Download Daughter of the Sea fb2

Wow. Where to begin with this one? Um...
I really wanted to like this book. I promise I did. I haven't read any selkie stories, so I was pretty stoked when I found this one on the shelf at the library. I also thought the hidden references to Irish and Celtic mythology was promising. In fact, I was a little excited... but then I started reading the book. Whoa Nelly.
The story is ok. It's not all that exciting, but it wasn't horrific either. There was a plot and a few interesting characters that made things lively. I'll be honest though, some parts of this book just freaked me out. For instance, right up front when the old man finds the baby in the water and brings her home. What happens? His wife tries to breastfeed the babe to "see how it feels" (direct quote) and magically starts lactating. Now, this woman is described as someone in her 50s or older. I was totally freaked out by that scene. It just screams psycho in my mind, but whatever. I'm sure that scene was found someone in mythology, or at least I hope it was because it was too weird otherwise.
I did enjoy searching for the parts of the story that were based on mythology. The author did a really good job of weaving everything together so that it became difficult to tell what was an original idea and what was myth. I was already familiar with the story of Sedna from Inuit mythology, so when the crazy lady told Gioga about how her kinfolk (the seals) were made, I got that reference right away. The flip side of this is, however, that since this story is based on so many different myths from various cultures, it feels choppy in some places. There were just key parts of the plot that didn't fit perfectly. And with only 128 pages, it was hard to form any connections to the characters. They all felt flat. In fact, it read like a myth in the fact that it's a telling of events and not a story per se.
I read this book in a few hours while riding in the car on my way to Orlando. Normally I fall asleep instantly when in a moving car, but I thought I would make good use of my 2.5 hour ride this time. While I can't say I wasted my time (because my only other option was sleeping in the car), I can't say I used it in the best way possible either. I had other books I could have read. If this book had been longer and left me with the same feeling at the end, I would have been furious with the time I spent reading it. But since I really didn't have anything else to do, I say it was ok. Not one I would re-read or recommend to anyone, but ok.

The origin of the legend of the selkie is an oddity to me. What was it about the seals of the British Isles that struck islanders as mysterious and mildly frightening? I can understand why they were sometimes mistaken for humans and mermaids. In the water a seal is as lithe and graceful as it is bulky and sluggish on land. Still, there have been a fair amount of selkie tales that place the mysterious creatures firmly into the realm of the creepy. From Mollie Hunter's dark, "A Stranger Came Ashore" to Eve Ibbotson's light-hearted but sometimes dour, "Island of the Aunts", these wondrous creatures have inspired a great number of children's authors to weave together tales of the selkies of the deep. With "Daughter of the Sea", author Berlie Doherty strives to do the same.

Jannet and Munroe were not meant to find the sleeping babe floating between the rocks of the skerries. But find the child they did, and in their childless state the dearest wish of their hearts has come true. They've been given a daughter of their own to raise and love. Watching enviously from her beachside home, indigent Eilean o da Freya watches the gift that should have been hers as the child grows and learns. Eilean understands exactly what little Gioga (as her parents have named her) is and she will use this knowledge carefully in the future. Meanwhile, mysterious creatures from the deep are preparing to take the girl back with them. If Jannet and Munroe resist, they may find themselves in a deeper muddle than they ever could have imagined.

Doherty has penned a rather classic tale. "Daughter of the Sea" follows in the tradition of all those classic fairy tales about children that don't quite belong. The old standby of the barren couple who want to raise a kid of their own is in everything from ancient Norse myths to classic Brothers Grimm tales. In this particular case, "Daughter of the Sea" is mightily similar to Eloise McGraw's, "The Moorchild". In both books you have young daughters that are a little different from everyone else and feel drawn to mysterious beings they want to understand. In the case of this book, Gioga is a little different from your average heroine. She's so drawn to the sea that she can barely pay attention to the people who love her. You're not certain how or who to root for in this tale, but it's fairly clear that the moral of the story is that you shouldn't prevent your children from being who they are rather than who you want them to be.

Unfortunately, "Daughter of the Sea" isn't particularly original. It's definitely written well enough, don't get me wrong. And it also makes for a relatively quick read for kids. But the story doesn't break any new ground. The magic found here could just as easily be found in any classic selkie folktale. Even the conclusion is matter-of-fact and predictable. "Daughter of the Sea" is a nice kind of Intro-to-adapted-folktales. Yet if you're looking for something gripping, original, and a lot of fun then this would not be my first recommendation. Select any of the other books I've mentioned if you like. Read "Daughter of the Sea" only if you're interested in the cannon of complete selkie children's fiction.

A great fable based upon many of the Selkie legends from different lands. A childless couple raise as their own a baby girl the husband found one night floating in the sea during a storm. Munroe suspects right away that this child is one of the Selkies (seal-people) but keeps the secret from his wife Jannet. But when a mysterious stranger returns years later asking for the return of his child, the desperate woman tries to hide the child - and brings upon her village the anger of the sea and the seal people. Finally their daughter must chose for herself whether to return to the sea, or stay with the people she has grown to love as her parents. A great addition to lovers of tales of the Selkie.