Book Review: The Surface Breaks by Louise O'Neill

REVIEW: THE SURFACE BREAKS- A REIMAGINING OF THE LITTLE MERMAID

About the Author: 

Louise O’Neill is an Irish writer. She is generally famous for writing young adult novels. She has written five books till date and her first book was published in 2014. She has also won a number of awards and is known to focus on feminist issues through her stories. The Surface Breaks is the fifth and the latest book written by the author and I have no doubt in accepting the fact that her way of writing is just wonderful.

About the Book:

The Surface Breaks is a reimagining of the book- The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen and has been published in 2018 itself. It’s a more feminist retelling of the famous fairy tale. It’s the story of the mermaid princess named Gaia who lives in the water kingdom in the Atlantic Ocean. She is described as a mermaid who suffers under the rule of her father and is subjected to a number of rules and regulations just because of being a female. She is instructed to be a certain way and to behave and maintain her physical beauty by her controlling father, The Sea King because she is the most beautiful princess of the kingdom and is betrothed to Zale who is a sea warrior in her father’s sea kingdom and is of her father’s age. She dreams of reaching the water surface as soon as she turns fifteen and to find answers about her mother who she is told was captured by human beings as she always kept visiting the surface. It is when she first visits the water surface that she witnesses a human boy named Oliver and falls in love with him. She sacrifices everything including her own beautiful voice to the Sea Witch in order to become a human herself and to make Oliver fall in love with her. What happens when Gaia becomes a human, what she experiences on land and what answers does she find about her mother is what the story is all about. It’s basically a YA novel in the form of a fantasy. It shows that how Gaia suffers emotionally and sexually and how this suffering leads her to make decisions which affect her life and what are the consequences of the same. It’s nothing like the original fairy tale and is more serious as it deals with important issues. It displays the fact that not all fairy tales are meant to end as happily as they always do and gives a more realistic point of view to the story of the little mermaid.

Review: 

So I received this book in the book subscription box- The Big Book Box with the theme of the particular box being ‘Happily Ever After’. I was very excited to read the book as I love reading fantasy and also because it was a retelling of such a famous fairy tale. I’ve never read the original book named The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen and all I knew about the story was only through the Disney movie by the same name which I saw as a child. Though I was aware of the fact that the story was very much moulded into a happy musical in the Disney movie but I wasn’t aware of the full details. The thing which attracted me the most when I received the book first was its beautiful hardcover and I feel that it is one of the most beautiful book covers ever. When I started reading the book, I realised that it was in nothing the way I expected it to be- a happy fairy tale. But, as I read it further, I completely fell in love with it. I was so astonished by the fact that the important issues relating to females can also be addressed so beautifully through a fantasy. I just loved the way it is written. The character building is just wonderful. The way the main character- Gaia is described and the way her growth has been portrayed by learning from her own mistakes is very realistic as well as beautiful. The story is very overwhelming and made me feel a lot of things. I think it completely did justice to the theme of The Big Book Box- ‘Happily Ever After’ and I was not at all disappointed with it. It’s a very light and interesting read as it makes you compare the story from the famous fairy tale we all have read and listened to as a child. The way such important issues have been addressed by reimagining such a famous story is just beautiful and I think that the author has done a commendable job!

To Read or Not to Read: 

If you are into reading fantasy, then trust me you should definitely read this book. It is so wonderful. The way of writing is something which will make you stick to it no matter what. It’s really interesting and the way it has addressed such important issues in relation to female suffering is just beautiful. Definitely read this book so that you can see the famous fairy tale from a different point of view and can ponder upon the issues it has dealt with. 

You can buy the book from amazon by clicking the link here.

“We were told that no mer-man would want to be bonded with us if we were more powerful than they were. They warned us that our powers made us too loud. Too shrill. And so women became quiet because we were promised that we would be happier that way. And our powers were lost. And it happened so quickly too. That which we take for granted can so easily be taken away from us, if we do not remain vigilant.”

Rating: 4.5/5

Thank you for reading! :)