This was definitely a slow burn and very very slow read for the first 40%, but afterward this story and its characters really grew on me. It was a magical and beautiful love story with a bittersweet burn of choice and sacrifice. The way these characters changed from beginning to end is a very rare and beautiful thing to behold while reading. The writing style has a choppy Steinbeckian quality to it that was hard to digest at first, but the more I read, the more it sucked me in.

My full goodreads review is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1953955497

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

An interesting, classic selkie tale. The main character was less than likeable, but that was central to the tale.

"Donald is a young fisherman, eking out a lonely living on the west coast of Scotland. One night he witnesses something miraculous, and makes a terrible mistake. His action changes lives—not only his own, but those of his family and the entire tightly knit community in which they live. Can he ever atone for the wrong he has done, and can love grow when its foundation is violence? Based on the legend of the selkies—seals who can transform into people—evokes the harsh beauty of the landscape, the resilience of its people, both human and animal, and the triumph of hope over fear and prejudice. With exquisite grace, Su Bristow transports us to a different world, subtly and beautifully exploring what it means to be an outsider, and our innate capacity for forgiveness and acceptance. Rich with myth and magic, Sealskin is, nonetheless, a very human story, as relevant to our world as to the timeless place in which it is set."

Modern take on an old legend? YAS!

I’m abandoning this 50% of the through after realizing I’m trying way too hard to find a needle of enjoyment in a haystack of mediocrity.

The book opens with a selkie shedding its skin to transform into a human for one night when Donald, a fisherman, stumbles across her, rapes her, and takes her home. It starts off quite interesting, especially with the anticipation of how Donald and his mother are going to deal with the consequences but this arc of conflict is lost somewhere along the way and a lot of the novel seems to focus on Donald’s growth from his previously awkward self.

Mairhi also remains mostly invisible. Everything Birdie and Donald do are acts of self-preservation and the little focus on Mairhi’s character, except in scenes that test her acceptance of the situation, are unnerving. It’s a book with a good base but had it focused on the victim, or perhaps even an acknowledgment in some way that Mairhi *is* a victim and continuously remains one, it might’ve been better.

And lastly, I thought the writing was just okay. For a setting like this, I needed more atmospheric, lyrical language and this one too straightforward for me to get swept up in. It’s not bad writing, just not what *I* wanted.

Maybe other readers can find enjoyment where I couldn't.

A quiet story but one that makes you hear the ocean. Nothing too surprising, just an expansion of a classic tale.

While I wanted to like this book, I just couldn't get past the actions of the main male character. DNF.

I will read any folktale based book. But from now on I will be comparing them to this

I generally enjoy selkie stories, so I was pleased that Net Galley sent me an ARC for this book.

I was less pleased when there was a rape within the opening sequence of the book.

I was even more displeased by the way that the protagonist's entire life changes positively because he rapes and marries a selkie, and she "makes him a better man."

Women, even unhuman women, as plot device, generally make me really pissed off.

So, why's it a 3 star book? The prose is really great. The story, leaving aside how the plot is actually generated and developed, is good. It's worthwhile to me to read stories that are outside of my comfort zone. The ending was genuinely touching. The characters are well written and feel real, and learn and grow in believable ways.

I probably wouldn't recommend this to a whole lot of people, but I can see its potential.

I love selkie legends. In Sealskin, Su Bristow retells the most well-known selkie legend, maintaining the plot elements while exploring themes of shame, guilt, and forgiveness. While there are dozens if not hundreds of different selkie legends, the most popular is this: A man finds a group of human women dancing by the sea, with sealskins beside them. They flee when they see him, slipping into their skins and swimming away, but he keeps one skin, and brings home a selkie wife. Without her skin, she cannot leave. She bears him children, and when they’re older the children find where he’s hidden the skin and show it to their mother. She takes the skin and returns to the sea in her true form as a seal, abandoning her husband and children.


Bristow’s retelling focuses on the man who steals the skin. Donald, a Scottish fisherman, stumbles upon a group of selkies, rapes one of them, and drags her home. This happens in the first chapter, so I’m not spoiling anything. His mother names the girl Mairhi, for she cannot speak. It's easy to hate the men in selkie legends, but Bristow humanizes Donald, showing his struggles with guilt, his history of being bullied, his deep regret of what he did that day. Meanwhile, Mairhi learns to take joy in the green world she's now in, though she never learns to speak.

Donald and Mairhi’s building relationship is well-written, and it's a very atmospheric read. I sank into the world, so much so that I had several dreams where I was doing yard work in a 19th century Scottish village by the sea! While I like redemption stories, I have issues with this particular type of redemption story. 2 men are redeemed in Sealskin--Donald as rapist, and another character, Aly, who beats and rapes his wife. Donald finds redemption through Mairhi's love, and the children she gives him. Her unwavering goodness and kindness turns him become a better man. Donald then helps Aly become a better man through his newfound goodness, and by the end Aly ceases to abuse his wife and children. So...I do believe that abusers can be redeemed. But I also have issues with the redemption coming from their victims. Too often, women abused by their SOs will blame themselves. If only they were kinder, better, then their husband or SO would stop their abuse. They can 'fix' him, if they try hard enough. What really needs to happen is for these women to realize they have nothing to do with the abuse and to leave their abusive relationships, and for the abusers to go to therapy and counseling, if they truly want to be redeemed. Stories like Sealskin, where the victim's love of their abuser saves him, trouble me. On top of this, Mairhi is given no voice, which makes it more problematic.

But all that being said, I still found myself immersed in the world, and convinced of Donald's transformation. I want complicated redemption stories, but does this one oversimplify abusive relationships?

Thanks to Netgalley and Orenda Books for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5

Sealskin tells the story of a man repenting for past mistakes, while learning what it is to have a family, friends and to love. I really enjoyed the mystical elements of this novel, as I have always been drawn to stories about sirens and selkies. The characters were all very enjoyable, though somewhat formulaic. However, I think that helps (to an extent) to highlight the themes of the novel (forgiveness, love, friendship, courage, faith, acceptance, etc). This book tells a lovely story of acceptance and family, and I think it is worthwhile for anyone to read.

Thank you Trafalgar Square Publishing for providing a digital copy of Sealskin by Su Bristow via NetGalley.
 
At its very heart Sealskin is a retelling of the selkie legend-- Fisherman goes out to sea at night and watches in amazement as seals lumber their way onto the beach then slip out of their seal skins to frolic as graceful young women on the sea shore; he hides one of the seal skins then brings the stranded selkie home with him...-- but this story is so much more. This is a story of choices and consequences, a story of guilt and forgiveness, a story of redemption and acceptance all under-girding the delayed coming-of-age tale of a young man.
 
Su Bristow's retelling takes place in small, isolated fishing community in the Scottish Hebrides. The central character is a young man named Donald who has made himself an outsider in his community from his childhood due to an extreme skin sensitivity which made him an object of ridicule to his peers when they were children and now prevents him from being able to "pull his weight" on the fishing boat. As a result, he has learned to run away from difficult situations and isolate himself, always looking to his mother, Birdie, for leadership. This all slowly starts to change the night he brings the selkie through their door.

Fair warning, Bristow's story begins on an unmistakably violent note--frankly, a rape-- but the scene is brief and not explicit.

I love reimaginings of traditional legends and fairy tales so this book was right up my alley. It is a quick, but substantial read. I enjoyed the stark beauty of the setting, but really appreciated the character development of not only the main characters, but the community as well.

Whew! What a truly terrific read.

Want to feel like you are being told a tale while sitting around the hearth as a winter storm rages outside? Then this book is for you. Author Su Bristow has taken an old faerie story and made it feel relevant to today's society. It has everything a great yarn needs and readers will fall head over heels for this wonderful tale.

Written with delicious prose, the author uses words to paint pictures inside the reader's mind. Su Bristow has a true gift for storytelling, and after reading SEAL SKIN, I have become a fan.

One of my favorite books of the year by far.

All the characters were well-done, complex and real as any you could meet. There is so much going on beneath the surface of the waves in this book, lessons to be learned through these characters and how they change before your eyes. The pacing was great the entire way through. I love mythology and the stories that humans tell themselves. The selkie folklore tradition is rich and provides a great foundation for Sealskin.

As far as criticisms, the main thing is the beginning of the book, the event that spurs the whole plot, almost made me put down the book. It took me a very long time to come around to Donald after that and I had to push myself to keep reading because of it. If Mairhi had been able to speak, or if we had gotten some sense of her version as the victim, I think I could have moved passed it quicker. Also, I would have liked a bit more of the Scottish setting to be featured. Also, the beginning seriously almost made me stop reading.

Sealskin is magical and haunting. While there are moments of beauty and love that leap off the page, there is an inherent sadness, a gripping loss, that never goes away. It sucks you in and breaks your heart and, when you finish it, you know that it's one of those tales that will stick with you for years to come. A beautiful debut.

Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Netgalley, the publisher Trafalgar Square Publishing - Orenda Books, and the author Su Bristow for the opportunity to do so.

One night, Donald, a fisherman, sees a strange sight along the shore. Seals come out of the water, take off their skins and dance about on the sand as women. "There were seals on the skerry tonight... Moonlight silvered everything, casting doubt and shadow. So he scrubbed at his eyes and look again, but they were still rolling, rising up, standing and stepping out of their heavy skins, helping each other to get free." loc 70, ebook.

These beings are selkies, magical creatures who live as seals in the water and women on land. If you take and hide one of their skins, while they are in human form, the selkie is trapped and can't return to the sea. "He put out a hand and touched the nearest (skin). It was warm, as though some of its owner's life still lingered in it. Bolder now, he pulled it towards him, running his hand along the grain of the smooth pelt." loc 87.

Donald, enchanted by the women, commits a heinous crime. Then, he and his village has to deal with the consequences.

Recommended for readers who enjoy a tale with a touch of magical realism and who can handle a romance with a very dark beginning.

This book reads very quickly and I found myself flying through it to see what was going to happen next. Su’s writing did nothing to slow down the story but neither was it the greatest writing. I think it did the job of telling the story well and keeping me moving through the story.

As far as the characters go. I wish that we could have heard from Mhairi in the story. I think the story felt a bit lacking at times with her being such an important character but us not being able to hear from her ever. Donald, our main character, was a okay main character but a tad boring. He could have been fleshed out more in my opinion since the story focused so much on him and not on other more interesting characters. His character development was fairly jumpy with him making too much change all at once instead of letting us see him change gradually.

I thought that the rape scene at the beginning would have been an okay beginning to the story if it had been addressed more. As it is in the book right now, it felt like it could have been completely cut out. I have a big problem when authors use rape as a plot device and never address the issues of rape culture and the actual consequences of rape. It seems as if Donald’s actions at the beginning are thought of as okay because she is a mythical creature and not fully human. And even later in the book it hints that because Donald was nice to Mairhi later on, that makes up for raping her which is simply not true and a dangerous sentiment to say. This only perpetuates the idea and mindset that men can take what they want, when they want from women and everything will turn out fine anyway. As a woman, this made the entire book frustrating and concerning to read. I may have been able to give in a higher rating if that had not been in the book.

As long as Su stays away from this in her next novel, I am excited to see what will come next from her.

I don't always like slow, thoughtful books, but this one was different in a very good way.
The premise of this book honestly didn't interest me very much - so a young fisherman brings home a selkie - who cares? It took me awhile to get past the first couple chapters because I didn't care much about Donald or about a re-told folk tale. But once I got further into the story, I really started to care.
The story is very slow-paced, but it works well for this book. We slowly see the changes in all our characters because of Maihri's presence in the village - and that is really a fascinating thing to behold. Bristow handles this well - keeping the reader interested with small bits of action throughout the book while also slowing developing the changes in people. Bristow also slowly reveals to us each character's past. We originally see Aly Bain as an antagonist - until we learn a bit more about how he grew up and can understand why he is the way he is. The reader sees things more clearly as Donald does, and that was very well done.
Bristow writes beautifully. The reader is taken into this world and feels like a part of it in a lot of ways, mostly due to Bristow's beautiful descriptions. I really loved the overall mood of this story - dark while still being sweet and enjoyable. This book felt a lot like an overcast day and that's often how I pictured the scenes as I read.
I do have a couple complaints. Bristow spends a lot of the book telling the reader things instead of showing us. It slowly becomes obvious that <spoiler> Donald and Maihri are getting comfortable with each other and that they care about each other, </spoiler> but it takes a lot of Donald's inner monologue for us to fully know that. We also don't know a lot of backstory on some characters until Donald feels it's significant to bring up, which worked well for the most part, but made some the supporting characters rather one-dimensional for a lot of the story.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it to anyone with a love for old tales being retold.

The author somehow managed to take a story that started with an unlikable character committing a horrific event and twisted it into a bittersweet story of redemption. The characters were great and the ending fit perfectly.

There are no happy endings with selkies. Great for fans of Rollrock Island.

Publish date 05/01/2017!

The Legend
Once, there was a fisherman who spent many nights fishing alone. One night at full moon, he witnessed a marvel: nine seals came ashore, put off their skins and became beautiful young women, dancing on the beach. The fisherman hid himself, and as he watched, he began to fall in love with one of them. Secretly, he hid her sealskin, so that when the others returned to the sea, she was left behind.

The fisherman took her home to be his wife, and he hid the skin at the bottom of a chest. They lived together for some years, and she bore him children. She seemed to be happy, but from time to time she would look out to sea and weep.

One day while he was out at sea, one of the children found the skin and showed it to his mother. When the fisherman returned at the end of the day, she was gone, and he never saw her again.

---------------------------------------------

A few words to explain this tale: sadly...sweet?. I question sweet because of the fact that the main character, Donald, raped a Selkie in order to "keep" her.

Donald, a young man born to a fishing family, was down at the sea's edge. Some seals appeared on the rocky beach, and shed their seal skins, revealing themselves as young maidens. Donald hid, and watched as the girls danced. Entranced by them, he hid one of the girl's skins, so she would be trapped on shore. As the girls made to leave, one couldn't find her skin. Before she could search for it, Donald seized her and raped her (which I had not expected the way the story to start out), then forced her to come back home with him.

When his mother found out what he had done, she insisted that Donald and the girl wed to hide the discretion, as she became pregnant. The girl, unnamed, stranded without her skin, and unable to speak, (later given the name Mairhi), concedes---not that she has much choice.

As time passes, and their first child comes, Mairhi and Donald seem to get along and grow together. Donald changes drastically---growing from the young, irresponsibly dull boy, to a bolder, and caring father and husband. Mairhi, becomes a beloved addition to the community, except by a select few. Despite the warmth in their relationship, issues constantly face the couple, and the looming guilt Donald holds in regards to his wife blinds him from the truth.

Character breakdown:

Donald: I couldn't help but compare Donald to a less virtuous John Ridd from Lorna Doone. Simple, dull, and thick---but only in the first half of the book. The second half, he begins to realize the weight of the deed that he had done, and how his choices not only affect himself, but the fate of other people. The book sheds light on forgiveness, which is noble, indeed. Later on, Donald even stands up for a woman in his village who's husband was abusive. I was glad to see how his character developed, and he wasn't stuck in his old habits and excuses to evade issues.

Mairhi: We never learn much about her. Granted, she couldn't speak, but she forever remains a mystery.

The other characters I found rather inconsequential to the plot. Besides Donald's mother, Bridie, but I cannot say why here.

Setting:

I loved the setting in which the story took place. You could feel the influence of the sea, and the crudeness of it. However, wanted to see a bit more of the Scottish landscape intertwined into the tale.

Pacing:

I couldn't help but feel a bit lost with the timeline of the story. The chapters are relatively short, but much time would pass between them without much indication of the lapse. I think this could have been smoothed out to make it less segregated.

Overall, Sealskin is a well written extension of the legend of the Selkie (version provided above). I enjoyed it, as I enjoy majority of stories involving local folklore. I couldn't help but be heartbroken at the end, no matter how frustrating the story began. But the way the story began caused me to rate this lower than I had expected going into this book. I think the book tries almost too hard at times to redeem Donald. I'm not saying forgiveness shouldn't be given, because he does turn out to be a rather good guy. However, rape is not a topic to be taken lightly, and I felt it was relatively un-discussed in the end. Even so, the story remains true to the legend, and is a rendition as to how the sailor "took her home to be his wife."

Vulgarity: None that I recall.
Sexual content: Some, including a non-descriptive rape scene in the beginning.

3 stars.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!

This review can also be viewed on my blog: She's Going Book Crazy