The Mermaid of Brooklyn

January 28, 2013
As this whimsical modern-day fable from Shearn (How Far is the Ocean From Here) begins, Jenny Lipkin is living in a small apartment in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., and juggling two children and a husband, Harry, addicted to gambling. One day, Harry tells her that he’s going out for cigarettes and never returns. Distraught, Jenny considers suicide, only to accidentally fall off the Brooklyn Bridge instead. While underwater, she meets a Russian mermaid, or rusalka, who saves her life but also possesses her. Fired with purpose by the mythical creature, Jenny begins a new career as a seamstress and pursues the stay-at-home dad next door. When Harry returns, however, Jenny must decide for herself who she really wants to be. There’s no doubt that Shearn is gifted, crafting quirky and charming prose, as well as a protagonist who’s articulately and believably ambivalent about motherhood. The mermaid, however, comes across as a needlessly fantastic overlay on a realistic story, while Harry’s reappearance rings false. Shearn deftly paints her novel’s familiar (at least to New Yorkers) setting, but she seems less certain of what to do with her plot. Agent: P.J. Mark, Janklow & Nesbit Associates.

January 15, 2013
A woman drowning in self-pity and depression takes a plunge but manages to stay afloat with the help of a mermaid in this second novel by aquatic-obsessed Shearn (How Far is the Ocean from Here, 2008). Jenny Lipkin's life consists of breast-feeding her infant daughter, idle chitchat with other mothers in the park, trips to the store, a home in disarray, walking the dog and lots of Cheerios. Husband Harry works at his family-owned candy company, which isn't doing too well, given current health trends and, perhaps, his mismanagement. When he fails to return home one evening, and $1,000 is missing from the company's account, Jenny, a frazzled mess to begin with, becomes even more unwound. She's angry with her husband, who's a compulsive gambler, but she's not all that concerned for his well-being; being left to cope with finances, her daughters and her mother-in-law is enough to drive her over the edge. Sinking further into a long-occurring depression, she dons a great looking pair of shoes and decides to jump off a bridge. But at the last minute, she glances at the shoes and, loathing the thought of another woman wearing them, changes her mind. Too late, she loses her balance, and into the water she goes; but instead of drowning, she's rescued by a mermaid, a rusalka of Slavic lore, who then inhabits Jenny's body and helps her turn her life around. Jenny cleans house, both literally and figuratively. Shearn's narrative is delightfully manic and extremely witty at times, but the very elements that make parts of this book so pleasurable also become slightly monotonous toward the end: Jenny is a bit too consumed with her colicky kids, lactating breasts and relationships with family, friends and Harry. Nevertheless, the author possesses a gift for infusing a mundane situation (an abandoned housewife) with the implausible (a mermaid) and building a story that many readers will find intuitive, clever and, on many levels, perfectly believable.

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April 15, 2013

Shearn's (How Far Is the Ocean from Here) second novel mesmerizes with its story of loss and redemption. Jenny Lipkin wrote her entire master's thesis on the ghostly mermaid of Slavic folklore. It is no surprise to her, then, that as she is drowning, a mermaid appears to save her. Distraught after the disappearance of her husband and contemplating suicide, Jenny has slipped and fallen into New York's East River. Then the mermaid materializes at the bottom, rescuing Jenny by breathing her life essence into her, and they become as one. A long, hot summer passes with only an apologetic postcard from her husband. While caring for her two young children, the woman spends time with other mothers and the "cute dad" at the park and listens to the mermaid to stave off her depression. She rediscovers her resilience by using her sewing skills to support herself. When finally faced with the chance to rebuild what she had, Jenny comes to realize just what she needs. VERDICT This captivating story has the same pull on the reader as books by Jodi Picoult and Elin Hilderbrand. A great beach read, but don't wait till then!--Susan Carr, Edwardsville P.L., IL

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2013
With two children under the age of three, Jenny Lipkin is the typical Park Ridge stay-at-home mom, her days spent meeting with other parents in the park, her evenings spent wrangling her daughters and the household chores. Then one night her compulsive-gambler husband fails to return home. Struggling with depression and caught between being worried and angry, Jenny can barely drag herself out of bed in the morning, let alone care for her daughters, deal with her in-laws, or think about how she'll pay for their Park Ridge apartment. Finally at the end of her rope, Jenny decides on a drastic plunge, only the outcome is not at all what she expects. As Jenny reinvents herself in the face of her family's crisis, Shearn takes readers on an emotional journey through the social milieu of Brooklyn, where the setting itself rounds out the colorful cast of characters. Though whiny at the beginning, Jenny eventually discovers a witty humor that comes to life as her story progresses, creating a heartfelt and authentic tribute to motherhood that will resonate with contemporary moms.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)