Welcome to the final week of this Read Along. I'm so glad you are back or joining us for the first time.
A quick recap as to how this all works, answer the questions below, for each correct response I will enter your name for a chance to win 1 of 3 prizes (a handmade item, a PBS Credit or a $5 Gift certificate from Amazon). You have until Monday January 30th to answer this set of questions.
Leave your answers in a comment with a way for me to get in touch with you.
This weeks Handmade prize is a big one!
This one of a kind, hand died, stamped, painted and ruffled tote. I embellished it with pearls and the ruffle is also hand died. The mermaid and fish are hand painted with a lovely shimmery paint.
1. What is unusual about Lenia's pregnancy?
2. What book is Margarethe reading when Christopher comes to talk to her?
3. Who does Lenia think she sees in Agnes when she is trying to explain that she needs to have the baby early?
4. What do they name the baby? Who is she named after?
5. What price did the sisters have to pay to find out how to save Lenia?
Bonus: If I do another read along what type of book would you like? Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction or a Young Adult Science Fiction/ Fantasy (for answering this question you get an extra name in the drawing for this weeks prize)
Discussion (2 and 3 taken from the readers guide at the back of my copy of Mermaid):
1. Do you think the price the sisters had to pay to get the knowledge needed to save Lenia was sufficient? What do you think of the price Lenia had to pay? How much would you pay for a chance at true love?
2. What do you think of retelling of Fairy Tales? Why do you think they are so popular? Do you think there is any special power in taking a known story and envisioning it in a new way?
3. Mermaids are an incredibly popular subject in many cultures. What do you think accounts for there appeal? What makes mermaids such a rich subject for the imagination? Can you think of other books in which mermaids play an important role?
5 comments:
What a Great read. Thank you Caroline. May not have read it without your read along to encourage me to do so.
1. Lenia's pregnancy advanced way faster than a humans.
2. Margrethe was reading The Odyssey when Christopher came to talk to her.
3. Lenia thought she'd seen Sybil in Agnes.
4. Margrethe and Christopher named the baby Christina after his grandmother.
5. Lenia's sisters gave up their hair as pmt to save her life.
Bonus--I really enjoy Young Adult Science Fiction/Fantasy
1. I think the sisters pmt of their hair cost their dearly, because mermaids do seem like a vain creature, extremely intent on their appearance and beauty. The price Lenia paid to save her life was I think appropriate since she'd lived and loved as a human, had regret & got a 2nd chance at life as she ws meant to live it. No answer to the last part of this about price for true love.
2. I loved the retelling of this fairy tale. The new spin on the story I think was much better than the original. At least it didn't make me cry my eyes out. LOL I don't think there's a special power in rewriting a story that's already been told, it's kind of like those stories where you write your own ending... seems like that's what the author did. Came up with her own direction for the tale, with recognizable subtleties of the original story.
3. I think the unknown mysteries of the ocean lend to stories like mermaids, etc. Perhaps sea travelers of days gone by who'd been on the ocean for a long time would see things that they imagined or wished were there. The mystery and possibilities of what might be in the ocean could create imaginative tales of beautiful sea creatures. I can't really think of any other books I've read about mermaids. This might very well have been my first. Thx again Caroline. Hugs, Sandy P
1. The fast growth of the baby.
2. The Odyssey
3. Sybil
4.Christina,after Christophers Grandmother.
5. They give up thier hair.
Bonus:Y/A Sci Fi or Fantasy
*Yes, because a mermaids long hair is one of her beauty marks. Lenia paid a lot but she desired priceless things. I don't feel you should have to pay for true love.
*Retold fairy tales are entertaining. There updated,modern and more twisted than the original.
*Mermaids are always portrayed as sea beauties with the ability to capture a man's heart. Because of the mystery and allure that surrounds them they will always be appealing.
* Of course,The Odyssey,Homer has to pass by the Sirens(aka mermaids) and Aquamarine by Alice Hoffman.
Thank you Caroline for a lovely read along. Great questions,great book and a heck of a lot of fun. The mermaid tote is beautiful..took my breath away.
1. the baby was growing at an unusual rate..and if agnes hadnt of known that lenia was a virgin when she arrived there..she would have thought she was further along in her pregnancy.
2. the odyssey ; in greek
3. when lenia stared into agnes eyes for a moment she thought she had seen sybil in her..
4. christina..like prince christophers grandmother.
5. they had to give up their hair..as payment to sybil.
Bonus: Young Adult Science Fiction/ Fantasy : would be a good choice..however i would like to try a new different genre from what i am use to reading ;)
1. i guess for true love we all pay a price one way or another.. lenias sisters had to give up their hair which must have been a great price to pay in mermaid life.
2. the retelling of fairy tales is a good idea...since most of us probably already invision another type of ending to our normal stories.
3. they are sexy creatures ;p and it is easy to imagine a faraway land down under.
i would have liked it if lenias baby had of been born a mermaid :D
1. It is really rapid
2. The Odyssey
3. Sybil
4. Christina after Christopher’s grandmother
5. Their Hair
Bonus: Oh I would like something sort of spooky or suspenseful maybe historical fiction??
1. NO I don’t hair grows back Lenia cut out her dang tongue! For a chance at true love…not gonna lie not sure I could cut out my tongue maybe a toe and I would have to feel the pain of that every day.
2. I love twists on old stories. One of my favorite movies is the Brothers Grimm. BIG fan of the Grimm’s fairly tales to begin with and seeing them all sort of intertwined into one story that was a little more authentic in it’s extreme insanity than the Disney movies (not knocking the Disney movies though love them). Fairly tales are generally messed up stories. I also love to see where fairy tales come from and how giants exist in English fairy tales but not in the eastern or southern European stories. The two characters that seem to span throughout most all cultures are mermaids and dragons. If you were at sea I imagine something you didn’t understand (aka a manatee) becomes a mermaid and the bones of dinosaurs which are so much larger than anything humans ever encountered with massive teeth and wings could easily spark dragons.
3. Mermaids are like more modern day nymphs. They are beautiful, illusive, and alluring. In my mind they live in a world (much like tree nymphs) that we can only dream about with expansive caverns and plants they can hide anywhere and never be found by us.
1. Lenia’s pregnancy is unusual because the pregnancy is progressing very fast and the baby is growing rapidly.
2. Margarethe is reading The Odyssey when Christopher comes to talk to her.
3. Lenia thinks she sees Sybil in Agnes when she is trying to explain that she needs to have the baby early.
4. They name the baby Christina after Christopher’s grandmother.
5. The price that Lenia’s sisters had to pay is that they had to lose their hair.
Bonus:
I would like to read either a historical fiction or a contemporary fiction book.
Discussion (2 and 3 taken from the readers guide at the back of my copy of Mermaid):
1. The price the sisters paid did not seem as severe as Lenia’s price of losing her voice and cutting her tongue out. Lenia’s price for a chance at true love did not seem worth the cost, but I don’t believe Lenia has any regrets for trying since she had Christina. I am not a risk taker, so I don’t know that I would give up the things that Lenia gave up.
2. The retelling of Fairy Tales is interesting because a new twist can be put on a well-known story and it makes it totally new. I do think there is a special power in taking a known story and envisioning it in a new way because a person has to be very creative and imaginative to make the story as interesting as it was orginially.
3. I think the appeal of mermaids is that they are almost human and relate to many human experiences, but live in a totally different world and environment. Mermaids are such a rich subject for the imagination because their entire world is a fantasy. I don’t know of any other books in which mermaids plays an important role offhand, but I do remember the movie Splash.
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