false 6976 25 Sue Monk Kidd's <I>The Mermaid Chair</I> is the soulful tale of Jessie Sullivan, a middle-aged woman whose stifled dreams and desires take shape during an extended stay on Egret Island, where she is caring for her troubled mother, Nelle. Like Kidd's stunning debut novel, <I>The Secret Life of Bees</I>, her highly anticipated follow up evokes the same magical sense of whimsy and poignancy. 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, <I>The Mermaid Chair</I> 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. <I>--Gisele Toueg</I> 1408375 book 2005 The Mermaid Chair total:20053|5:1494|4:4093|3:7214|2:5015|1:2237| 20053 57751 24332 2903 6976 0143036696 9780143036692 19513 2753 2.88 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165605360m/6976.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6976.The_Mermaid_Chair_A_Novel 1 30 false Mon Aug 11 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 06 14:13:47 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 11 11:04:38 -0700 2008 1. The problem of the protagonist
2. The problem of the know-it-all know-nothing
3. The problem of the genre.

Number one, the protagonist of this book is a woman with ZERO PROBLEMS. There's no identifiable obsta...more...]]> 6976 0143036696 9780143036692 19513 2753 2.88 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165605360m/6976.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6976.The_Mermaid_Chair_A_Novel 1 11 false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu May 29 07:55:28 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 03 14:22:09 -0700 2008
Although I thoroughly enjoyed "The Secret Life Of Bees" by the same writer, I found this book to be a far different sort of read. In Bees, while I enjoyed the plot, it was the characters that I found myself hooked to. In...more...]]> 525998 0670033944 9780670033942 368 98 2.88 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175541931m/525998.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/525998.The_Mermaid_Chair_A_Novel 2 9 false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Jul 28 19:05:01 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 01 12:37:42 -0700 2008 more...]]> 6976 0143036696 9780143036692 19513 2753 2.88 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165605360m/6976.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6976.The_Mermaid_Chair_A_Novel 5 11 false Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Tue May 29 02:07:44 -0700 2007 Wed Jun 13 01:07:14 -0700 2007
She spoke o...more...]]> 6976 0143036696 9780143036692 19513 2753 2.88 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165605360m/6976.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6976.The_Mermaid_Chair_A_Novel 1 6 true Tue Aug 05 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 06 14:26:39 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 06 14:32:41 -0700 2008 NO!

Give me a break. There is NOT love at first sight. LUST.
Not love! Whatever. That just pisses me off and sets a pissy tone for the rest of the book.

Bored woman goes to take care of crazy mom on island that is full of monks. Woman sees monk says "oh, I...more...]]> 6976 0143036696 9780143036692 19513 2753 2.88 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165605360m/6976.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6976.The_Mermaid_Chair_A_Novel 2 8 false Wed Aug 27 18:50:14 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 27 18:51:01 -0700 2008 525998 0670033944 9780670033942 368 98 2.88 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175541931m/525998.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/525998.The_Mermaid_Chair_A_Novel 1 6 false Sun Jul 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 11 18:17:44 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 13 17:52:43 -0700 2008
That’s not entirely accurate. I loved the religious themes that ran through this book, I loved the stories of growing up on an island, I loved the Mermaid aspect of this story.

So why the rating of “did not like?” I’m really tired of storie...more...]]> 6977 073945966X 9780739459669 16 4 2.88 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6977.The_Mermaid_Chair 2 4 false Mon May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Sat Mar 31 17:36:48 -0700 2007 Sat Mar 31 17:37:40 -0700 2007
What were you thinking? I don’t want to be mean, but “The Mermaid Chair” isn’t your best work. Your first novel, “The Secret Life of Bees” was wonderful – full of imagery and emotion. I was expecting more of your magic, but “The Mermaid Chair” is just another n...more...]]> 825457 0755327004 9780755327003 46 14 2.88 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178722021m/825457.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/825457.The_Mermaid_Chair 1 4 false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 12 20:07:12 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 23 08:30:56 -0700 2007 more...]]> 6976 0143036696 9780143036692 19513 2753 2.88 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165605360m/6976.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6976.The_Mermaid_Chair_A_Novel 2 5 true Thu Feb 21 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 09 17:09:52 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 23 15:11:30 -0800 2008 It wasn't the worst, but for pete's sake, was the affair w/the monk necessary? Can anyone tell me that? I also didn't really dig many of the characters, and here was another middle-aged woman who seemingly has it all and instead of digging deep and realizing that ...more...]]> 6976 0143036696 9780143036692 19513 2753 2.88 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165605360m/6976.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6976.The_Mermaid_Chair_A_Novel 3 4 false Mon Aug 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 14 13:04:15 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 18 20:45:32 -0700 2008 more...]]> 6976 0143036696 9780143036692 19513 2753 2.88 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165605360m/6976.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6976.The_Mermaid_Chair_A_Novel 1 5 false Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sat Feb 02 01:27:22 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 15 01:47:20 -0800 2009 more...]]> 6976 0143036696 9780143036692 19513 2753 2.88 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165605360m/6976.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6976.The_Mermaid_Chair_A_Novel 5 7 false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Wed Jan 02 12:59:39 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 02 13:00:02 -0800 2008
The main character of Jessie drove me crazy...more...]]> 6976 0143036696 9780143036692 19513 2753 2.88 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165605360m/6976.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6976.The_Mermaid_Chair_A_Novel 1 3 false Tue May 15 12:02:25 -0700 2007 Tue May 15 12:23:01 -0700 2007
i don't find impossible romances romantic at ALL.

to me, the main character seemed spoiled, selfish and ungrateful - to the author, she was a woman amidst her mid-life crisis trying to find herself.

ve...more...]]> 525998 0670033944 9780670033942 368 98 2.88 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175541931m/525998.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/525998.The_Mermaid_Chair_A_Novel 1 3 false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon Jan 21 19:24:22 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 21 19:27:08 -0800 2008 more...]]> 6976 0143036696 9780143036692 19513 2753 2.88 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165605360m/6976.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6976.The_Mermaid_Chair_A_Novel 1 3 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 25 14:00:40 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 25 14:05:48 -0800 2008 6976 0143036696 9780143036692 19513 2753 2.88 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165605360m/6976.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6976.The_Mermaid_Chair_A_Novel 3 2 true Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 02 07:31:08 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 21 18:20:53 -0800 2008 more...]]> 6976 0143036696 9780143036692 19513 2753 2.88 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165605360m/6976.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6976.The_Mermaid_Chair_A_Novel 2 3 false Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Thu Nov 22 10:32:07 -0800 2007 Thu Nov 22 10:33:09 -0800 2007
If you've read The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd's first novel, you probably have high expectations for her latest work, The Mermaid Chair. Bees was beautifully written and made you care about the characters so much that you were sorry to have to lea...more...]]> 6976 0143036696 9780143036692 19513 2753 2.88 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165605360m/6976.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6976.The_Mermaid_Chair_A_Novel 3 2 false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Apr 14 06:28:34 -0700 2007 Sat Apr 14 14:40:43 -0700 2007 more...]]> 6976 0143036696 9780143036692 19513 2753 2.88 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165605360m/6976.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6976.The_Mermaid_Chair_A_Novel 2 2 false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sat Mar 15 07:32:51 -0700 2008 Sat Mar 15 07:38:32 -0700 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=3096140