"The Mermaid of Black Conch" by Monique Roffey

"The Mermaid of Black Conch" by Monique Roffey will be the April pick for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club. Fantasy/mythology/etc. are generally not my thing, so this is not something I would have likely chosen to read on my own.   

April is still several weeks away, but I was trying to decide which book to read next, and opened this one on my e-reader, just to see how long it was and adjust the typeface size to my liking. Before I knew it, I had read an entire chapter, and before the evening was over, I was already through the first 100 pages.  ;)  I finished it in three days (with a few interruptions).        

The story is set primarily in 1976 on a small Caribbean island, and told from the viewpoints of several different characters.  David is out in his small boat, fishing and playing his guitar, when he spots a mermaid watching him (!). Soon, he is coming to visit her and play music for her every day -- until she is caught and reeled in by two American fishermen, who are gleeful at the prospect of the huge sums of money they will get for her.  David comes to her rescue and hides her in his home, intending to return her to the sea -- but before he can do that, she begins to transform back into the human woman she once was. Her name is Aycayia.

Of course, this leads to all sorts of complications, as David falls in love with Aycayia, and more and more people learn his secret...  including his nosy neighbour, Priscilla;  Miss Arcadia Rain, a white woman whose family has owned most of the island for more than 100 years; and Arcadia's young son, Reggie, who is deaf (and whose absent father is David's uncle, Life), and who forms a special friendship with Aycayia.  

This was a fast, lyrical read. Parts of it are written in Caribbean dialect, which might take some getting used to!  There's a cinematic quality to the book:  I could see it like a movie in my head. (And was reminded of other mermaid/sea creature-themed movies I've seen -- "Splash" with Tom Hanks & Daryl Hannah, "The Shape of Water" with Sally Hawkins -- and even "Beach Blanket Bingo" from my childhood,  lol.) 

As I said, it's not my usual kind of reading, but I wound up enjoying this very much (although "enjoy" doesn't seem like quite the right word). It surprised me and touched me.  The way Aycayia was (mis)treated, by both men and women (not all of them, but...), made me sad.  :(   I had tears in my eyes near the end. 

4.5 stars on StoryGraph, rounded down to 4 for Goodreads.  

This was Book #5 read to date in 2025 (and Book #2 finished in February), bringing me to 11% of my 2025 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 1 book ahead of schedule to meet my goal.  :)  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2025 tagged as "2025 books."