The Mermaid Chair
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品牌: Sue Monk Kidd
基本信息出版社:Penguin (2006年3月7日)外文书名:美人鱼主席平装:368页正文语种:英语ISBN:0143036696条形码:9780143036692商品尺寸:19.6 x 13.2 x 1.7 cm商品重量:236 g品牌:PenguinASIN:0143036696商品描述内容简介在线阅读本书
A dazzling novel of passion and spiritualitythe instant blockbuster bestseller from the author ofThe Secret Life of Bees
Sue Monk Kidds phenomenal debut,The Secret Life of Bees, became a runaway bestseller that is still on theNew York Timesbestseller list more than two years after its paperback publication. Now, in her luminous new novel, Kidd has woven a transcendent tale that will thrill her legion of fans. Telling the story of Jessie Sullivana love story between a woman and a monk, a woman and her husband, and ultimately a woman and her own soulKidd charts a journey of awakening and self-discovery illuminated with a brilliance that only a writer of her ability could conjure.
Book clubs, start your engines. . . . [The Mermaid Chair] is a tapestry strengthened by bonds between women that bridge pain and loss.
USA Today
The pages all but turn themselves.Parade
Soulful in its probing of the human heart.San Francisco Chronicle
Kidd draws connections from the feminine to the divine to the erotic that a lesser writer wouldnt see, and might not have the guts to follow.Time
Its hard to put this book down for things like eating and sleeping.Elle媒体推荐书评
Amazon.com
Sue Monk Kidd''sThe Mermaid Chairis 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,The Secret Life of Bees, 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,The Mermaid Chairforces 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--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Every aspect of this audiobook, from the enchanting music that marks the story''s dramatic moments to the narrator''s intimate delivery, draws listeners into Kidd''s mystical world. Set on Egret Island, a fictional barrier island off the coast of South Carolina, the novel focuses on 42-year-old Jessie, a Southern housewife who embarks on a journey of self-discovery after learning that her mother, who''s still distraught over her husband''s death 33 years earlier, has cut off her own finger. Foss speaks with grace and tenderness, deftly capturing the myriad characters who enter Jessie''s life, including her love interest, an introspective attorney turned monk who''s about to take his finals vows. Perhaps the book''s most important character, however, is the land itself, and Foss wisely gives as much weight to Kidd''s detailed depictions of the island''s lush flora and fauna as to the characters themselves, never rushing through the descriptions and always reading these passages with an appropriate note of reverence.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to theAudio CDedition.
FromBookmarks Magazine
Critics generally agree that despite some thematic similarities,The Mermaid Chairis a sophomoric slump compared to Kidds bestselling debut novel,The Secret Life of Bees(2002). Kidd, whos also authored several inspirational books, draws on her theological background to depict her characters awakening states. Despite complimenting some beautiful passages describing the Southern landscape, critics quickly ridiculed the novels enlightened romancefor Jessie, one of "transgression and betrayal," but "also mystery and what felt like holiness." The novels glacial pace and awkward mermaid symbolism only detracted from what could have been a poignant love story. If youre a fan, however, perhaps there is enough pain and sacrifice to keep you reading.Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
FromAudioFile
Narrator Eliza Foss puts the magic in this remarkable work. The soft Southern accents she lends to protagonist Jessie Sullivan and the story''s other characters are perfect for its setting, a South Carolina island. Foss characterizes Jessie''s lover, Thomas, a Benedictine monk, as otherworldly and her husband, Hugh, as solidly grounded. As Foss depicts Jessie''s struggles with her men, her mother, and herself with genuine emotion, her clear, touching narration lets the author''s beautiful imagery shine. The careful listener not only enjoys a marvelous reading of a lovely story but also grows and learns along with Jessie. J.J.B. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine--Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine--This text refers to theAudio CDedition.
FromBooklist
Kidd''s debut novel,The Secret Life of Bees(2000), is a bona fide publishing success story: it was on theNew York Timespaperback best-seller list for 81 weeks. Her follow-up, while quite different in plot, shares some themes with its predecessor. Forty-three-year old Jessie Sullivan is pulled out of her staid life in Atlanta with her husband and daughter, back to her childhood home on Egret Island after her mother, Nelle, cuts off one of her own fingers. Jessie has been uneasy with the island since her beloved father died when she was nine in a boating accident, a tragedy Jessie has always felt partially responsible for. At the behest of her mother''s best friend, Jessie journeys back to the island to try to reconnect with the mother she''s never been close to. Jessie wants to know what drove her obviously disturbed mother to sever her finger, and she thinks Father Dominic, one of the Benedictine monks who resides in a nearby monastery, might know more about her mother''s state of mind. But it is another monk who claims Jessie''s attention--handsome Brother Thomas, who ignites in Jessie a passion so intense it overwhelms her, leading her to question her marriage and rediscover her artistic drive. Kidd''s second offering is just as gracefully written as her first and possesses an equally compelling story. It should appeal to the many readers who made her first novel a hit with book clubs.Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Chicago Tribune
Richly rewarding.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
The Baltimore Sun
What savesThe Mermaid Chairfrom the curse of the second-novel blues is its warmhearted, resilient heroine.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
A richly complex exploration of a woman''s search for her own identity....A well-told tale.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
