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There are currently 32 member reviews
for The Jellyfish Problem
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Donna D. (Riverside, IL)
More than a jellyfish story
This was an interesting book to read. For the first third, I felt as if the author was trying to decide what kind of book it should be. A missing person story, a fantasy about giant sea monsters, a tale of an insular community, or perhaps a story of friendship, love and human connections. I think it contains all of these elements in differing degrees which makes it an interesting read.
I found a great deal of passion for jellyfish, of course. But also passion for community, friendship and unity in the face of adversity. This passion holds the threads of the story together.
The characters were interesting and sometimes mysterious. Their individual stories are revealed as you read.
Finally I learned a great deal about jellyfish . I've always loved watching them. Their grace and beauty are mesmerizing.
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Lauren M. (Washington, DC)
Deep, Not Just in the Sea
This book was a terrific mystery filled with Jellyfish facts and plenty of quirky characters. The concept was truly unique and I could not guess what was going to come next. It was a fun ride and sweet to see the characters relationships form over time. There were quite a few heavy themes, almost too many, and multiple different types of mythology woven in which made it hard to follow at points and hard to understand what the author wanted the message of the story to be. It was still a fun read and the annotations left by the characters in their draft manuscript were my favorite part.
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Deborah W. (Boynton Beach, FL)
Coastal Intrigue: Islanders vs. Jellyfish
Not a fan of jellyfish? Not to worry — you will be by the end of this novel. While I wasn't as enamored of Clementine, the giant red bioluminescent jelly at the heart of this novel, as I was of Marcellus in "Remarkably Bright Creatures," I nonetheless cared about her and enjoyed learning about the species. (Each chapter opens with a paragraph about one scientific or biological feature of jellyfish from a manuscript the central character, Jo — a research scientist passionate about jellyfish — is writing.)
However, I felt the novel depended too much on Japanese folklore about yokai, supernatural sightings, and strange happenings. Although the author skillfully ratchets up the tension for most of the book — what exactly is happening on the isolated island of Shattering Point? what is Clementine doing? who will prevail in the best way to deal with Clementine, the islanders or Jo? will Jo figure out her love life? — suddenly everything is wrapped up too quickly and neatly at the end.
I wanted to like this book more than I did, because it has a strong environmental message: we don't know everything yet about the world under the sea, so we should be careful about what we do to our oceans, and what assumptions we make about the creatures who live there. I'll remember Clementine and her glowing tentacles, and maybe that's enough.
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Elizabeth D. (Apple Valley, MN)
My experience was a little squishy
Thank you to BookBrowse and Berkley for an advanced reader's copy of The Jellyfish Problem. I'd not heard of the book prior to BookBrowse's First Impression program and thought it sounded intriguing.
I found the atmosphere and some of the secondary characters compelling. I thought about them when I wasn't reading the book and wanted to get back to it to see what they'd been up to. I also enjoyed the excerpts of the jellyfish book that started each chapter (the book was an in-progress manuscript written by the main character and her now-deceased best friend). I learned about jellyfish and I enjoyed the banter between the two characters in their manuscript notes; even though the notes were quite limited, I thought it gave good insight into their personalities and friendship.
In other ways, the book didn't really work for me. In the book blurb, it mentions a tale of vibrant human connection. By the end, I get what that refers to, but it wasn't the type of connection I was expecting and I felt like the explanation was rushed and didn't really make a lot of sense to me. There was also quite a theme of a mysterious creature of Japanese folklore running throughout. I found this both too much and too little. I'm not quite sure how to explain it, other than I felt like - for me - the book was a bit messy and didn't hang together.
Additional thought, which I will try to keep spoiler free - there was info towards the end that should have resulted in consequences for someone, but in the wrap up, there was no mention of any consequences for that person. It seems like a pretty big thing to just go with a vibe of "oops, my bad… moving on…".
Even though this wasn't my favorite book, I did enjoy reading it and was glad for the opportunity. I think that there will be readers who love this book, including those who enjoy or have experience with diving, who have spent time on small isolated islands (and either loved or hated the experience!), who enjoy thinking about how people and nature are connected, those with an interest in marine life (especially jellyfish), who have an interest in magical realism, who have an interest in signs or the possibility of loved ones making contact/sending messages after death.
Thank you again for the ARC.
