'Mermaid': nuanced romance, little else

Jessie Sullivan was sick of her life. Her husband was boring and restrictive. Her daughter had "flown the nest" and gone off to college. Her mother had started a rapid descent into madness. Jessie felt trapped and deprived of the right to have what she wanted out of life. So, she did the only logical thing a "desperate housewife" could do. She had a torrid love affair.\nIn Sue Monk Kidd's latest novel, "The Mermaid Chair," which is currently in production for a TV movie of the same name starring Kim Basinger, Jessie flees her role as a mother and a wife to take care of her own mother, who has, for no apparent reason, begun to methodically chop off her own fingers. She moves back to her birthplace, the unfortunately fictional paradise, Egret Island, and falls into lust with a Benedictine monk-in-training (read: he hasn't yet taken his celibacy vows) from a neighboring monastery. \nThe romantic plot is pathetic, predictable and full of cheesy one-liners. The overly dramatic sex scene is comical. The entire theme of a bored woman leaving her husband to find her true-self even seems dry. It is a mediocre modern spin on Kate Chopin's classic feminist novel, "The Awakening." \nThe saving grace of the novel was the story within a story, about Jessie's deranged mother and the mysterious death of her father. He supposedly died in a boat explosion when Jessie was 9 years old, but her mother's recent strange behavior makes Jessie question the circumstances of his death. Without this diversion from the sappy tale of illicit romance and self-discovery, the book would have been best shelved among the clutter of Harlequin and Nicholas Sparks novels.\nKidd is an expert in capturing the nuances of everyday family life. She proved this in her best-selling novel, "The Secret Life of Bees," a story about a girl who is searching for a home and finds one with a trio of eccentric, bee-keeping sisters. \n"The Mermaid Chair" is no different, despite a trite plot. She describes domestic scenes so realistically and with such vitality, that the reader cannot help but be sucked into her story and the lives of her characters. Even her descriptions of the island and its quirky inhabitants make it seem like home. She tells of Jessie's mother's crazy best friends, Kat and Hepzibah, and the island dog, Max. She creates a sense of familiarity with the setting and makes the reader feel as if they are returning with Jessie. "Shem's Bait and Tackle had been painted the color of persimmons and the carved wooden pelican outside Caw Caw General Store now wore a pony saddle ... so that children could sit on it," it reads.\nThe novel is a quick read, and would be perfect for a lazy day on the beach. A surprising plot twist at the end leaves the reader with something to think about. I would recommend this novel to anyone who has a small craving for the trashy romance, but wants a fresh writing style and a hint of mystery.