Narrated by Katherine Kellgren. Unabridged audiobook on 7 CDS. 8 hours, 1 minute. Macmillan Audio, September, 2012. 9781427222176. (Audiobook obtained at Odyssey reception at ALA Annual)
This 2013 Odyssey Honor tells two stories seamlessly. In 1873, a young naturalist named Ezra Doyle discovers a mermaid named Syrenka during his journeys along the coast off Plymouth, Massachusetts. The two fall in love and meet secretly until they are discovered by a fisherman, whose nets happen to ensnare Syrenka.
In modern-day Plymouth, seventeen-year-old Hester lives with the knowledge that all of her female relatives, her mother, grandmother and reaching back for generations have died within days of giving birth to their daughters. So Hester closed off her heart to the possibility of romance, choosing to ignore the signals that her best friend Peter is giving and hating the fact that she is hurting him. All her resolve weakens when she meets Ezra on the beach one night. It is through Ezra that Hester begins to piece together the beginnings of the curse that befell her family.
For some reason, I nearly abandoned this before the end of the first disk. I found either the performance or the language a bit overwrought. While I have loved most of Kellgren's performances, I wasn't a fan of her narration of the Kane Chronicles, so I may have brought some of that bias to this listening. I'm glad I stuck it out though because I was soon immersed in both worlds and very eager to learn the outcome.
Kellgren seemed to dial back a bit and settle into what she does best, accents. Each character had a unique and distinct voice. I also thought the pacing was perfect. I wanted her to hurry up a bit, instead of feeling like I was being yanked along at a breathless pace.
As mermaids stories go, I was glad that Elizabeth Fama kept hers "real." These were wild creatures with fangs and claws who hunt for subsistence. But the most jarring violence is the human reaction. Olaf, the fisherman brutally rapes Syrenka and impregnates her. It is mainly this scene which pushes the readership of this lovely, dark and tragic tale into high school though a mature and thoughtful eighth grader could handle it.
The worldbuilding in both times is vivid. All the characters are so well drawn, even the minor ones. I so wanted more of the pastor and Peter. I've been to Plimouth Plantation three or four times because I help chaperon the seventh grade trip to Boston and there. I felt she captured the occasional awkwardness of the reactions of young teens well as well as describing the place and its juxtaposition in the real world.
No comments:
Post a Comment