Assuming that most of us rate books based on how much we enjoyed the read & how well written it is, I'm struggling to understand the low ratings & dodgy reviews for this book. I'm glad I ignored them and went on a friend's recommendation. What Sue Monk Kidd has produced here is very different to 'Secret Life of Bees' but just as well written (beautifully so) & with a more interesting & in-depth plot. I was drawn in from the first sentence, felt emotionally attached to each and every one of the characters & however unreal some of the situations were the way they were written made them totally believable. Couldn't put it down; loved it.

Post Script

I have since looked up some of the other five star reviews and relieved to find loads of other readers with the same opinion!

This book was really well written and compelling like all of Sue Monke Kidd's books, it's a novel about a womens sort of, coming of middle age, facing her troubled childhood, and falling in love in order to preserve the spark of energy that once lived inside her. i liked this book, but the thing that pissed me off about it was that it was still in some sort a coming of age novel about finding your true self or some shit like that. i mean the book was well thought out and everything but are coming of age novels the only thing in old Sue's repertoire... I'd like to see something new from her before she kicks the csn as they say lol.

Read this book as it was a selection for my book club.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed "The Secret Life Of Bees" by the same writer, I found this book to be a far different sort of read. In Bees, while I enjoyed the plot, it was the characters that I found myself hooked to. In "The Mermaid Chair" I found the plot to be only mildly entertaining and the characters lacking in development. The main character I found to be whiny, annoying, selfish, and someone I just couldn't connect to on any level. The other characters (Whit, Nelle, Hepzibah, Kat, and Benne) left me disappointed as well, although I did like them more than the protagonist. The latter characters had the potential for being interesting and moving, but still we weren't really allowed to connect to them as the reader, as we didn't get to see them enough. Whit (Brother Thomas) was the most developed of them all, in that you got to see his turmoil over his decision to enter to monestary, but the others were left 2 dimentional.

The narration also bothered me. The protagonist was the only character presented to us in the first person. The other narrator's perspectives (Whit and Hugh) were told in the 3rd person. This errked me in that I feel I MAY have been able to connect a little more with the protagonist's plight had the narration been 3rd person. Being 1st, she came across as I stated above: whiny, annoying, and selfish.

If anyone wants my copy of the book they are welcome to it. It’s not one I will recommend to anyone and certainly one I won’t reread in the future.

Not nearly as inspirational or moving as author's first novel, Secret Life of Bees. Although VERY well written the subject matter was not pleasing and almost distasteful. I liked the monks side of the story and can more readily understand why he did what he did. In his case he was questioning his faith, his existence, everything and was reaching out to anything that might pull him back to Life. In the woman's case, she was simply bored and unfulfilled in her marriage and was searching for self rather than any meaning of Life. Anytime we put self ahead of all else we lose sight of everything meaningful. It's okay to do for yourself once in while - to refill your 'well' in order to give more to others but when the focus becomes totally inward we quickly lose sight of what's around us and miss our opportunities to serve and uplift others. The woman in the story was selfish and self-absorbed and hurt the people she loved most. Although I think perhaps she "got it" at the end of the novel I didn't much care for the journey.