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The Mermaid Chairby Sue Monk Kidd
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:The luminous new novel from the author of the phenomenal bestseller The Secret Life of Bees. Sue Monk Kidd?s stunning debut, The Secret Life of Bees, has transformed her into a genuine literary star. Now, in her much-anticipated new novel, Kidd has woven a transcendent tale that will thrill her legion of fans and cement her reputation as one of the most remarkable writers at work today. Inside the abbey of a Benedictine monastery on tiny Egret Island, just off the coast of South Carolina, resides a beautiful and mysterious chair ornately carved with mermaids and dedicated to a saint who, legend claims, was a mermaid before her conversion. Jessie Sullivan?s conventional life has been ?molded to the smallest space possible.? So when she is called home to cope with her mother?s startling and enigmatic act of violence, Jessie finds herself relieved to be apart from her husband, Hugh. Jessie loves Hugh, but on Egret Island — amid the gorgeous marshlands and tidal creeks — she becomes drawn to Brother Thomas, a monk who is mere months from taking his final vows. What transpires will unlock the roots of her mother?s tormented past, but most of all, as Jessie grapples with the tension of desire and the struggle to deny it, she will find a freedom that feels overwhelmingly right. What inspires the yearning for a soul mate? Few writers have explored, as Kidd does, the lush, unknown region of the feminine soul where the thin line between the spiritual and the erotic exists. The Mermaid Chair is a vividly imagined novel about the passions of the spirit and the ecstasies of the body; one that illuminates a woman?s self-awakening with the brilliance and power that only a writer of Kidd?s ability could conjure. Review:"Jessie Sullivan, the protagonist of this rewarding second novel by the author of the bestselling Secret Life of Bees, is awakened by a shrilling phone late one night to horrifying news: her mother, who has never recovered from her husband Joe's death 33 years earlier, has chopped off her own finger with a cleaver. Frantic with worry, and apprehensive at the thought of returning to the small island where she grew up in the shadow of her beloved father's death and her mother's fanatical Catholicism, 42-year-old Jessie gets on the next plane, leaving behind her psychiatrist husband, Hugh, and college-age daughter, Dee. On tiny Egret Island, off the coast of South Carolina, Jessie tries to care for her mother, Nelle, who is not particularly eager to be taken care of. Jessie gets help from Nelle's best friends, feisty shopkeeper Kat and Hepzibah, a dignified chronicler of slave history. To complicate matters, Jessie finds herself strangely relieved to be free of a husband she loves — and wildly attracted to Brother Thomas, n Whit O'Conner, a junior monk at the island's secluded Benedictine monastery. Confusing as the present may be, the past is rearing its head, and Jessie, who has never understood why her mother is still distraught by Joe's death, begins to suspect that she's keeping a terrible secret. Writing from the perspective of conflicted, discontented Jessie, Kidd achieves a bold intensity and complexity that wasn't possible in The Secret Life of Bees, narrated by teenage Lily. Jessie's efforts to cope with marital stagnation; Whit's crisis of faith; and Nelle's tormented reckoning with the past will resonate with many readers. This emotionally rich novel, full of sultry, magical descriptions of life in the South, is sure to be another hit for Kidd. Agent, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. 20-city author tour. (Apr. 5)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:"Bestselling Kidd has a gift for language, but the saccharine aftertaste won't go away." Kirkus Reviews Review:"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." Booklist Review:"Readers who admired The Secret Life of Bees will likely find pleasure in Kidd's new combination of legend, personal history, spirituality, and humanity in quest of its own significance." Boston Globe Review:"Kidd is a writer who could make a shopping list sound fun. Her imagination, originality and command of language never cease. She is simply a profound storyteller." Denver Post Review:"Those who fell in love with Kidd's first novel will find pleasure here." Portland Oregonian Review:" Although the pacing of The Mermaid Chair at times seems plodding...she slowly and carefully unveils her story about the meaning of love, the necessity of risk, and the power of forgiveness." Orlando Sentinel Synopsis:A dazzling novel of passion and spiritualityathe instant blockbuster bestseller from the author of The Secret Life of Bees Sue Monk Kiddas phenomenal debut, The Secret Life of Bees, became a runaway bestseller that is still on the New York Times bestseller 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 Sullivanaa love story between a woman and a monk, a woman and her husband, and ultimately a woman and her own soulaKidd charts a journey of awakening and self-discovery illuminated with a brilliance that only a writer of her ability could conjure. aBook clubs, start your engines. . . . The Mermaid Chair] is a tapestry strengthened by bonds between women that bridge pain and loss.a aUSA Today aThe pages all but turn themselves.a aParade aSoulful in its probing of the human heart.a aSan Francisco Chronicle aKidd draws connections from the feminine to the divine to the erotic that a lesser writer wouldnat see, and might not have the guts to follow.a aTime aItas hard to put this book down for things like eating and sleeping.a aElle About the AuthorSue Monk Kidd's debut novel, The Secret Life of Bees, has sold more than 3,500,000 copies. She is also the author of several acclaimed memoirs and the recipient of numerous awards, including the Poets and Writers award. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
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