The Mermaid Chair is a vividly imagined novel about the passions of the spirit and the ecstasies of the body one that illuminates a womans self-awakening with the brilliance and power that only a writer of Kidds ability could conjure.Ī transcendent tale of a woman's self-discovery-the New York Times-bestselling second work of fiction by the author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Book of Longings What inspires the yearning for a soul mate? Few writers have explored, as Kidd does, the lush, unknown region of the feminine soul where the thin line between the spiritual and the erotic exists. What transpires will unlock the roots of her mothers tormented past, but most of all, as Jessie grapples with the tension of desire and the struggle to deny it, she will find a freedom that feels overwhelmingly right. Jessie loves Hugh, but on Egret Island amid the gorgeous marshlands and tidal creeks she becomes drawn to Brother Thomas, a monk who is mere months from taking his final vows. Jessie Sullivans conventional life has been molded to the smallest space possible. So when she is called home to cope with her mothers startling and enigmatic act of violence, Jessie finds herself relieved to be apart from her husband, Hugh. Inside the abbey of a Benedictine monastery on tiny Egret Island, just off the coast of South Carolina, resides a beautiful and mysterious chair ornately carved with mermaids and dedicated to a saint who, legend claims, was a mermaid before her conversion. Now, in her much-anticipated new novel, Kidd has woven a transcendent tale that will thrill her legion of fans and cement her reputation as one of the most remarkable writers at work today. Sue Monk Kidds stunning debut, The Secret Life of Bees, has transformed her into a genuine literary star. The luminous new novel from the author of the phenomenal bestseller The Secret Life of Bees.

The mermaid chair by sue monk kidd