Local Author Amy Shearn’s ‘The Mermaid of Brooklyn’ Getting Praise

Local novelist Amy Shearn’s new book, The Mermaid of Brooklyn, came out today, and it’s been receiving some nice accolades.

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle has a nice Q&A with Amy, who shares how some family lore about her great-grandmother led to the writing of the novel (the protagonist, Jenny Lipkin, shares her great-grandmother’s name), which the Eagle calls “a fascinating book.” When asked how she ended up in the neighborhood after living in Park Slope, Amy shares:

…Finally last year my life caught up to my novel, and, like Jenny, I found myself with two kids in a tiny walk-up, feeling very over the historical charm of it all. Unlike Jenny, my husband didn’t leave mysteriously – phew! Instead, we bought an apartment in Kensington-Windsor Terrace. I would sing the praises of this friendly, vibrant, convenient, diverse, amazing neighborhood that I love but I don’t want everyone to move here and take up all the tables at the coffee shops, so – no comment.

The book is also an editor’s pick on Oprah.com, which Amy occasionally writes for. After the character Jenny is pushed to the brink, she finds help from, yes, a mermaid — which might be something we’re all left searching for in the borough after finishing the story:

In giving Jenny a new perspective on her family and herself, Shearn captures both the beauty and the banality of parenthood. We spend most of this delightful, grown-up fairy tale wondering if the mermaid is real or a figment of Jenny’s imagination—or her id. Regardless, she leaves us wondering how to bring a little mermaid magic into our own lives.

You can get to know more about Amy and the book when she reads at Lark (1007 Church Avenue), which she told the Eagle “has changed [her] family’s (and neighborhood’s) life,” on Sunday, April 14 at 4pm.

Photo via Amy Shearn on Facebook