The Mermaid’s Daughter

The tale of the Little Mermaid may be well-known, but don’t look for the Disneyfied version in Claycomb’s fine debut. Here, the story swirls around Kathleen Conarn, a young student learning opera at conservatory. She’s not just any music student, but an amazing soprano from a family of musical talents (her Irish-born father, Robin, is a famous composer). Kathleen has always experienced extreme pain piercing the bottom of her feet and, strangely, the only thing that temporarily soothes her is seawater. She feels a strong connection to the sea, though her mother drowned herself in Ireland when Kathleen was just a baby. When it turns out that the women in Kathleen’s family have had a history of suicidal acts near the sea for more than a few generations, the situation begins to smell fishy, and Kathleen’s girlfriend, Harry (short for Harriet), wants to take her to Ireland to see if they can uncover some truth about Kathleen’s family history and her suffering. Claycomb structures the book into three acts, like an opera, and deftly switches between Kathleen’s and Harry’s voices—punctuated by Robin’s “Composer Notes”—to create the effect of singers baring their souls. Written with attention to musicality and the murmuring backdrop of the incessant ocean, this inventive story captures the mystery, tragic loss, and beauty of Hans Christian Andersen’s original mermaid tale while thoughtfully and passionately updating it. (Mar.)