{"product_id":"mermaid-of-the-black-conch-by-monique-roffey","title":"'Mermaid of the Black Conch' by Monique Roffey","description":"\u003ch4 data-start=\"124\" data-end=\"507\"\u003eA fisherman hauls something impossible from the Caribbean Sea...a woman, or, something like one. \u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"124\" data-end=\"507\"\u003eT\u003cspan class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"whitespace-normal\"\u003ehe Mermaid of Black Conch\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e unfolds through shifting voices—diary, song, testimony—building a love story that is also about possession, colonial residue, and what it means to be seen as myth rather than human.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"509\" data-end=\"886\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"whitespace-normal\"\u003eMonique Roffey\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e writes with a kind of tidal rhythm that makes up the setting, it's lyrical, strange, and grounded in place. It's deeply drawn from Caribbean folklore without flattening it into allegory. It won the \u003cspan class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"whitespace-normal\"\u003eCosta Book of the Year Award\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e, but it doesn’t feel like a “prize novel”; it’s weirder than that. An intimate, slightly feral novel that's formally loose in a way that lets the story breathe.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"509\" data-end=\"886\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeepal Tree Press paperback, 2020. Clean, bright copy with minimal wear. Very good condition.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"bower studio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44414360813651,"sku":null,"price":16.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0689\/0268\/2707\/files\/Untitleddesign-2026-04-08T110657.059.png?v=1775610467","url":"https:\/\/bowerbooks.com\/products\/mermaid-of-the-black-conch-by-monique-roffey","provider":"bower books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}