The Girl from the Sea and other stories

Collections of short stories do not get much attention unless they are fairy tales or by a very familiar author. Novels are seen as more accessible, but this can be a mistake. Certainly, in the case of this volume it would be a shame to pass it over. These stories have come to us from Portugal and this is the first English translation of this Portuguese writer who has classic status in her own country. They are lyrical tales with a message for the reader. Central to all, a recurring theme, is a love for the natural world and our relationship to it and the stories presented here are in tone reflective rather than active. They are very much literary fairy tales that make one think of Hans Christian Andersen and Oscar Wilde. But they are not as cruel in their judgements; rather there is an attractive gentleness. One might expect The Girl from the Sea to be comparable to the Little Mermaid with a similar moralistic and tragic ending. Rather we are given a story which shows that there can be a different relationship between the human world and that of the sea – and this relationship is the message throughout the volume. The prose flows easily, the translation attractive and readable. These are stories that could benefit from being read aloud and shared to encourage discussion since most are relatively short and have the pleasing shape of the traditional tale. This is a very welcome addition to the bookshelves, opening eyes and minds to the literature of the wider world and bringing young readers new voices, new cadences, opening new doors and windows for the imagination.