'Monique has birthed a fantasy that upends every single typecast of the mythical mermaid'

Written by bklyncbeanlitfest for Brooklyn Caribbean Lit Fest on Tuesday, January 12th, 2021

An ardent feminist, Monique has birthed a fantasy that upends every single typecast of the mythical mermaid, reinforced with powerful themes of womanhood, jealousy, the environment, several types of love and unlikely sisterhood. This book is modern feminism at its best, making converts of us all: it’s difficult not to question ideals and notions of ownership. It’s a story of many love stories, and a quiet critique of many Caribbean norms that intensifies with pathetic fallacy and allegory. A persistent rain swells to a full on hurricane at the plot’s climax. There’s a rain shower of live fish while the sky cracks open with the cackling taunts of the women who cursed Aycayia.

Best of all, Roffey exumes the spirit of the indigenous Taino people of the Caribbean, upon whose soil we dance, trod and toil everyday.