Don’t miss the extraordinary new novel from Sue Monk Kidd, The Book of Longings – published on 21st April 2020, and available to pre-order now
The Mermaid Chair: The No. 1 New York Times bestseller and award-winning novel, from the celebrated author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings. A beautiful and haunting exploration of human relationships, personal fulfilment and spirituality.
‘Highly charged… full of sexual and spiritual desire. Every bit as moving and convincing as The Secret Life of Bees‘ Mirror
‘Beautiful writing…Kidd’s characters cherish storytelling’ USA Today
‘It’s hard to put this book down for little things like sleeping and eating’ Elle
In her forties, and married for half her life, Jessie Sullivan honestly believes that she is happy. She has a lovely home, a dependable husband and an accomplished and adored teenage daughter. But when shocking news about her mother compels Jessie to visit the island where she grew up, she finds herself drawn to Brother Thomas, a Benedictine monk on the verge of taking his final vows.
Amidst the seductive beauty of the South Carolina salt marshes, Jessie is torn between powerful new longings and her enduring marriage. After all these years she is finally beginning to understand who she really is and where she belongs. But she has still to discover how much of her old life has a place in the new one.
What readers are saying about The Mermaid Chair:
‘I was drawn in from the first sentence and felt emotionally attached to each and every one of the characters. Couldn’t put it down; loved it‘ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘The telling of the tale was thoughtful and very beautiful and I felt that I’d shared Jessie’s journey‘ Amazon reviewer, 5 stars
‘This is a wonderful novel, spellbinding with characters that you can wholly visualise and want to know. The writing is very strong and not for a long time have I remembered the style, flavour and feeling of a novelist’s writing long after I’ve finished it‘ Amazon reviewer, 5 stars
‘This book spoke right to my heart, right to the pull and tug of what it is to be a woman, a wife, a mother. This book is beautifully written and has become my favourite amongst the Sue Monk Kidd novels that I have devoured’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
The Mermaid Chair: The No. 1 New York Times bestseller and award-winning novel, from the celebrated author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings. A beautiful and haunting exploration of human relationships, personal fulfilment and spirituality.
‘Highly charged… full of sexual and spiritual desire. Every bit as moving and convincing as The Secret Life of Bees‘ Mirror
‘Beautiful writing…Kidd’s characters cherish storytelling’ USA Today
‘It’s hard to put this book down for little things like sleeping and eating’ Elle
In her forties, and married for half her life, Jessie Sullivan honestly believes that she is happy. She has a lovely home, a dependable husband and an accomplished and adored teenage daughter. But when shocking news about her mother compels Jessie to visit the island where she grew up, she finds herself drawn to Brother Thomas, a Benedictine monk on the verge of taking his final vows.
Amidst the seductive beauty of the South Carolina salt marshes, Jessie is torn between powerful new longings and her enduring marriage. After all these years she is finally beginning to understand who she really is and where she belongs. But she has still to discover how much of her old life has a place in the new one.
What readers are saying about The Mermaid Chair:
‘I was drawn in from the first sentence and felt emotionally attached to each and every one of the characters. Couldn’t put it down; loved it‘ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘The telling of the tale was thoughtful and very beautiful and I felt that I’d shared Jessie’s journey‘ Amazon reviewer, 5 stars
‘This is a wonderful novel, spellbinding with characters that you can wholly visualise and want to know. The writing is very strong and not for a long time have I remembered the style, flavour and feeling of a novelist’s writing long after I’ve finished it‘ Amazon reviewer, 5 stars
‘This book spoke right to my heart, right to the pull and tug of what it is to be a woman, a wife, a mother. This book is beautifully written and has become my favourite amongst the Sue Monk Kidd novels that I have devoured’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
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Reviews
Sex, an eccentric cast and flashes of the black humour lighten a mid-life meditation on the nature of love, loss and redemption
Book clubs, start your engines. . . . [The Mermaid Chair] is a tapestry strengthened by bonds between women that bridge pain and loss
Her writing is so smart and sharp, she gives new life to old midlife crises, and she draws connections from the feminine to the divine to the erotic that a lesser writer wouldn't see, and might not have the guts to follow
Emotionally rich... full of sultry, magical descriptions of life in the South... sure to be another hit for Kidd
Compelling reading.... The writing is soulful in its probing of the human heart and family secrets
It's hard to put this book down for little things like sleeping and eating
The novel has humour and a profound feeling for its primeval landscape of mud flats and salt creeks... [A] sensitively plotted emotional journey
A highly charged tale full of sexual and spiritual desire. Every bit as moving and convincing as The Secret Life of Bees