Sailor Twain: Or: The Mermaid in the Hudson

Description

When a riverboat captain rescues an injured mermaid from the waters of the busiest port in the United States, he unleashes a calamity that only true love-if such a thing is possible-could avert. A mysterious and beguiling love story with elements of Poe, Twain, Hemingway, and Greek mythology, Sailor Twain is a study in romance, atmosphere, and suspense. In this brand new edition, Sailor Twain is printed larger than ever before, showcasing the charcoal artwork in all its glory. It also includes a ton of new backmatter, such as an author's note about the inspiration behind the story, an insider's look at Mark Siegel's unique and painstaking creative process, and never-before-seen tribute art from beloved comic artists like Ben Hatke and Vera Brosgol.

Mark Siegel is the author and illustrator of award-winning picture books and graphic novels, including Long Night Moon, How to Read a Story, Oskar and the Eight Blessings, Tiny Dancer, and the New York Times-bestselling Five Worlds series. He is also the founder of First Second.

"Absolutely not to be missed." --Booklist, starred review "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 more 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, enhanced 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." --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (BCCB)