The mermaid chair sue monk kidd, 2005 penguin group usa 368 pp. Jessie has a husband and child, a mother with a secret who is cutting off her fingers, a father she thinks she killed and. 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. The mermaid chair new york public library overdrive. The mermaid chair tells the story of jessie sullivan, who goes to egret island to tend to her mentally unstable mother, nelle. Her third novel, the invention of wings, was a numberone new york times bestseller and a selection of oprahs book club 2. The paperback of the the mermaid chair by sue monk kidd at barnes.
Her second novel, the mermaid chair, was a number one new york times bestseller and was adapted into a television movie. Her novels have been published in more than thirty countries. Sue monk kidd narrates about jessie sullivan, a 42yearold married woman returning home to egret island, south. Sue monk kidds previous novel, the secret life of bees, has become a book club favorite in recent years.
According to kidds followup to the secret life of bees, theres nothing like a little soulful adultery to get an anemic marriage back on track atlanta housewife and parttime artist jessie sullivan has been in a mild funk since her daughter dee started college. Why do you think jessie is unable to heed the warnings from kat and hepzibah. Or and this was the worst of all a tv show about some intrepid woman traveling alone in the blueness of greece, and id be overcome by the little sparks that seemed to run beneath. Sue monk kidd was raised in the small town of sylvester, georgia, a place that deeply influenced the writing of her first novel the secret life of bees. Sue monk kidds the mermaid chair is the soulful tale of jessie sullivan, a middleaged woman whose stifled dreams and desires take shape during an extended stay on.
The mermaid chair by sue monk kidd discussion guide. Sue monk kidds the mermaid chair is the soulful tale of jessie sullivan, a middleaged woman whose stifled dreams and desires take shape during an extended stay on egret island, where she is caring for her troubled mother, nelle. Those are big shoes to fill, but kidd acquits herself admirably with the mermaid chair. Or and this was the worst of all a tv show about some intrepid woman traveling alone in the blueness of greece, and id be overcome by the little sparks that seemed to run beneath all that, the bloodsapwine, aliveness, whatever it was. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The mermaid chair is a vividly imagined novel about mermaids and saints, about the passions of the spirit and the ecstasies of the body, brilliantly illuminating the awakening of a woman to her own deepest self. The mermaid chair, the second novel by sue monk kidd, explores the life of a woman returning to an island off south carolina and the decisions.
Goodreads members who liked the mermaid chair also liked. The mermaid chair by sue monk kidd penguin random house audio. Her second novel, the mermaid chair, was a numberone new york times bestseller and adapted into a television movie. Sue monk kidds first novel, the secret life of bees, has sold 3 million copies since 2002. What do you think the mermaid chair represents in this book. Her runaway 2002 bestselling fiction debut the secret life of bees followed a 14yearold white runaway who found an unlikely home with three aging black sisters in 1964 south carolina. About the book inside the church of a benedictine monastery on 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. The mermaid chair is the soulful tale of jessie sullivan, a middleaged woman whose stifled dreams and desires take shape during an extended stay on egret island, where she is caring for her troubled mother, nelle. Writing at the height of her narrative and imaginative gifts, sue monk kidd presents a masterpiece of hope, daring, the quest for freedom, and the desire to have a voice in the world and it is now the newest oprahs book club 2. Sue monk kidds 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.
The mermaid chair kindle edition by kidd, sue monk. The mermaid chair suggests that a love affair may be a common response to a marriage that has lost its way, but that in the end it is not a solution. Kidds candid and redemptive portrayal of a woman lost in the smallest spaces of her life ultimately becomes both an affirmation of ordinary married love and the. The mermaid chair, with its considerations of married love versus romantic passion and its explorations of family history and womens friendships, is bound to be a discussion group favorite as well. The mermaid chair the main reason i wanted to read this book is that i loved sue monk kidds first novel, the secret life of bees. Reading guide for the mermaid chair by sue monk kidd. The mermaid chair salt lake county library services. The book of longings book club the mermaid chair trade. The mermaid chair is a 2005 book by american novelist sue monk kidd, who is best known for her 2002 novel, the secret life of bees. But it is consistently the root of all the characters built around it. Read this book as it was a selection for my book club.
The hazleton art league book club s book for october was the mermaid chair. Or a friend at my book club giving a blowbyblow of her bungee jump from a bridge in australia. Summary in her remarkable followup to the widely acclaimed the secret life of bees, sue monk kidd tells a beautiful and haunting story centered around fortytwoyearold jessie sullivan, a woman in quiet crisis whose return home to the island of a mermaid saint becomes a pilgrimage to selfawakening. Its probably best to have your own rental car as the location on the western part of st. A novel by kidd, sue monk and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Her third novel, the invention of wings, an oprahs book club 2. Buy a cheap copy of the mermaid chair book by sue monk kidd. Kidds candid and redemptive portrayal of a woman lost in the smallest spaces. The mermaid chair is a vividly imagined novel about the passions of the spirit and the ecstasies of the body.
From the celebrated author of the secret life of bees, a magnificent novel about two unforgettable american women. The mermaid chair by sue monk kidd book club discussion. If you are looking for a hike away from the crowds, then a trip out to mermaid s chair is what you are looking for. The hazleton art league book clubs book for october was the mermaid chair. Above all, the mermaid chair is a book that embraces the sensual pull of the mermaid and the divine pull of the saint, the commitment to oneself and the commitment to a relationshipand their ability to thrive simultaneously in every womans soul. Summary by sue monk kidd find out what happened at book club. Find books like the mermaid chair from the worlds largest community of readers. Both novels drip with vivid images of hot southern afternoons, droning insects, swooping birds and oases in which nature is the fabric of life.
Its evocative island setting and its deeply flawed but still appealing protagonist will draw in many readers. An awardwinning and international bestselling author, kidd also authored the invention of wings and the mermaid chair, as well as several acclaimed memoirs, including traveling with pomegranates and the dance of the dissident daughter. The mermaid chair by sue monk kidd, paperback barnes. The mermaid chair tv movie 2006 the mermaid chair tv.
Kidds candid and redemptive portrayal of a woman lost in the smallest spaces of her life ultimately becomes both an affirmation of ordinary married love and the sacredness of always saving a part of your soul for yourself. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the mermaid chair. Frankly, i think it was a very good book and chick flick. The mermaid chair is a 2005 novel written by american novelist sue monk kidd, which has also been adapted as a lifetime movie synopsis. A transcendent tale of a womans selfdiscoverythe new york timesbestselling second work of fiction by the author of the secret life of bees and the forthcoming novel the book of longings inside the church of a benedictine monastery on egret island, just off the coast of south caroli. That book sucked me in immediately, and i read it from start to finish in about two hours. Sue monk kidds novels are about lives in traumatic transition, but her writing rarely reflects the disorder her characters are feeling. It illuminates the awakening of a woman to her own deepest self with a brilliance and power that only a writer of kidds ability could conjure.