Five Book Friday
by Stacy Wayne D., July 28, 2023 8:46 AM
The mermaid — a mythological symbol of mystique, power, beauty, sex, and predation. In a time where the patriarchy rages on unfettered — it's no wonder we're all fascinated with the idea of a beautiful creature luring a man to his death. With the success of Disney's The Little Mermaid live-action remake and Netflix's popular Merpeople documentary series, mermaids are making their splash again, cannonball-style. In a long-overdue renaissance, authors have decided to veer more heavily into the darker aesthetics of our piscine friends, and thank goodness. Take a deep breath and dive into the 5 mermaid books I'm currently flipping my fins about.
by Jade Song
This list kicks off with the deranged, obsessive, dark-as-ink Chlorine. In this debut literary horror tale from newcomer, Jade Song, we're shown the lengths a competitive mermaid... pardon, swimmer... will go to for success, and the even further, depraved lengths she'll go to when she fails. As much a coming-of-age novel as it is a new body horror classic, Chlorine unsettles with massive effect. Fully, unabashedly obsessed.
by Mira Grant
If summer 2023 wasn't a clear enough indicator, we do not belong in the ocean. But that doesn't stop Mira Grant's ragtag group of gay, disabled scientists from journeying to its darkest depths on a rescue mission, sans any implosions, of course. But what they face in the darkness worse than the ocean's unfathomable pressure is — you guessed it — mermaids. The viciously hungry kind. Claustrophobic, masterfully written, and crushing, Into the Drowning Deep reaches new fathoms in the aqua-horror genre.
by Rivers Solomon
To simply call The Deep a 'mermaid story' would be an egregious disservice to its unparalleled depth. Rivers Solomon has written a perfectly woven, multidimensional think-piece that reimagines enslaved women lost at sea as a sophisticated civilization thriving deep beneath the waves. If this one doesn't bring tears to your eyes, call your therapist. Immersive, wondrous, and deeply affecting. Don't walk — run.
by Melissa Broder
Alright, you've made it far enough for a pallet-cleanser. Not nearly as unsettling or weighty as the rest in this list, The Pisces is the dark, romantic, merman comedy that will have you laughing out loud in public. Melissa Broder proves on nearly every page that eroticism and existential dread are a Heaven-made match. Additionally, is there anything funnier than a down-on-her-luck, educated woman? Emphatically, definitely, no.
by Cassandra Khaw
Unequivocally the weirdest thing you will ever read in 112 pages, in the best way. An imprisoned, land-bound mermaid princess, her non-binary plague doctor bestie, and feral, cannibalistic lost boys make up the absolutely twisted cast of characters in Cassandra Khaw's new novella. Pitch-black and not for the faint of heart by any means, The Salt Grows Heavy is both an amalgamation and utter destruction of all the fairy tales we've been told about mermaids. I also recommend a dictionary. Khaw is colorful.
|