The Mermaid Handbook (The Enchanted Library)

by Carolyn Turgeon

[Jo]

1.5 Stars.

For my review, I need to share the blurb on the back of the book for context. The blurb says:

A rich compendium of literature, lore, art, recipes, and projects to delight modern mermaids.

This seductive collection plumbs the depths of a mermaid's realm, a world rich with myth, mystery, history, romance, and abounding natural beauty.

Gorgeous art and photography, fascinating stories and essays, do-it-yourself projects, and delicious recipes provide hours of reading and viewing pleasure for aspiring mermaids, and those captivated by these exotic inhabitants of the sea.

I've just always loved mermaids, and The Mermaid Handbook by Carolyn Turgeon sounded like a really interesting and fascinating book! However, it was incredibly disappointing.

The Mermaid Handbook was absolutely not what I was expecting. The blurb is what I read when buying the book, but if you look at the Goodreads description or any online bookstore, it's very different. I bought this book in a physical bookshop, and only had the blurb on the back to go on. It was also sealed in plastic, so I couldn't look inside, though I don't know if I would have felt like I necessarily needed to as it sounds just like my thing. But I'm not sure a quick look through would have made much of a difference, anyway, as it's only in the reading that you can really tell what it's about. It was sealed though, so I only had the blurb to go on, and it does sound right up my street! Had I read a description from a website instead, I would not have bought The Mermaid Handbook, because I would have known it's not the kind of book I'd be interested in.

Because this isn't a book for those interested in mermaids and the folklore and myths surrounding them, or their depictions in art and literature. This is a book for those who want to get as close to being mermaids as they possibly can, and interested in swimming with fake tails as a hobby, and mermaid performers. There is one chapter on mermaids in myths and other cultures, with the very briefest descriptions of them. There is one chapter on art and literature, but it simply has an introduction, and then shows various paintings with quotes from books and poetry printed on top of them, with no explaination, no discussion of inspiration or symbolism in the art, or anything. They are not discussed, just shown. Now the description above, to me, implies that these two parts of the book were going to be a major focus. They're not.

The focus of this book is on humans. Those pretending to be mermaids, whether for a hobby, as a career as a mermaid performer, and the various attractions they performed at. The Mermaid Handbook gives an indepth look at various businesses that make mermaid tails, specific mermaid performers in history and those working now, various different attractions, and movies featuring mermaid performers, with a particularly long look at the making of the movie Splash. It talks about mermaids inspiring fashion, and various ways the reader can make themselves look and feel like a mermaid, with DIY projects for decorative hair combs, mermaid crowns, and others, and various bath salts to feel like a mermaid in the bath. There's a really long chapter on throwing your own mermaid inspired outdoor party, with so much about the decor and various recipes for food and drinks you can include. This is simply not a book about the mythological creatures themselves, and because of this, I was hugely disappointed.

I'm sure this is an incredibly fascinating book for those who are interested in such things. It is a gorgeously presented book, with lots of fantastic photos, a ribbon bookmark, gold foiled edges, and a big chunky hardback. It is gorgeous. But the blurb is completely misleading, and considering this is a very expensive book at £25, I was just so bloody angry that this wasn't what I expected. But I left it far too long to read, and so obviously I've lost that money. I will be trying some of the DIY projects and the bath salts, because they actually look quite cool, but this doesn't make up for the fact that the blurb completely misleads the reader as to what kind of book they're getting. It's really not what it says it is at all.