The Oyster Thief: A Novel

Description

Mermaid Coralline is engaged to the merman of her dreams. But when an oil spill wreaks havoc on her idyllic village life and her little brother falls gravely ill, she embarks on a quest to find a legendary healing elixir.Meanwhile, Izar, a human man, is on the cusp of an invention that will enable him to mine the depths of the ocean. But when he finds himself transformed into a merman, he meets Coralline and joins her on her quest, hoping the elixir will make him human again. The quest pushes then together, even as their separate worlds and unspoken secrets threaten to tear them apart.Magnificent and moving, and set against a breathtaking ocean landscape, The Oyster Thief is a richly imagined odyssey destined to become a classic.

Sonia Faruqi graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College. After working as an M&A analyst on Wall Street, she relinquished money, family, community, even safety for Project Animal Farm, and has since devoted herself to improving animal welfare and reforming our current system of food production. She lives in Ontario, Canada, and is a frequent speaker on animal agriculture throughout North America.

"Sonia Faruqi had me at the word 'mermaid.' The Oyster Thief creates a lush, imaginary underwater world that somehow manages to reinforce the reality of the need for environmental awareness-it's unlike anything I've ever read." -- Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of 'A Spark of Light' and 'Small Great Things' "The world's first ocean conservation novel. Faruqi possesses a unique ability to create a fantastical underwater world while tying in explicit scientific facts that reflect her background in investigative journalism. An entertaining and informative mix of ocean science and literary fiction." -- Forbes "Ecologically informed but whimsically imagined. Adult fans of movies such as The Little Mermaid and Finding Nemo will find Coralline's adventures delightful, and Faruqi's caricatured villains are satisfyingly hateful." -- Publishers Weekly "A richly realized underwater tale set in Meristem in the central Atlantic Ocean. That is, until we reach the jewel at the novel's center. Here Faruqi riffs on the importance of honoring your own radiance, and it truly shines." -- The Toronto Star "The Oyster Thief deftly weaves a mermaid's tale while bringing real and urgent ocean conservation issues to the reader's attention. Dive in and enjoy!" -- Dr. Sylvia Earle, award-winning ocean scientist and National Geographic explorer-in-residence "Sonia Faruqi has created an imaginative, fast-paced adventure with a strong theme of ocean conservation. Bravo! May many read, and heed, its message." -- Jonathan Balcombe, author of 'What a Fish Knows' "The Oyster Thief is a wildly imaginative journey on land and in the ocean that will have you anxiously turning pages late into the night to discover the fate of Coralline and Izar-and the underwater world itself. Beautifully written and emotionally complex. Anyone who is a fan of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game will fall in love with this novel." -- Julie McElwain, author of 'A Murder in Time' "A fascinating novel that blends mermaid lore with social commentary on how we treat the environment." -- Syfy Wire