Outstanding depiction of The Little Mermaid tale, as seen through the lens of a semi-fictional take of the world of P.T. Barnum. The mermaid is not a beautiful, beckoning creature but a mystifying, eerie creature that seems more alien than human. The book follows her journey of love, heartache, exploitation and the healing that follows.

I went into The Mermaid expecting a twisted fairy-tale genre, and it was possibly this misconception that left me feeling very slightly disappointed. Instead this book is more historical fiction mixed with magical realism, and it's a good one. There are elements of gothic fairy tale about it, but it wasn't quite what I expected.

I liked the basis in the history of PT Barnum and the Feejee Mermaid, which gave Henry reign to imagine how Barnum might behave when faced with a truly magical creature. He's incredibly unsympathetic in this version (so far removed from Hugh Jackman vibes) and it was really interesting reading his constant clashes with Amelia; who stands up for herself in a way that would have been so uncommon for other women at the time.

There's a thinly veiled feminist vein running through this story, as well as an outsider's perspective on the pervasive arrogance of missionary Christianity in the 19th century. That was all really interesting, especially when even the sympathetic characters would describe remote cultures as "savages" in need of saving.

It's an enjoyable story, with dark undertones and good fairy tale-esque moments. I'm certainly interested to try some of Henry's other books.(and research more about PT Barnum's hoaxes), but I'm not sure this was the most memorable for me.

i went into this book expecting another 'lost boy', another 'girl in red', another 'horseman' - just famous and innocent tales twisted into something evil and brutal -, something that, in hindsight, i probably should not have done. because in comparison to all these fun and exciting stories, the mermaid was excruciatingly mediocre.

i was wholly underwhelmed and this was exacerbated by the fact the first half of the book was plain boring. the exposition was long, the writing felt very sober and unenganging. it really felt like someone was telling you a fairy tale - lots of telling instead of showing, mostly just sentences of action, hardly of feelings - but instead of listening to it excitedly, i found myself wondering 'okay, and then what?'.

i do have to say though that i ended up really enjoying the second half of the book, after it finally found its tone and thankfully stuck to it.
the choppy writing style evolved into something more relaxed and loose and then solidified. it was also incredibly immersive, which is not at all unusual for henry's writing.
the book stayed rather uneventful (except for one or two 'shocking' happenings) until the end, but at least the writing really managed to carry you through it, like a good carriage on a rocky road. 

the characters were fine. i didn't particularly like any of them, but i respected their strengths - amelia's bravery and self-sufficience, levi's kindness, charity's solidarity and support (even in the face of her unwilling husband).

and i liked the ending. it was sort of predictable (

them having a child, moving to this far-off island, levi and amelia getting together in general, which i'm still not sure i like

), but that didn't particularly ruin anything for me.

so yeah. a fine read once you make it through the first half.
if you haven't read any christina henry books yet and ergo haven't been blessed (or cursed in this case) with the absolute exciting brilliance and brutality of her other books, then you might enjoy this. and if you have, just don't expect this one to be the same as her other masterpieces.

I have mixed feelings about this one. So, I love Christina Henry and her work but this didn't feel the same as her other works. I didn't find any of the characters loveable or even likable (apart from Charity, who is a side character. Her growth throughout the story was very interesting), and the plot moved far too slowly, which I understand why. The slow plot allows you to feel like you are sharing the mermaids long journey of freedom, but it's just not to my taste. 

The book took a huge turn for me when I started reading it as more of an essay on the male gaze and the expectations of women during the period and the modern age. If it wasn't for this then the rating I gave it would have been lower. As an essay it is more interesting to me.