The Mermaid Chair

By: Sue Monk Kidd

Narrated by: Eliza Foss

Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

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 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 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.

©2005 Sue Monk Kidd (P)2005 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Book clubs, start your engines. Sue Monk Kidd's first novel, The Secret Life of Bees, has sold 3 million copies since 2002.…Those are big shoes to fill, but Kidd acquits herself admirably with The Mermaid Chair….Both novels drip with vivid images of hot Southern afternoons, droning insects, swooping birds and oases in which nature is the fabric of life. It is a tapestry strengthened by bonds between women that bridge pain and loss. Most important, both have passages of beautiful writing… Kidd wrote two well-received memoirs before turning to fiction. But perhaps the answer ultimately given by The Mermaid Chair is that a storyteller also can change course and come of age in the middle of her life."—USA Today

"Her writing is so smart and sharp, she gives new life to old midlife crises, and she draws connections from the feminine to the divine to the erotic that a lesser writer wouldn't see, and might not have the guts to follow."—Time

"(A) rewarding second novel by the author of the bestselling Secret Life of Bees. Writing from the perspective of conflicted, discontented Jessie, Kidd achieves a bold intensity and complexity that wasn't possible in The Secret Life of Bees, narrated by teenage Lily. Jessie's efforts to cope with marital stagnation; Whit's crisisof faith; and Nelle's tormented reckoning with the past will resonate with many readers. This emotionally rich novel, full of sultry, magical descriptions of life in the South, is sure to be another hit for Kidd." —Publisher's Weekly, starred review

Pass on this one!

After reading The Secret Life of Bees, I was really excited when this book became available at Audible. However, I was so disappointed after the first few chapters. The book dragged... and dragged... and dragged some more. I kept thinking that eventually the pace would pick up and something exciting would happen, but no such luck! Take my advice, pass on this one!

Kidd’s Mermaid Chair

Although I have enjoyed other titles by the author, I got a big nothing out of this novel. It’s a lot of fluff and no depth, I’m sorry to say

Not Pat Conroy

But sure wants to be. If you want a wonderful book about the southern coast and southern culture, listen to anything by Pat Conroy. (In this book the main character says, "I'm not Pat Conroy, you know") This is a common novel with empty people and a plot that tried too hard. Very disappointing.

urg!

I thought I was in for something thought provoking--filled with imagery that would inspire me. What was presented was a slow-paced book of a boringly pathetic woman finally waking up to have a point of view and personality. Dreadful! And combine that with the finer points of a bodice-ripper and you end up with a waste of time. The narrator was insipid.

Tedious, don't bother

Like some other reviewers, I expected to like this book by the author of the Secret Life of Bees. I had also enjoyed her writings in Guideposts magazines for years. Mermaid Chair was awful. The lead character is shallow, self-involved and morally pitiful. She abandons her marriage for a monk "she loves" after meeting him once! The theology depicted is weak beyond words. The choice of narrator was equally poor.

Save your money and listen to All The Way Home or Nightfall.

Great

Excellent reading.

Disappointed

What did you like best about The Mermaid Chair? What did you like least?

Best: the author's beautiful descriptions of all things in nature. Truly lovely. Otherwise, the plot is formulaic, a typical "two people fall in love at the first glance", and the narrator was annoying. I really did not enjoy this book and kept waiting for a climax to the story..

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending was the best part, the only part that felt "true" to real life.

Did Eliza Foss do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Not really.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No.

Nothing Like

I was really looking forward to this book after having enjoyed "The Secret Life of Bees." That's why I gave "The Mermaid Chair" more than the benefit of the doubt, forcing myself to slog through chapter after chapter of leaden, meaningless scenes and dialogue featuring a bizarre old woman who cuts off her finger and a cast of other characters devoid of personality. I must admit that I finally quit listening, so I don't really know if the book picked up steam at the end. Janet Maslin of The New York Times didn't seem to think so in her recent review of this book. I just wish I'd read her review before buying it.

Let Down

I was very disappointed with the Mermaid Chair. I was looking forward to this book because I loved the Secret Life of Bees. Mermaid Chair was nothing more than a romance novel with a little more intellect than usual. I made myself finish it but it probably wasn't worth it.

Profanity Unnecessary

The use of the 'f' word by the daughter so unnecessary but until that point it was interesting.