|
The
Old Mermaid's Tale
by Kathleen Valentine
Before
the Edmund Fitzgerald there was the Carl D. Bradley, the Willaim
B. Davok, the Betty Hedger, the American Sailor and many more...
In
1959 the St. Lawrence Seaway opened to international commerce
creating a problem for seaport towns bordering the Great Lakes.
Within the first year over a thousand barges and tankers from
all over the world arrived at these seaports to unload, re-outfit
and reload. While waiting, the crew, that had been at sea for
weeks, went ashore looking for fun and companionship. Restaurants,
bars, pool halls, rooming houses, tattoo parlors, and rumors
of other - less savory - forms of entertainment sprang up in
the blocks surrounding the commercial docks. Those parts of town
acquired a deservedly terrible reputation.
|
When
Clair Wagner begins college in Port Presque Isle she dreams of
meeting a "handsome sailor with the constellations of the
Northern Seas in his eyes". Into her life comes Pio, a beautiful
Italian fisherman, who dreams of life on the big lakes under
the aurora borealis. She meets Gary, the dashing son of a wealthy
shipping magnate, who introduces her to Canal Street where she
encounters The Old Mermaid Inn, a tavern that, as Gary tells
her, "deserves its reputation".
But
The Old Mermaid Inn, with its giant painting of a seductive mermaid,
is home to some fascinating people including Tessie, the owner
and original mermaid, and the intriguing Baptiste, a Breton mariner
injured in a shipwreck, who earns his living as a musician.
With
Pio, Clair discovers passion, with Gary she gains entry into
the world of the commercial waterfront, and with Baptiste she
discovers all-consuming love. But as her relationship with Baptiste
grows she discovers he is far more complex and mysterious than
she could imagine. He has secrets and his secrets will alter
her life forever.
READ
THE FIRST CHAPTER |
WHAT PEOPLE
ARE SAYING
A
beautiful story, beautifully told.
Susan
Oleksiew, author of A Murderous Innocence
A
timeless lovestory rich in maritime lore.
BookLovers
Alert 2007 Rising Star Nominee
I
gobbled up this novel. It is enticing in the style of Fielding.
The details are fresh and ring true. Lavish and exuberant,
it keeps the reader interested from beginning to end. -
Ingeborg Lauterstein, author of Vienna Girl and The
Water Castle
Bravo!
This is good, very good. These characters are people who
will always live inside of me. I lingered near the end of
the book, not wanting it to end. I love the way the story
plays with fantasy and reality. Myth and the real. There
is wonder and awe and the all-compellingness of love. Here's
to The Old Mermaid's Tale, may it enliven
the hearts and minds of many, many reader, for many, many
years to come . . . -Lawrence
Jordan, Lawrence Jordan Literary Agency
Settings
described so well you can see, smell, and taste, characters
so real you already know them, every day lives woven into a
larger story of a way of life now gone, and so much fun to
read you can hardly put it down. The love story around which
everything else hangs is moving and makes you wish you could
love like that. This book takes you into a world you wish you
could visit, just to see the place and meet the characters.
--- Ray
in Pennsylvania
The
Old Mermaid's Tale has just the right ingredients
for a great summer read -- situations you can identify with,
romance as sweet as the scent of honeysuckle that reminds
you of your own tender coming of age (as it was or you wished
it had been) and a distinct sense of place that's unfamiliar
and fascinating. The story concerns Clair, a blossoming young
woman setting off for college equipped with a thirst for
adventure and the dream of a consuming love affair. She finds
both along the rough, bustling Lake Erie waterfront of the
early sixties. The characters are larger than life, the love
scenes are luscious and the ending is happy in an unpredictable,
real-life way. I read Mermaid's Tale lying in the hot sun
at the beach and became so engrossed I kept forgetting to
turn over. --- Sunshine
(USA)
I
thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The historical background
information is fascinating and the characters are rich and
intriguing. Very hard to put down. I highly recommend this
book. --- S.
Kimmel (Texas USA)
The
Old Mermaid's Tale is an engrossing, captivating,
moving story of growth, sorrow, joy, love, loss and second
chances. I could not put it down. The descriptions are rich
and vivid, from the full busyness of daily life to the quiet
yet spellbinding moments when Clair is contemplating nature.
Clair's progress from girl to woman is told with nuance,
depth and compassion. Baptiste is the most hypnotic, sexy,
unforgettable male character I've seen in a long time. His
mystery and dark charisma draw you in, and yet up close,
you discover his all-too-human, aching vulnerability. All
the characters are fully alive and they really held my interest.
I cared about all of them and what happened to them. A wonderful
read that I strongly recommend.
--- Clare
Higgins "higgeroo" (Gloucester, MA)
While
reading The Old Mermaid's Tale, I truly left
the world I live in and went to Port Presque Isle in the 60's.
Kathleen Valentine writes with a sure and loving hand of place;
she brings this Great Lakes town to vivid life,as well as the
farm town her main character escapes.
Even better than the sense of place is her way with characters.
The loving Clair, the charismatic Baptiste, the tragic Pio, the
sadder-but-wiser Tessie and many other secondary characters are
all fascinating in their flawed humanity. Their lives and fates
ring true, even when the results are not what one would expect
or even hope for. This book, ultimately, is a most satisfying novel
of recent history and of healing love beyond understanding. --- Rockport
Mo "maureenmo3" (Rockport, MA USA)
WATCH
THE VIDEO
|