, imaginative and effortless' (The Big Issue (North) )

'So evocative is this novel, you can taste the salt air and feel the sand between your toes' (Nottingham Evening Post )

'Kidd has a flair for making us see her characters with great vividness and immediacy' (New York Times Book Review )

'A fascinating look at how the deepest ties can be tested when you meet the right person at the wrong time' (Glamour )

'Sue Monk Kidd... knows how to grab the attention of her readership... The novel also has humour and a profound feeling for its primeval landscape of mud flats and salt creeks... The sensitively plotted emotional journey makes this another inevitable bestseller' (Time Out )

'The author mixes a cocktail of myth, spiritual concerns and sexual yearning, and her descriptions of the island landscape are lush and detailed...' (The Sunday Times )

'Passionate and powerful, the book will have you hooked' (Peterborough Evening Telegraph )

New York Times Book Review
'Kidd has a flair for making us see her characters with great vividness and immediacy'

Customer Reviews

Facing the Unknown
In my opinion "The Mermaid Chair" is about the unknown. The title comes from (in the story) an ornately carved chair (carved with mermaid designs) that is dedicated to a church saint was actually a mermaid before a conversion (at least according to legend). The crux of the story is about the search for the unknown that drives us in life. There is an unknown that has tormented Jessie Sullivan's mother to act out in violence and bring Jessie back to her childhood home to care for her. There is the unknown of why happily married Jessie is mysteriously drawn to a monk on the verge of taking his vows. There is the unknown of what makes one yearn for a soul mate. The second novel from Sue Monk Kidd following her stunning debut "The Secret Life of Bees", "The Mermaid Chair" is an exquisite example of storytelling in its finest form along the lines of "Life of Pi", "Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time", "My Fractured Life", and "Kite Runner."

Truly Enjoyable
Just like her novel, 'Secret Life Of Bees, though on a different level of genres,The Mermaid Chair is excellent as well. the story starts with a bit of a tragedy that must be taken care of immediately, setting the stage for a beautiful reclusive island (the book gives vivid imagery), what happens along the way is moral issues over a forbidden love (The man is a Monk). There is passion, intrigue and a slight bit of erotic tension along the way. You will find yourself challenging what you would have considered immorality in your life, wanting to see the couple united, yet knowing that it is wrong...how dare they? In the end, you will find a sweet story about life changing events that make you wish the last page didn't happen and there would be a sequel you could pick up and immediately read. Ms. Kidd does a brilliant job with this novel, as she does with everything she writes.
Also recommended: Other passionate (hot) reads include: Fire In The Ice, Full Bloom, and Out Of Control

Quite wonderful
A rather wonderful book. A real treasure. Her descriptions are simply wonderful. It quite spoilt me for reading anything else for a while.