Rating: 
Summary: This is an excellently written, captivating read
Review: What more do you need on a warm summer day at the beach than a book that you just can't put down? This story was mesmerizing and well-developed. Carey's use of first and third person is excellent, and she captures the voices of the three generations appropriately, as well as weaving a well-conceived story of two mother-daughter and one grandmother-grandaughter relationships.The author's love of Ireland is obvious, and for me as another aficionado, I found her tone and use of Irish dialect and description added to the magical feel of the book. She's captured the west of Ireland in a mere 257 pages. Excellent first novel, and one that leaves us clamoring for the next.
Rating: 
Summary: Could have been good
Review: I began "The Mermaids Singing" with great anticipation, having read so much about how Lisa Carey wrote it (on an isand) and instead was greatly disappointed. As an editor, I was amazed that this book was published in such a loose and disorganized form. The repetition alone made my fingers itch for a red pen. I found that there were huge gaps in the story, references that were unsupported, and so on. While I found the writing style to be lyrical, and the book interesting in the way the author wove Irish legends into the story, the flow was stilted I just did not care at all about the characters. I did not feel that their "voices" allowed me to get to really know them, although the way of telling the story (three women, Cliona, Grace, and Grainne - mother, daughter, and granddaughter-- spoke in alternating chapters) was interesting. And the meaningless sex was just tawdry and unnecessary. The things I liked best were the theme of forgiveness, of ourselves and of others---and the setting of the extra place at the table. I also loved the beautiful cover! This is not a spoiler, as it is on the book jacket.....One particularly disconcerting thing was that although Grace dies very early in the book, she still speaks (in complete chapters!) throughout the book. This was incredibly awkward. I do think that this young author may have a *voice*. I just hope that she can also manage to find a decent editor the next time around. I find it very difficult to separate the mechanics of a book-- the writing-- from the story that is being told. I think that both the writing and the story must work together to give the reader a sense of satisfaction. Neither Carey's writing nor her story satisfied me.
Rating: 
Summary: It A Really Interesting Story
Review: I never heard of Lisa Carey, and one day i was just wondering around and I found this book and it looked pretty interesting. As soon as I started it, I couldn't put it down. Basically the story is about these tree women and what they go through. I think that it's a really touching story.
Rating:
Summary: Gorgeous, myth-laden tale of love and forgiveness
Review: The Mermaids Singing is a beautifully written book that tells the story of three generations of women. Alternating between different voices, the characters chart their lives, the mistakes they've made and the pain they've caused one another. Mixing in age-old Irish myths of the sea and the mermaids who dwell there, the author weaves a moving and highly entertaining narrative that had me pressing this book upon my friends and family and longing to be by the sea. An impressive debut novel, I look forward to watching the author's growth.
Rating:
Summary: Mothers and Daughters
Review: This is a beautiful story of the relationships between mothers and daughters. Grainne and her mother Grace live in Boston. Grace is dying of breast cancer, and they move to a small cottage by the sea during her last few weeks. Grainne is terrified of losing her mother and retreats. The only way the two of them communicate at the end of Grace's life is through notes and poetry that they leave one another on the refrigerator door. After Grace's death, Grace's mother, Cliona, comes to fetch Grainne and take her back to Ireland, back to the family that Grace took Grainne from when Grainne was only three years old. Grainne has no memory of this family, and no memory of the ruggedly beautiful island, Inis Muroch, where her family lives. Lonely and angry, Grainne clings to the only thing she has control over: her hunger. She wills herself not to eat, because as long as she is hungry, she can't feel the pain of her mother's death. Grainne waits to meet her father, who has also retreated, as he is terrified of meeting his daughter. Told through the voices of Grainne, Grace, and Cliona, this story shares two powerful mother/daughter relationships, and gives the reader insight to both sides of the relationship.
Rating:
Summary: I'm with Chip on this one
Review: I don't understand the negative reviews either. While this is certainly not the best book I've ever read, it is a very good one. As far as I know, this was her debut novel and I think it's quite an accomplishment. I'd be curious to know how old she was when she wrote it, because I think her understanding of her youngest heroine was by far the most convincing, but regardless of its small flaws, this is a remarkable first novel by an extremely good writer. I'm certainly going to read her second.
Rating:
Summary: I Don't Get It
Review: I don't really understand the negative reviews posted in response to this novel. The debut effort of Lisa Carey, "The Mermaids Singing" is a multi-generational, matrilineal saga of three very different but very similar Irish women. The matriarch, Cliona, her daughter Grace, and her granddaughter Grainne, speak their stories to the reader in individual first-person narratives. This can be somewhat confusing, especially as Grace passes away quite early in the novel, but this confessional style is intriguing, affording the reader not only the understanding of what happens to each character, but also how that character affects those around them. Many reviewers comment on the overabundance of sex throughout the novel, but when taken in context, it makes perfect sense not only in the lives of the characters, but in the times they were coming of age. Strangely, the theme of sex unites all three characters. For Cliona, sex is an abstract concept obscured by religious dogma; for Grace, sex is an act through which she can rebel and attain what she wants; for Grainne, sex is an act through which she can feel something other than her pain. Anyone who attended Catholic school will understand these women's motivations. The prose is lyrical and caustic. Even though these women often speak their minds, the way they do so causes a lot of self-doubt and regret. Too late they realize that their words have fueled actions and feelings that cannot be taken back. Carey writes wistfully of Ireland, and the beauty that lives there balanced with its desolation and isolation. While this book won't change history, it's a moving and enjoyable read of the lives of these interesting women. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Myths Just Aren't Enough
Review: The Mermaids Singing had so much promise. The author is a poet at heart, using language skillfully, but needs help in character development. It was really hard to see where one character ended and another began. Grace and Grainne were so focused on sex that their lives became meaningless and self-centered. The images of the sea and mermaids was beautifully done, but one wonders why the author didn't take more time in adding depth to the characters so that they were believable. The book did not live up to its promise, even with all the lovely images.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty but disappointing
Review: I loved _In the Country of the Young_, and expected a similar tale of magic, ghosts, and love to be found in _The Mermaids Singing_. Instead, this is a book with beautiful writing and almost no plot. It consists mostly of the reminiscences of three generations of women who go around acting nasty to one another, and seeking meaningless sex. I couldn't connect with any of the characters or make myself care about their situations. However, make sure to read the rest of the reviews on this page; a lot of people found _Mermaids_ very moving, and just because it's not my cup of tea doesn't mean it's not yours.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome, just awesome
Review: I've read this book four times and I just keep lingering over each sentence, each paragraph and enjoy how tantalizingly well written this novel is. Reviewers here who've let the visceral sides of these characters ("sex starved", their words not mine) get in the way of seeing them as fully developed people, are missing out a highly enlightening character driven novel. The mundane and mythic dimensions of these three lives are comingled like salt and seawater! I too read this book the summer of 1999 and recommended it to everyone who asked me for a "good book", and as I worked in a library at the time, made more than a few recommendations!
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