The Mermaid Chair

THE MERMAID CHAIR: Sue Monk Kidd: Viking Press: Fiction: 332 pages

A book about rebirth of the spirit, The Mermaid Chair follows Jessie Sullivan as she searches for her own identity in the face of passion, betrayal, grief and forgiveness. Jessie has a caring husband and a wonderful daughter who recently left for college. With an empty nest, Jessie begins to feel discontented and confined. She also lives with a secret guilt over her father’s death nearly 35 years before in a tragic boating accident off Egret Island.

On the anniversary of her father’s death, Jessie receives an urgent call from her mother’s longtime friend. She asks Jessie to return to Egret Island to help her estranged mother recover from a desperate act of self-mutilation. Jessie’s mother, haunted by the death of her husband, has become a zealous Catholic in the years following his death. She is obsessed with the Benedictine monastery next door, where she cooks and cleans for the monks. Jessie is uncomfortable with her mother’s fanaticism, but sees helping her mother as a chance to get away from her stagnant life. Returning to the island, Jessie becomes powerfully attracted to one of the Benedictine monks belonging to the monastery famous for its beautifully carved mermaid chair.

Though Kidd’s second novel is a very different story from her first book, The Secret life of Bees, it has some similar thematic elements and captures the essence of the South just as beautifully. The vibrant scenery and compelling story add to this captivating novel, but the emotional complexity of the characters is what truly makes this a must read.

AJ