The Surface Breaks – Louise O’Neill
Read Aug 19 - Library
This advertises itself as a feminist
retelling of The Little Mermaid and to that I would say yes but at the same
time no. The first half was less clear cut. We had few characters, less
information about the mer-world than I’d have liked and overall, seemingly
vapid thoughts about their appearance and men. Things did not seem happy per
say but there was nothing that was a major red flag initially. While I loathe
the concept of instalove the story took on a much more interesting turn in the
second half once Gaia took on her human guise. It didn’t make a lot of sense,
but Gaia only seemed to reveal her full life and understand how bad it was once
she was among the humans. The second half of the book definitely took a U-turn
with its criticisms of the expectation of women and the trouble with many men.
I feel that the ending was a little rushed, despite my small criticism of the
pacing I wanted more! Also, my copy had a bonus “chapter” on the Sea Witch and oh
goodness I want a whole book on her!
3/5 stars
Stef Out x
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