For such a slim volume this novel holds so much within its pages. A fascinating insight into the lives of those who make their home on the small Caribbean island of Black Conch, a heartfelt romance and a tender exploration of women and their relationships with one another.
The story focuses on the inhabitants of Black Conch in the summer of 1976 when some of them are involved in the capture of a mermaid. Naturally superstitious, the islanders have their reservations about interfering with such a powerful creature. For them the sea holds power and they are wary of what the capture of the mermaid could mean for them. For the white men who chartered the boat which captured the mermaid this is a money-making opportunity.
The opening scenes focus on the capture of the mermaid. Exhilarating in the power depicted, yet from the outset there is a sense of unease about what has taken place.
Daniel, a young man living on the island, determines to rescue the mermaid and return her to sea. Things don’t quite go to plan and she ends up in an old tub in his home. He watches over her, determined to help her escape. Over time he feeds her and watches, astounded, as she turns into a woman. He falls in love with her and is in awe of her. Enlisting the help of Arcadia Rain, a white woman who owns a lot of land on Black Conch, he starts to teach her language and try to assimilate her into island life.
Perhaps inevitably, things don’t end up quite as we might hope. People are disappointed and there are old scores settled with Aycayia placed at the heart of events.
Quite a different read from my usual fare but I was absorbed in this world and found myself desperate to see how things would be resolved.