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The Mermaid of Black Conch
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Mermaid of Black Conch -- Whole Book Discussion
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We'll use this thread to discuss the whole book (spoilers allowed). First impressions, themes that stood out to you, praise/criticism... It's all fair game.
That’s a great picture. Do not remember it from the book.
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It's not from the book, but seemed fitting. I found it online while looking for something I thought reminded me of the book.
Any one care to share their initial reactions to the capture scene (the dynamics at play, the way it was written, your own feelings while reading it)?
It has been awhile since I read the book but I do remember the capture scene with the bullying, ugly-American, father and his cowed son. The crew sensed the wrongness of the situation but the $$ kept them silent. My feelings? I was repulsed, especially by the father.
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It was a rather visceral scene and "repulsed" is a great way to sum up my reaction, as well. There was a lot going on there, as well:
- Wealth disparity/history of colonialism/race (white, rich Americans tourists being able to basically pay and do what they want)
- Man vs. Nature (hunting as sport; desire to control/dominant the sea/animals)
- Sexism/Misogyny (when it turns out to be a mermaid, it becomes a pretty complex metaphor for male possession/control of women, enslavement, questions of what defines an animal vs. a person---and consequently, property vs. independence/rights)
The son has some redeeming qualities through his hesitation and doubt. The father is depicted as completely unlikeable (greedy, self-important, privileged, cruel, etc.).
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I think what Roffey excelled at was taking the messy reality of all those ideas and making a coherent story, showing their effect on the individuals and culture of one Caribbean island. As David writes, "Later I saw that change came as change always comes, from a chain of events with a long history, too long to see from back to front, till it come."
What struck me about the catch were the themes of :revolting sexual conquest - "every man wished he could be the one
with the rod", "I just wanted to piss on her", the physical experience
Hank's coming of age - wondering about his reactions and the
subsequent verbalizations, "Did you see
her tits?" "Maybe big game fishing was exciting after all", Dad thinking, "Imagine the pride
of having a son capable of such a
conquest"
Man against Catch; Man against Creature - "The ocean was quiet..
"Take only what you need"
I don't have a Hemmingway background to compare, but Roffey's use of the legendary mermaid stories and the setting in the Caribbean drew me in.
I heard Roffey (in person which was a nice Covid-era treat) reading from the novel last week, and she chose the catch scene to read, the part where they first catch a glimpse of the mermaid (the "did you see her tits" part per Sarah's post).She has said that she took much of the fishing scenes from Hemingway's Islands in the Stream, but also from a picture of the author:
I did see a photo of Hemingway standing next to three or four huge marlin in the Bahamas, and he stood proud. It’s a terrible picture. How dated it is now. They looked like racks of beef, or like human bodies strung up. I had that photo pinned to the wall while writing this book.
I agree with Marc, there are so many threads and the catch scene really gives the reader a visceral punch with how ugly it all is, which clarifies the other relationships. Basically all of the male-female sexual relationships in this book are warped or hindered by power/lack of it and jealousy. The father is the worst sadist of the lot, but its by degrees, including the women who curse her originally and Pamela and Pothos in the modern age, Life running away from Arcadia, etc. Was the difference in outcome for Arcadia and David the difference in their ability to let go? David is so patient and yet he ultimately desires possession. Arcadia, also prepared to give up her son, is emotionally able to accept instability from Life, exactly the acceptance that gives him the space to commit. I love the line about not letting history win over love.
Other things I really liked:
meanings in the names, like Arcadia (a landlocked paradise) and Pamela (honey sweetness, clearly ironical)
the fact that the Pamela's curse and Rosamund actually freed Arcadia by working and destroying the house - creates a sense of balance for me, that even the acts of the gods are unpredictable in their consequences.
Paul wrote: "I heard Roffey (in person which was a nice Covid-era treat) reading from the novel last week, and she chose the catch scene to read, the part where they first catch a glimpse of the mermaid (the "d..."Thanks so much for sharing. Lucky you!
The capture scene was so captivating and read like I was watching a movie of this action.Marc seems to nicely capture the thoughts running through my head while reading this book.
In the capture scene the bully father so reminded me of a more recent person who was not as successful as he portrayed and just looking to exploit something for his own ego. But definitely an ugly American who thought his "license" gave him claim to what ever was in the net. Definitely an ugly American but when you are poor without resources you don't want to bite the hand that feeds you.
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David desires to have sex with her, but I don't think he desires possession. The fact that we so readily equate men having sex with "possession" is one more example of the patriarchal mores that have pervaded, well, everything. David is the good guy here. He rescues Aycayia, he feeds and cleans up after her, gives her his bed, and doesn't approach her beyond anything she is clearly comfortable with.
Whitney wrote: "Jenna wrote: "David is so patient and yet he ultimately desires possession. "David desires to have sex with her, but I don't think he desires possession. The fact that we so readily equate men ha..."
Whitney, I agree with you up to the point he asks her to marry him. That was a bridge to far for her, and marriage is a ritual that originates in ownership, even if individuals are able to find a different way to be inside it. In his diary David says he was still learning at that point, and I take him at his word that his feelings were complex. He is definitely a good guy, but if sex didn't get mixed up with possession there would be no conflict, he wouldn't have had to school himself to wait, wouldn't have burst out with the marriage proposal before he meant to. Even for David, the line is blurry, and that is why I loved this book - its not just the villains who are possessive, although their covetousness is driven by greed not love, but David and Arcadia also struggle with how to be pure in their love, which I think is human, and also gives the novel its hopeful notes.
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David desires to have sex with her, but I don't think he desires possession. The fact that we so readi..."
Nope. Too many words. My point was that David never desired to possess Aycayia. As he reflects later, his heart was pure when he spontaneously asked her to marry him, it was right after that when he realized his mistake in that marriage does imply possession, due to the history you laid out. His motives were pure, but pure motives run against reality.
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- Equity, balance, and roles in love relationships (marriage and/or commitment vs individual needs/independence and improved gender equity).
- Acknowledging and living with historical issues of colonialism and racism
It's fascinating to see that photo and anecdote Paul shared and think how at one point, society generally viewed all wildlife as property (and, thus, hunting as pretty socially acceptable even if only done for sport). We are living through many whole sale reconsiderations of what we socially value and consider as acceptable behaviors.
The more I reflect on this book, the more impressed I am with how it brokes no easy answers to many of these issues we struggle with (e.g., no father-of-the-year awards here for Reggie's dad, but he still comes off as a decent person).
Roffey seems to write sympathetically about all the characters except Priscilla (the nosy, scheming neighbor) and Thomas Clayton!
Yes I think it is a strength of the book that the issue of David's relationship with Aycayia can be interpreted in different ways, as the discussion below shows.
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For sure. Roffey has so many issues of contemporary as well as historical concern, as Marc lays out above, but doesn't treat them in any kind of pat or forced way.
It's also great to see this getting wider attention. When I read it in April 2020 there was barely another review on Goodreads. Prize listings do make such a difference.
One aspect that made this an enjoyable read for me was the format/different narrators.I loved that Aycayia's voice was in the form of verse/poem as that lent a feeling of oral storytelling for me, which I thought suited that Aycayia came from the past and her culture based on stories via oral storytelling.
I liked that David's voice was from his journal which allowed him to be reflective and showed how time and age shaped him after Aycayia.
And lastly the omniscient narrator - which told us what happened in the contemporary.
I appreciated that Roffey thought through what year in contemporary time would be the setting for this book.
I had to smile when I read that Roffey knew that setting this story in the present day would have made for a different story was with smart phones and social media that everything would have be recorded "live" and have gone viral. And how that really has changed our world and how we "process" information.
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Has anyone read anything else by Roffey?
She seems pretty prolific, but I'd not heard of her until this book (I'm not sure whether Paul or the Costa Prize first put this novel on my radar.)
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Marc wrote: "I'd not heard of her until this book (I'm not sure whether Paul or the Costa Prize first put this novel on my radar."Hopefully me as I've been banging the drum for this since April 2020 when it was published :-)
I haven't read her other novels though - I remember thinking about The Tryst but passing on it
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It is quite impressive for a first novel - entertaining and quite original but not as polished as the Mermaid. My review
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It's probable that I learned about both the book and its winning the Costa from you Paul! I always seem to hear about the Costa after its awarded (and don't make any effort to follow it).
Thanks for the review link, Hugh. Sounds like a good one.
I have read The White Woman on the Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey.I enjoyed it.
Here is the link to my full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Thank you 21C for choosing this book for us to read. I enjoyed it enormously. It is mysterious, crazy imaginative, and ultimately full of love. I feel as if I got to meet an extraordinary character: the ancient virgin mermaid, with her animal tatoos, her opal pink webbing, and her big heart.
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Artwork by Christina Aabye Poulsen