" ... to imagine travel is probably better than actually traveling since no journey can ever satisfy human desire; as soon as one sets out, fantasies get tangled in the rigging and dark birds of doubt begin their circling overhead."
In "Sea Monsters," Chloe Aridjis creates a fairy tale-ish, nomadic tale of adolescent questing in her depiction of a 17-year-old girl's search for meaning on a Mexico beach. The novel offers up commentary on communication across language barriers, pervasive wistfulness, and the forfeiture of home, doing so through metaphor.
"'Lugar de Caracoles,' a place of seashells, an attractive thought since spirals are such neat arrangements of space and time, and what are beaches if not a conversation between the elements, a constant movement inward and outward."
There is an emphasis on spirals and the interplay of light to lend context to the journey, and Aridjis finds a way to celebrate ambiguity in this mesmerizing and hypnotic story. Enigmatic characters flow into and out of "Sea Monsters" like the tide, rounding out the world view and perspective of the protagonist, Luisa.
"But that was the problem with mysterious people, I explained, once you spend time with them they're not so mysterious after all, and as I said this the merman smiled, as if promising, no matter what, to remain a mystery."
Music also plays a massive role in the tale, giving Luisa room to both define her challenges symphonically and provide a safe space for her to escape into.
"There are two kinds of romantics, my older cousin had explained, the kind who is constantly falling in love and simply needs a person into whom they can pour every thought, dream, and project, and the kind of romantic who remains alone, waiting and waiting for the right person to arrive, a person who may not even exist."
With a memorable cover and beautiful closing lines, "Sea Monsters" occasionally struggles to forge an identity in the middle. However, even though this does not seem to be a story about anything, maybe it doesn't need to be -- much like a day at the beach that the novel portrays and honors.
"I decided I wouldn't tell them a thing, would not tell anyone, what had transpired, I would store it away in some deep chamber, yet even as I promised this to myself I knew it was futile, for regardless of how hard you try to keep memories at bay, after a while even bays erode, sandcastles collapse, and drowned mermaids resurface."
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