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Sue Monk Kidd's The Mermaid Chair is the soulful tale of Jessie
Sullivan, a middle-aged woman whose stifled dreams and desires take shape
during an extended stay on Egret Island, where she is caring for her
troubled mother, Nelle. Like Kidd's stunning debut novel, The Secret Life
of Bees, her highly anticipated follow up evokes the same magical sense of
whimsy and poignancy.
While Kidd places an obvious importance on
the role of mysticism and legend in this tale, including the mysterious
mermaid's chair at the center of the island's history, the relationships
between characters is what gives this novel its true weight. Once she
returns to her childhood home, Jessie is forced to confront not only her
relationship with her estranged mother, but her other emotional ties as
well. After decades of marriage to Hugh, her practical yet conventional
husband, Jessie starts to question whether she is craving an independence
she never had the chance to experience. After she meets Brother Thomas, a
handsome monk who has yet to take his final vows, Jessie is forced to
decide whether passion can coexist with comfort, or if the two are
mutually exclusive. As her soul begins to reawaken, Jessie must also
confront the circumstances of her father's death, a tragedy that continues
to haunt Jessie and Nelle over thirty years later.
By boldly tackling such major themes as love, betrayal, grief, and
forgiveness, The Mermaid Chair forces readers to question whether moral
issues can always be interpreted in black or white. It is this ability to
so gracefully present multiple sides of a story that reinforces Kidd's
reputation as a well-respected modern literary voice.
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