The Strongman and the Mermaid

The Donora Story Collection, Book 2

By: Kathleen Shoop

Narrated by: Anna Czarska

Length: 15 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

2019: Donora, Pennsylvania

Ninety-one-year-old Patryk Rusek hides in his attic, hoping the searchers think he’s escaped. When Lucy finally bursts in, she discovers her beloved grandfather clutching a fat, hand-drawn, antique book. In it is the story of Donora, the town that shaped America, its people, and Patryk himself. Before long, Lucy and her son Owen lose track of their goal to get Grandpa Patryk somewhere “safe” as they’re drawn into the book, back in time, into stories that read like real-life fairytales born of purpose, hard-work, and chance.

1910: Donora, Pennsylvania

In the early dawn of Donora, Pennsylvania, the mills make and shape the steel that builds America. Mary Lancos lives in a home on the hill overlooking town and its mighty Monongahela River. That tiny house bursts with her siblings and boarders. Wind whipping through the walls and windows makes Mary determined to marry well and create a better life.

Shy Pole Lukasz Musial arrives in Donora seeking the clear blue skies, green lawns, and better life he’d seen pictured on a postcard. Settled in Donora’s Polish community, Lukasz secures a coveted job in the wire mill. Life is set on course to achieve the American Dream. All he needs is a wife who believes in him, in his mighty, quiet, strength.

After a series of casual, friendly meetings, fate brings Mary and Lukasz to the river under a snowy, pink moonlit sky and everything changes. Their attraction is sudden and consuming, turning the pair onto an unexpected path. With mounting disapproval from Mary’s parents, she and Lukasz must decide if love is enough to risk losing everything else that matters.

©2019 Kathleen Shoop (P)2020 Kathleen Shoop

Interesting but frustrating

While the overall story line was good, the story unfolded very slowly, the romance of the main characters was maddeningly slow to happen even though the author made it obvious it would happen eventually. Then it went from ‘zero to 60’ in no time at all, with Mary, who was seemingly too naive to know that the boarder was making sexually suggestive advances at her, then seducing Wucosh and stripping naked in front of him and having sex with him. It was completely out of character and unrealistic to make such a leap in the matter of a few hours. Their courtship also seemed slow to progress, yet they were evidently having sex often. Then, when the story finally gets to the marriage and you are expecting to hear more about their son and grandson, since it’s narrated from the grown grandson’s perspective, the story ends abruptly. It was disappointing. But by far the most frustrating part was the mispronunciation of common words all through the book, by the voice actress who read the book for Audible, as well as her lack of voice inflection where there should have been some. Her voice was mostly monotone and emotionless, and when there was inflection, it was usually at the end of words, phrases, or sentences. The use of the word coax is abundant in this book, and she pronounced it co-axe every time, for one example. She sounded like she had an American accent, but didn’t have a sufficient understanding of the correct pronunciation of many, many American words. I was not super impressed with this book or it’s Audible narration, though the author has great potential. 73 chapters is far too long for this story.