The Oyster Thief
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Mermaid Coralline is engaged to the merman of her dreams. But when an oil spill wreaks havoc on her idyllic village life and her little brother falls gravely ill, she embarks on a quest to find a legendary healing elixir.Meanwhile, Izar, a human man, is on the cusp of an invention that will enable him to mine the depths of the ocean. But when he finds himself transformed into a merman, he meets Coralline and joins her on her quest, hoping the elixir will make him human again. The quest pushes then together, even as their separate worlds and unspoken secrets threaten to tear them apart.Magnificent and moving, and set against a breathtaking ocean landscape, The Oyster Thief is a richly imagined odyssey destined to become a classic.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Faruqi, author of the factory farming expos Project Animal Farm, takes to a fairy tale format to urge human empathy with ocean life, creating an ecologically informed but whimsically imagined underwater culture as the setting for her magical, if rather cynical, mermaid-human love story. Apprentice mermaid apothecary Coralline is uninspired by her immanent, upwardly mobile wedding. After an oil spill makes her little brother ill, she embarks on a quest for an elixir that could heal him. Coralline and her anxious animal friends rescue human Izar, who has been tossed into the ocean by his enemies and transformed into a merman. Izar shares an important clue to aid their search, but keeps secret his identity as heir to the mining corporation Ocean Dominion and inventor of an underwater fire device that's poised to destroy all mermaid life. Coralline and Izar's bonding leads them to question their respective commitments. Adult fans of movies such as The Little Mermaid and Finding Nemo will find Coralline's adventures delightful, and Faruqi's caricatured villains are satisfyingly hateful, but romance fans will be disappointed that Izar and Coralline's personal connection lacks fire. This parable is more endearing than enduring.
