Witches, selkies and a whole lotta heartbreak
If Margo Lanagan's novel The Brides of Rollrock Place has anything to teach us, it must be that beauty really is skin deep. That and don't trust sea witches who conjure really attractive people from the sea. Yes Sugarscapers, even if they do look like Harry Styles.
The book itself is packed full of long looks and unspoken words that will make your heart ache and have you wishing you too were half woman...half seal. No seriously!
Rollrock itself is a lonely island of cliffs and storms, blunt fisherman and their fierce wives. But it's also a place of magic - the scary, salty-real sort of magic that changes lives forever.
Things in this small fishing community are not at all what they seem. Down on the beach where seals live in the surf, the outcast sea witch Misskaella casts spells that bring forth beautiful, dangerous women from the sea. Gradually Rollrock falls under their spell, enchanted by their beauty and charm. As the wives up sticks and leave for the mainland, one by one the selkies begin to replace them as the island's brides.
But of course, magic always has its price. The men may believe they are the selkie's masters, but from the first look into her eyes, they will find themselves just as transformed as she is.
This earthy novel is unsettling and dangerous. It dissects everything that love can be; joyous and tender but equally cruel, painful and totally all-encompassing.
If that sounds like your cup of tea, check out the Australian trailer for the book (which is called Sea Hearts over there) and a Q&A with author Margo Lanagan:
Like the sound of that? The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan is out now and you can find out more about the book here.
TOP 10 Survival Book by The Other Life author Susanne Winnacker
FREE extract of Hallowed by Cynthia Hand
Download the first chapter of Heaven by Christoph Marzi for FREE
