Sailor Twain: Or: The Mermaid in the Hudson by Mark Siegel

Reviewer: The Curious Quill

Received: Library

Release Date: October 2012

Quills: 3.5/5

Goodreads Summary:

One hundred years ago. On the foggy Hudson River, a riverboat captain rescues an injured mermaid from the waters of the busiest port in the United States. A wildly popular—and notoriously reclusive—author makes a public debut. A French nobleman seeks a remedy for a curse. As three lives twine together and race to an unexpected collision, the mystery of the Mermaid of the Hudson deepens.

A mysterious and beguiling love story with elements of Poe, Twain, Hemingway, and Greek mythology, drawn in moody black-and-white charcoal, Sailor Twain is a study in romance, atmosphere, and suspense.

My Thoughts:

I don't often delve into the adult graphic novel world. Sure, I'll read more mature audience mangas (Tokyo Ghoul, Devil's Line, etc) or comics, but I've never sat down and tried to read something other than those previously mentioned visual storytelling styles. My younger sister loves to try out new YA graphic novels, so I decided I'd try perusing my local library's GN collection -- which is where I came across this little gem.

I'm kind of in a mermaid phase. I guess I'm still trying to find a book that recaptures the magic of Zoraida Cordova's The Vicious Deep trilogy. I haven't found a comparable story yet, but I still enjoyed Sailor Twain. It was a bit confusing at times, but I'll get to that later.


So the first thing I noticed about this book was the artwork. I didn't exactly find it visually appealing at first, but I thought it definitely had unique interpretations on human anatomy. Just take a look at Lafayette's nose (he's the Frenchman in the white wig):

Anyway, as I read along, I kind of got used to it and really came to appreciate the black and white style and details. Thus, I just skirted over the fact that there were some wonky physical characteristics and came to enjoy the odd cartoonesque style.

The story follows Captain Elijah Twain who is in charge of a steamboat on the Husdon River known as the Lorelai. This boat is owned by Lafayette, a Frenchman who never leaves the river and seems to be hiding a dark secret. He's also still searching for his eldest brother whom he believes is still alive.

Elijah appears to have fairly strict morals and runs a tight ship. However, this all changes when he finds a wounded mermaid hanging onto the rails of the boat. He takes her to his cabin and begins to nurse her back to health.

As the story progresses, Lafayette's behavior becomes more erratic, and he's obsessed with possessing seven loves at one time. Consequently, he's quite the womanizer and doesn't think much of the opposite sex, especially in terms of their mental capacities. This is 1887, so I'm wasn't really expecting much in terms of men's respect of women in this book. To get back on track, Lafayette also becomes very interested in the supernatural and fantastical, specifically mermaids. He studies a particular book whose author has not yet made a public debut -- they're only a name. Lafayette begins a correspondence with this mysterious individual and wants information on how to break a mermaid's curse. Apparently, he's heard a mermaid's song and is fighting the urge to surrender to the ocean.

Twain becomes more enamored with the mermaid and slowly regains his passion for writing. However, this results in Twain's decreasing interest in visiting his ailing wife. He kind of becomes a douchebag in that regard, but it was an interesting conflict that unfolded within him.

It's also revealed that the mermaid has ulterior motives, as she's been trapped in the Hudson for centuries, trying to find someone to free her from her imprisonment. Thus, she has had many victims whom she's killed either in order to see if they are "the one" who can free her or simply out of anger/spite.

 The mystery of the mermaid is unraveled as the story progresses, and (SPOILER ALERT) it's revealed that the author of Lafayette's favorite book is actually a woman (not really a surprise twist). She does play a part in Lafayette's seven loves, but I'll let you find out that part for yourself.

Now to the confusing part. It might just be me, but I'm not entirely sure how someone is capable of freeing the mermaid from the river. It seems that the human has to love her, but Twain ends up not being able to. I'm thinking it's because he stilled loved his wife in some way. Additionally, it's not entirely clear as to how someone breaks the curse that overcomes them when they hear the mermaid's song. It has to do with seven loves, but the true meaning of this riddle still alluded me. Plus, the whole splitting of a person in two by entering the mermaid's domain was a bit perplexing in terms of what each half was -- was one half the body and the other the soul? I'm still not entirely sure.

Overall, the story was haunting and the lore of the mermaid spectacular. There also weren't too many dialogue bubbles that convoluted the artwork, which was much appreciated. I truly enjoyed the story, the mystery, and the intrigue that it presented. The story and panels flowed extremely well and my only complaint would be the ambiguity and confusion that arose at certain plot points.

Lastly, I do want to issue some warnings if there are sensitive readers or if parents aren't sure as to whether or not their young reader should venture into this tale:

1) There is quite a bit of nudity in this book. Of course, the mermaid never wears any garments to cover her upper half, as one would naturally expect. Thus, if you don't feel comfortable with naked females or you don't want your child to read a story with this type of illustrations, I'm just letting you know that it occurs quite often in the book.
There are also sexual situations and a brief moment of male nudity.

2) There are words that were once used to refer to black individuals that are extremely inappropriate to use in modern day language that are used within this book. I believe the author wanted to be accurate with the times in which this story took place in regards to how freed slaves were treated. So this is a fair warning if you're offended by this.