Mermaids in Paradise by Lydia Millet
Deb and Chip are honeymooning in the
British Virgin Islands when they discover mermaids on a snorkeling trip. What follows is a scarily realistic depiction
of what may actually happen if mermaids were found to be real: denial, hate
groups, exploitation by tourism, etc.
Then things get really weird.
This is a good choice on audio
because the narrator captures Deb. She
is a narcissistic, shallow woman, or so we are led to believe, but there is
more to her. For the first disc or two
you will be listening to her wedding and honeymoon preparations and you will
doubt her depth as a character and her likability. It was amusing listening to her ponder her
life and honeymoon choices so I continued to listen. Then, early in their honeymoon, Chip and Deb
find the mermaids and she becomes more dimensional, but still a little
odd. In fact, everyone is odd, but when
all gets really weird, it all makes sudden sense. Definitely one of the more left field endings
I’ve ever read. But for all that it
still fit.
How would the world react to mermaids? I’m sure leaving them in peace would never be in the cards.
