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Church Of The Old Mermaids
Myla Alvarez, novice, walks into the Sonoran desert near Tucson, Arizona and begins telling stories about the Old Mermaids who were washed ashore onto the New Desert when the Old Sea dried up. In this mystical new world, they lived, created, and walked in beauty. Myla finds sustenance and meaning in their lives and stories. But she worries that Homeland Security may discover the undocumented migrants she harbors at the Old Mermaid Sanctuary. When an old friend reenters her life, Myla begins to doubt herself and the wisdom of preserving the Old Mermaid Sanctuary. Will the Old Mermaids come to her aid? Church of the Old Mermaids is a tale of redemption, love, compassion, and mystery.
- GenresFiction
296 pages, Paperback
First published November 17, 2008
About the author
Kim Antieau
123 books56 followersKim Antieau is the author of several novels and short stories for adults and teenagers, including Mercy, Unbound. She graduated Eastern Michigan University and lives with her husband, poet Mario Milosevic, in the Pacific Northwest. Aside from writing books, she works as a librarian.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 27, 2024
Rating: 3.5 stars
This is a very different type of mermaid book than the usual. For one thing, it's set in desert, which became home to the Old Mermaids when the Old Sea dried up. But it's more than just a mermaid fantasy tale. Wonderful characters and an interesting concept, this is a book that ends with a lovely warm feeling.
This is a very different type of mermaid book than the usual. For one thing, it's set in desert, which became home to the Old Mermaids when the Old Sea dried up. But it's more than just a mermaid fantasy tale. Wonderful characters and an interesting concept, this is a book that ends with a lovely warm feeling.
July 24, 2010
I love this author. The Jigsaw Woman is one of my very favorite books, and this is magical in a different way. It's about Myla Alvarez, a woman who has ditched her life after a series of challenges and moved to the Sonoran desert where she begins telling stories of the Old Mermaids who populated the desert when the Old Sea dried up. Myla's world is wacky and full of wonder, and the book is filled with wacky characters, also full of wonder (as well as woe). And it's all good until Myla begins to doubt herself. And then the magic really starts. This book is for anyone who ever banked on a dream or lived their life marching to their own drum sure they could hear the pattern and then found out that maybe the pattern was just their own heartbeat. It's about doubt and faith and friendship. I really loved it.
Rated: A+
Rated: A+
February 28, 2010
Gorgeous writing with lovely characters that I was sad to leave at The End. Set in Tucson Az.a woman wanders the dry desert washes searching for artifacts left by the Old Mermaids after the great inland sea that once covered that landscape dried up. Every bit of refuse has a special, lyrical story attached, told by this woman. She also shelters illegal immigrants and helps them on their way gifting each with a particular tale of the Old Mermaids. The book's ending is sublime and perfect. Hooray for Ms. Antieau!
March 20, 2010
I always have such an excruatingly difficult time writing reviews for Ms. Antieau's books because they sing to me on such a deeply intimate, personal soul level. Church of the Old Mermaids is no exception. It is one of her finest works to date, and I truly hope there is a sequel. I figure that's the best review I can give, so there you have it.
June 17, 2013
Absolutely amazing.
March 15, 2015
Whimsical
February 21, 2018
This book was absolutely what I needed... magical realism, insight into life, joy and struggle on each page. It was perfect. Myla has a wonderful life, telling stories in the Church of the Old Mermaids and creating the Old Mermaid Sanctuary. Then someone from her past returns with information that shakes up her world and brings all she is into question. I loved her journey, her struggle and her resolution. I left part of my heart in the desert wash walking with the Old Mermaids reading this. And I’m okay with that.
January 3, 2015
What a sweet, sweet read! Kim Antireau's storytelling skills are like sweet music to this readers ear.
When Myla Alverez caught her husband in bed, her bed, with the neighbors wife she went into a downward spiral. Then she had a dream about a mermaid that gave her a feeling of hope and purpose. Stories about Mermaids began flowing out of her mouth as though she was some sort of medium to the mermaid spirit world. These stories were told to people who would come to the Church of the Old Mermaids, which was a table Myla sat up every Saturday in front of the Antigone bookstore on Fourth Avenue, in Tucson, Arizona.
Myla got solace from walking the dry wash by the Old Mermaid Sanctuary where she lived since leaving her husband. (Or did her husband leave her by sleeping with the neighbor's wife?) She collected "stuff" from the wash to sell on Fourth Avenue. Some would call this "stuff" trash, but one man's trash is another's........
People would pick an item up off her table of wares and ask, "What's this?" Then out of Myla's mouth would come a fantastic tale about one of the thirteen mermaids occupying her mystical world of consoling redemption. Each story seemed to be just what that person needed to console their tortured heart at the time. And consoling people consoled Myla. It gave her purpose.
She created the Old Mermaid Sanctuary out of a need to help illegal immigrants. She took care of five houses for five different families who were very seldom there. She harbored the illegals on these properties even though she risked going to jail for doing so. They became her family, and vise versa. And, oh what a loving dynamic family they became! Then David Crow, the son of one of the property owners she was caretaker for, came back into her life, and this threw her into another tailspin for a time. But, persistent and patient love wins out in the end.
Gotta say. I cried toward the end. I will be reading all the Kim Antieau Old Mermaid novels, without a doubt. On the back of this book I found Kim Antieau's blog, which is wonderful, too.
Kim Antieau Blog - as delightful as her books, and where you can find all her books and backstory.
When Myla Alverez caught her husband in bed, her bed, with the neighbors wife she went into a downward spiral. Then she had a dream about a mermaid that gave her a feeling of hope and purpose. Stories about Mermaids began flowing out of her mouth as though she was some sort of medium to the mermaid spirit world. These stories were told to people who would come to the Church of the Old Mermaids, which was a table Myla sat up every Saturday in front of the Antigone bookstore on Fourth Avenue, in Tucson, Arizona.
Myla got solace from walking the dry wash by the Old Mermaid Sanctuary where she lived since leaving her husband. (Or did her husband leave her by sleeping with the neighbor's wife?) She collected "stuff" from the wash to sell on Fourth Avenue. Some would call this "stuff" trash, but one man's trash is another's........
People would pick an item up off her table of wares and ask, "What's this?" Then out of Myla's mouth would come a fantastic tale about one of the thirteen mermaids occupying her mystical world of consoling redemption. Each story seemed to be just what that person needed to console their tortured heart at the time. And consoling people consoled Myla. It gave her purpose.
She created the Old Mermaid Sanctuary out of a need to help illegal immigrants. She took care of five houses for five different families who were very seldom there. She harbored the illegals on these properties even though she risked going to jail for doing so. They became her family, and vise versa. And, oh what a loving dynamic family they became! Then David Crow, the son of one of the property owners she was caretaker for, came back into her life, and this threw her into another tailspin for a time. But, persistent and patient love wins out in the end.
Gotta say. I cried toward the end. I will be reading all the Kim Antieau Old Mermaid novels, without a doubt. On the back of this book I found Kim Antieau's blog, which is wonderful, too.
Kim Antieau Blog - as delightful as her books, and where you can find all her books and backstory.
September 19, 2009
Myla goes out each day into the desert and finds broken articles and gifts from the wash, a dried up old river bed. The desert and the creatures there seem to speak to her and guide her to find what needs to be found. She sells these things, asking people to make donations as the items are "excactly what you need."
She lives as a caretaker to a number of houses that only shelter their families part of the year.
Ten years before her life had been radically changed by a dream of the Old Mermaids. Sorrowful and wounded from a broken marriage, she dreamed the Old Mermaids and in honor of them, she created a church and a sanctuary. Among the house owned by remote families, she created sanctuaries for people who need not only shelter but love, acceptance and understanding. All the while, she expands the stories of her dream, telling the fables, parables, and legends of the Old Mermaids, a collection of feisty, wonderful creatures with big hearts.
Living this life brings Myla peace, continuity and magic. Change rumbles into her life in the form of someone from her past, endangering her peace of mind and the fragile balance she maintains between denial and honesty. It changes thing and in the shimmering night of the desert brings a greater wisdom and enduring joy.
A lyrical, beautiful novel. One of those books you want to read again and again. Can I be an Old Mermaid? Perhaps I am, even though I don't live in the desert. Perhaps you are too! Read this book and find out.
She lives as a caretaker to a number of houses that only shelter their families part of the year.
Ten years before her life had been radically changed by a dream of the Old Mermaids. Sorrowful and wounded from a broken marriage, she dreamed the Old Mermaids and in honor of them, she created a church and a sanctuary. Among the house owned by remote families, she created sanctuaries for people who need not only shelter but love, acceptance and understanding. All the while, she expands the stories of her dream, telling the fables, parables, and legends of the Old Mermaids, a collection of feisty, wonderful creatures with big hearts.
Living this life brings Myla peace, continuity and magic. Change rumbles into her life in the form of someone from her past, endangering her peace of mind and the fragile balance she maintains between denial and honesty. It changes thing and in the shimmering night of the desert brings a greater wisdom and enduring joy.
A lyrical, beautiful novel. One of those books you want to read again and again. Can I be an Old Mermaid? Perhaps I am, even though I don't live in the desert. Perhaps you are too! Read this book and find out.
June 4, 2010
"Myla Alvarez, novice, walks into the Sonoran desert near Tucson, Arizona and begins telling stories about the Old Mermaids who were washed ashore onto the New Desert when the Old Sea dried up. In this mystical new world, they lived, created, and walked in beauty. Myla finds sustenance and meaning their lives and stories. But she worries tht Homeland Security may discover the illegal immigrants she harbors at the Old Mermaid Sanctuary. When an old friend reenters her life, Myla begins the doubt herself and the wisdom of preserving the Old Mermaid Sanctuary. Will the Old Mermaids come to her aid? Church Of The Old Mermaids is a tale of redemption, love, compassion, and mystery."
~~back cover
OMG -- what an incredible book! I couldn't get into the first few chapters, but as I kept reading ... the mystery and lyricism and hop drew me in, and I walked the wash with Myla and the Old Mermaids. This isn't a book that can be easily explained; it weaves itself between many different layers and textures, often with the old orange rope, to make certain no one gets left behind. You'll just have to read it, to experience the joy and love of the Old Mermaid Sanctuary for yourself.
~~back cover
OMG -- what an incredible book! I couldn't get into the first few chapters, but as I kept reading ... the mystery and lyricism and hop drew me in, and I walked the wash with Myla and the Old Mermaids. This isn't a book that can be easily explained; it weaves itself between many different layers and textures, often with the old orange rope, to make certain no one gets left behind. You'll just have to read it, to experience the joy and love of the Old Mermaid Sanctuary for yourself.
April 24, 2010
Myra collects debris and trash in a wash in the Sonora desert to sell on saturdays in a streetside stall. Myra is, however, really selling the stories embodied in the items - stories from the Old Mermaids who inhabited the area when the sea dried up and the mermaids had to adapt to a waterless existence. There is whimsy, a touch of mystery and a whole lot of compassion in this book which also concerns itself with the sanctuary Myra (and the old Mermaids) offers for immigrants making the crossing north from Mexico and Myra's own healing process after a damaging divorce. Excellent read for the romantic soul in all of us, with slightly beautifully surreal edges at time and metaphors which have endured the closing. Not for die hard realists. This book is a keeper and a lender. Would work real well with other-worldly, sensitive teens of both genders who tire of the crowded twilight vampire highways. There are resolutions but they are not saccharine.
November 21, 2008
Aaand that was good! This story was told in very simple language, which I have to admit I always enjoy, and the story itself had many little stories of the Old Mermaids nested inside of it. This book may have been self-published, and I can tell why. It's not the kind of book that big publishers would think would sell, but there's still something about it. The overarching theme of finding your balance and self-reliance but not isolating yourself from community really hit home. I enjoyed the tale of the main character's path to her own balance even though she thought she had it all figured out and the tales of the mermaids quite a lot and the stories of the people the main character surrounded herself with. Overall, gorgeous.
March 26, 2011
This was the first of Kim's books that I really, really got into. I love the characters, loved the role that storytelling plays in the novel. Found the backdrop setting of Arizona and immigration issues fascinating. Myla and David's story is the central theme, and I wish it had been developed a little more in the final chapters of the book. Myla's implosion needed more build up to make it sync with her personality, I thought. still, I really, really enjoyed this one.
April 13, 2014
This is my first self-published novel, and I am so glad I read it. I am heading to Tucson in two weeks, and the book and it's characters will be with me as I visit. Myla and her motley crew of novice mermaids are well worth meeting. I especially appreciate the fairy tale quality to this tale, in spite of the real horrors that migrants go through in the borderlands between the US and Mexico. I will be looking for my own mermaid experience while visiting the desert.
September 7, 2013
Antieau finishes with an upbeat satisfying end . Some dues ex machina.
November 16, 2014
This is a sweet story. Good friends make life fun.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews