The Mermaid's Child

January 1, 2015
Alone in an unforgiving, sometimes-fantastical landscape, Malin Reed is on a journey in search of a mythical mother in this pungent early novel, newly available in the U.S., from acclaimed British writer Baker (Offcomer, 2014, etc.)."[B]orn to a fishwoman and a ferryman, I was, I always had been, different." So speaks friendless Malin, a self-styled freak whose gender Baker deftly conceals until a late, incontrovertible plot development. Malin's miserable life in an undefined corner of England, in perhaps the early 19th century, shifts, after the ferryman's death, from the nontender care of a grandmother to drudgery in the service of a brutish pub landlord. But flashes of magic light up Malin's landscape-the passing visit of a circus; the arrival of a stranger at the pub who may be a swindler or a savior but who releases Malin into the larger world in search of mermaids. This long voyage of discovery includes time aboard a slave ship-one of the less convincing episodes in the tale-where Malin, now a sailor, finds a cross-dressing ally and also an enemy in the form of the captain. Flogged to ribbons, Malin escapes overboard, freeing the slaves on the way, only to be rescued by an eccentric librarian, alone on another vessel with his rare books. Icebergs, pirates, slavery-the thrills keep coming, with Malin sliding from one peril to another, sometimes using sex as a bargaining tool. Rescued by yet another circus, Malin learns not only a new skill-tightrope walking-but also something that will eventually bring the long, circular journey to a fitting end. Weakened by its monotonous structure but propelled by luminous detail and Malin's determination, this novel is not Baker at her strongest, but the promise is evident.

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February 15, 2015
Baker's publisher has unearthed another pre-Longbourn (2013) novel to bring to American readers. Here Baker tells the story of Malin Reed, a young woman searching for her mother, whom her father claims was a mermaid. This knowledge propels Malin on an odyssey that will ultimately lead her halfway across the world. After her father's death, Malin's grandmother sends her to work in a local public house; there Malin meets a charming con man and runs away with him. They part ways after a betrayal, and she disguises herself as a boy in order to get a position on a slaving ship. Malin takes to the sea, but even as she hunts for her mother and falls for a fellow shipmate, her conscience doesn't allow her to ignore the tragic plight of the slaves below deck, prompting her to make a brave decision. Like Sarah, the spirited maid at the heart of Longbourn, Malin is a strong, determined heroine who persists in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Readers won't have any difficulty rooting for her.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)