Jessies Vater stirbt, als sie neun Jahre ist, sein Schiff explodiert, angeblich durch den Funkenflug seiner Pfeife, die hatte ihm Jessie geschenkt. Ihre Schuldgefühle haben sich mit den Jahren verfestigt. Bei der Suche nach den Ursachen für die seelischen Probleme der Mutter stößt sie auf Schweigen und seltsame Ausflüchte. Was ist es, das man ihr nicht sagen will? „Ich war auf der Reise“, wird Jessie irgendwann später sagen. Aus ihrem „Kokon der Häuslichkeit“ will sie raus, fühlt sich rastlos, wie eingesperrt, von einem „unbestimmten Verlangen“ erfüllt. „Du siehst dich um und denkst, so, und das soll es jetzt gewesen sein?
Es ist die verständliche, fast normale Lebenskrise einer Frau in den Vierzigern, die Ehe ist langweilig geworden, man ist einander überdrüssig, der Alltag erstickt. Rund um diese eigentlich banale Tatsache legt sich spannend und mystisch die Geschichte der heiligen Senara, die vor ihrer Bekehrung eine Meerjungfrau gewesen sein soll. Sinnliches mischt sich geheimnisvoll mit Spirituellem, Religiöses mit allzu Menschlichem. „Meerjungfrauen sind seit jeher Gleichnis für Verführung und die ungezügelte Sinnlichkeit, die in uns Menschen unter der Oberfläche brodelt.“
Trotz der Ausflüge in Klosterleben, der Aufarbeitung des Familiendramas ist und bleibt es vorrangig ein Frauenschicksal -- und das ist so packend geschrieben, dass der Roman in den USA sogar Dan Brown von Platz eins auf den Bestsellerlisten vertrieben hat. Übrigens war Sue Monk Kidds Ehemann offenbar auch ganz begeistert von dem Buch. Nur ein einziges Mal, so sagt sie, habe er damit gedroht, einer "Selbsthilfegruppe für Ehemänner von Schriftstellerinnen beizutreten.“ Eine Begeisterung, die man spontan teilt, denn es ist ein Roman, den man am liebsten verschlingen möchte. --Barbara Wegmann
]]>While Kidd places an obvious importance on the role of mysticism and legend in this tale, including the mysterious mermaid's chair at the center of the island's history, the relationships between characters is what gives this novel its true weight. Once she returns to her childhood home, Jessie is forced to confront not only her relationship with her estranged mother, but her other emotional ties as well. After decades of marriage to Hugh, her practical yet conventional husband, Jessie starts to question whether she is craving an independence she never had the chance to experience. After she meets Brother Thomas, a handsome monk who has yet to take his final vows, Jessie is forced to decide whether passion can coexist with comfort, or if the two are mutually exclusive. As her soul begins to reawaken, Jessie must also confront the circumstances of her father's death, a tragedy that continues to haunt Jessie and Nelle over thirty years later.
By boldly tackling such major themes as love, betrayal, grief, and forgiveness, The Mermaid Chair forces readers to question whether moral issues can always be interpreted in black or white. It is this ability to so gracefully present multiple sides of a story that reinforces Kidd's reputation as a well-respected modern literary voice. --Gisele Toueg
]]>While Kidd places an obvious importance on the role of mysticism and legend in this tale, including the mysterious mermaid's chair at the center of the island's history, the relationships between characters is what gives this novel its true weight. Once she returns to her childhood home, Jessie is forced to confront not only her relationship with her estranged mother, but her other emotional ties as well. After decades of marriage to Hugh, her practical yet conventional husband, Jessie starts to question whether she is craving an independence she never had the chance to experience. After she meets Brother Thomas, a handsome monk who has yet to take his final vows, Jessie is forced to decide whether passion can coexist with comfort, or if the two are mutually exclusive. As her soul begins to reawaken, Jessie must also confront the circumstances of her father's death, a tragedy that continues to haunt Jessie and Nelle over thirty years later.
By boldly tackling such major themes as love, betrayal, grief, and forgiveness, The Mermaid Chair forces readers to question whether moral issues can always be interpreted in black or white. It is this ability to so gracefully present multiple sides of a story that reinforces Kidd's reputation as a well-respected modern literary voice. --Gisele Toueg
]]>While Kidd places an obvious importance on the role of mysticism and legend in this tale, including the mysterious mermaid's chair at the center of the island's history, the relationships between characters is what gives this novel its true weight. Once she returns to her childhood home, Jessie is forced to confront not only her relationship with her estranged mother, but her other emotional ties as well. After decades of marriage to Hugh, her practical yet conventional husband, Jessie starts to question whether she is craving an independence she never had the chance to experience. After she meets Brother Thomas, a handsome monk who has yet to take his final vows, Jessie is forced to decide whether passion can coexist with comfort, or if the two are mutually exclusive. As her soul begins to reawaken, Jessie must also confront the circumstances of her father's death, a tragedy that continues to haunt Jessie and Nelle over thirty years later.
By boldly tackling such major themes as love, betrayal, grief, and forgiveness, The Mermaid Chair forces readers to question whether moral issues can always be interpreted in black or white. It is this ability to so gracefully present multiple sides of a story that reinforces Kidd's reputation as a well-respected modern literary voice. --Gisele Toueg
]]>While Kidd places an obvious importance on the role of mysticism and legend in this tale, including the mysterious mermaid's chair at the center of the island's history, the relationships between characters is what gives this novel its true weight. Once she returns to her childhood home, Jessie is forced to confront not only her relationship with her estranged mother, but her other emotional ties as well. After decades of marriage to Hugh, her practical yet conventional husband, Jessie starts to question whether she is craving an independence she never had the chance to experience. After she meets Brother Thomas, a handsome monk who has yet to take his final vows, Jessie is forced to decide whether passion can coexist with comfort, or if the two are mutually exclusive. As her soul begins to reawaken, Jessie must also confront the circumstances of her father's death, a tragedy that continues to haunt Jessie and Nelle over thirty years later.
By boldly tackling such major themes as love, betrayal, grief, and forgiveness, The Mermaid Chair forces readers to question whether moral issues can always be interpreted in black or white. It is this ability to so gracefully present multiple sides of a story that reinforces Kidd's reputation as a well-respected modern literary voice. --Gisele Toueg
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