The Mermaid Man, by Carl-Johan Vallgren: a Swedish novel between drama and fantasy

Between injustice and imagination, The Mermaid Man takes us to the Sweden of 1980.

"I couldn't say a word. I could not take my eyes off this being, whatever name one might give him, I stared at him as I had never looked at anything in my life. »

• Release date France: 2017
• publisher: Le livre de poche / JC Lattès for the large format version
• 320 pages
• E-book price: 7,99€

Once upon a time there was a little boy, Robert, left and shy, running into all the obstacles on his way due to a vision problem. Once upon a time there was his big sister Nella, and their parents, invisible and different. Two children with a tragic past and a more than uncertain future, who try to face the harsh reality of life. When Robert is teased daily and gradually becomes the painkiller of a gang of college students, Nella finds herself totally distraught. It is then that a half-man, half-fish being emerges from the sea as a mysterious apparition. It will be a way for them to escape from their dreary daily life to allow themselves to dream a little. And finally, it is almost the only truly human entity they will meet during this adventure.

Escaping from a tragic daily life

The Mermaid Man is a true tale, a modern fable that features strong and endearing characters. In this fantastic tale set against a backdrop of family drama, the reader also seeks to escape the pressure brought by the story: a home destroyed by alcoholism and neglect, two lost children, struggling to find their way… 

« Robert and Nella's parents were not like other parents. They didn't live like other people, didn't think like others – well, yes, maybe they once had, only so long ago that no one remembered them. »

Nella has to take care of her brother, the house, manage the groceries, because no one else will. So young, she already bears the responsibility of taking care of an entire home, while trying to manage her worries at school. Fortunately, she can count on her friend Tommy, the son of a former fisherman.

Captivating writing and folkloric inspiration

This novel is a real dive into Swedish folklore. The author skilfully mixes the harshness of life in the small village of Skogstorp and the irruption of fantasy in the daily lives of children. And it's refreshing! 

"It looked like a lamp that would have lit suddenly; Suddenly, he was fully awake. He held us under his gaze one after the other, very calmly, as if to fix our faces in his memory. His big dark eyes were filled with a kind of stupor. »

The writing is both simple and very pictorial, filled with empathy for the characters; We quickly get attached to it, and we get caught up in the game of imagination. And if you like the theme of The Mermaid Man, we can only recommend Guillermo Del Toro's enigmatic film The Shape of Water. She also addresses the encounter between a young woman with a difficult daily life, and an aquatic creature as strange as endearing.