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Or: The Mermaid in the Hudson
by Mark Siegel
Graphic Novel
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, this new paperback edition of the New York Times Best-Selling graphic novel by author/illustrator Mark Siegel is a study in romance, atmosphere, and suspense. Don't miss Sailor Twain.
You can see the full discussion in our legacy forum here. This discussion will contain spoilers!
Some of the recent comments posted about Sailor Twain:
About the novel's ending
I was puzzled by the ending too. Which part of Twain was talking to Camomile? - Erin G
Ask the Author a Question!
Q. You published a playlist for Sailor Twain on your web site. Do you listen to music to create an atmosphere when you draw? Did any particular piece of music resonate with you while you were creating either the art or the narrative for the book?
... - kimk
Could the story have been set in another time period or place? How would making it a more modern tale have changed it? What if it were set earlier?
Because there was much belief in folklore and mythology in the late 1800s, I believe mermaids were very common to the populace. Being in an earlier time (as long as large boats and ships were part of the world) the story would survive as well. I don'... - Suzanne
Describe your thoughts about Siegel's drawings. In what ways did the artist's technique enhance your experience of the story?
As my first graphic novel, and one begun with much skepticism, I initially found the drawings annoying. One of the aspects of the reading experience I find so delightful is allowing the writers words to paint pictures that allow me to "see" the ... - edie
Do you approach a graphic novel differently?
I didn't intentionally approach this book differently, but the experience was different. The images were provided for me instead of from my imagination which, I think, had both positive and negative effects on my reading. I enjoyed the experience of ... - poniesnpearls
"Starred Review. Absolutely not to be missed." - Booklist
"This extraordinary work of fiction pushes the graphic novel well beyond its previous limits. The narrative takes us on many journeys through space and time, but is more than a mere tale. It's about past and present, the absolute importance of myth, of language, of stories themselves. In superb words and drawings, it also explores obsession and love in a way that is original to the genre, and to literature itself. In the best sense, the completed work succeeds in a very difficult task: making the reader more human. Bravo!" - Pete Hamill
"Addictive." - Rachel Maddow
"Wow. Fabulous." - Robin McKinley
"A gorgeous piece of work about moral conflicts, romantic distress, and fishy secrets." — Laura Kipnis
"A romance in the truest sense of the word, Sailor Twain is a marvel of graphical beauty and complex, intelligent storytelling. Siegel creates a misty, magical Hudson river that is somehow realer and truer and mroe seductive and many fathoms deeper than the real thing." - Lev Grossman
"I had a most engaging voyage on the doomed Lorelei and I much enjoyed meeting young Captain Twain - not to mention the mermaid in the Hudson.
This is a gripping novel with compelling characters, enhanged by haunting, erotically charged drawings." - John Irving
"Siegel's illustrations underscore the multiple themes of deceit and deception: softly blurred charcoal riverscapes transform the Hudson into a proving ground for dark magic, and the doe-eyed characters are nowhere near as innocent as they look. You're never too old for a well-told fairy tale." - The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Graphic novelist Mark Siegel intertwines themes of obsession, loss and redemption in Sailor Twain: The Mermaid in the Hudson, a new book from First Second.
Sailor Twain transports readers to the misty decks of the Lorelei steamboat, whose captain finds a wounded mermaid in the Hudson River." - Los Angeles Times
"In a work that calls to mind Conrad's enigmatic short story The Secret Sharer, we follow the story of Captain Twain, a steamboat captain who discovers a wounded mermaid clinging to the side of his ship." - Publishers Weekly
This information about Sailor Twain was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Sonya Sones
Mark Siegel is the illustrator of To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel, a Robert F. Sibert Award Honor Book, as well as the author and illustrator of the picture book Moving House, published by Roaring Brook Press; and of Sailor Twain, published by First Second.
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