Waiting for Mermaids

A family arrives at their beach chalet. Two young children tumble out of their car, eager to be first to the beach. Then an older child, a boy, appears. Head bowed, face scored in sorrow, he shuffles unsteadily behind them. Next, his parents come into view, both ashen-faced and distracted. What, we wonder, is the reason for their collective grief and will their seaside sojourn aggravate or alleviate their suffering?

Emma, the narrator-voyeur of these events, quickly befriends the ‘boy’, Jack, who views this tomboyish girl as a ‘weird’ but welcome distraction from his family’s sadness. Slowly the mystery of these introspective parents and their isolated son begins to unfold. Only in the penultimate chapter is the reason for their grief explained, and it is not until the final chapter itself that the object of their grieving is made known, a haunting revelation that links the fates of both Jack and Emma.