Ren Yu is a competitive high school swimmer whose life is strictly defined by the harsh scent of bleach and the repetitive geometry of the pool. To cope with the physical expectations placed on her body and the pressures of her immigrant upbringing, she begins to reject her human anatomy in favor of a mythological identity. She meticulously treats her skin with chemicals and eventually resorts to self-mutilation, utilizing a blade to carve a tail and force a biological transformation into a mermaid.
Readers who value body horror and dark coming-of-age narratives will find this a blunt examination of how internal desires clash with external physical limits. It serves those interested in the psychological toll of elite athletics and the lengths an individual will go to reclaim bodily autonomy. You will walk away with a visceral understanding of how obsession can dissolve the boundary between a person's physical reality and their chosen mythology.
Inward-looking and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Empathetic Explorer. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2023
- Language
- EN
