There was once an island in the west coast of Ireland called Inis Muruch – the island of the mermaids. This place is depicted as filled with myths and stories. Myths of triumphs and failures. Stories of love and hate. This is the first sensual and lyrical novel of the author Lisa Carey where she binds together the voices and the lives of the three generations of Irish and Irish-American women thru a fanciful and meaningful stories of revelations in one plot.

The story is all about three generations of women in Ireland, in the island of Inis Muruch. They are the product of their own individuality and upbringing. Inis Muruch is a significant place for the three women because this is where their characters were revealed and evolved. All the drama and excitement came around and happened in this place; in each of their different times. The writing captures the idea of what is in it to live in an island like in Ireland. The story is full of description and is very sweet and lovely although problems do exist for them. You will be fascinated with the characters because of their different personalities which are colliding with one another as they interact with each other. They are real and true to themselves.

Cliona, who is the mother of Grace and the grandmother of Grainne (pronounced as Granya), is a first borne on the island. She had her enough time here and eventually left for Boston to apply for work as a domestic help where she raised children of a wealthy family.  She is a strong and abled woman in the story. She got married and Grace was born. She wanted for her daughter Grace to live the values of Catholicism and a stricter island life where she was raised in.

Grace, who is the daughter of Cliona, considers herself as an American and resents her mother that much for dragging her back to the Island. Misunderstandings were that much between these two women. Like her mother, she is strong and fierce. She is bitter and resents her mother Cliona for being stern and strict specially about the woman’s feminism and sexual freedom in the place where she grew up in.

Grainne, who is the daughter of Grace and the grand daughter of Cliona, was born on the Isand of Inis Muruch. Eventually, Grainne was taken to America by her mother Grace. She is young and angry that her mother is dying and had not a chance to understand why her father never came for her. It was when Grace died of breast cancer, Gainne returned to the Island to live with her grandmother Cliona.

Capturing a moment of their differences is when Grace hated her mother for she was given a simple name. Grainne on the other hand, hated her mother Grace for giving her a difficult one, with different pronunciation. This sounds funny and interesting at the same time. Right? =) Also, they have the same taste of men they want for themselves. What do you think of this? Haha. I believe this is a must read book for everyone of my age.

They have different experiences in the places they lived in. Their lives are torn apart by such human problems such as marriage and sex. In the end, they are weaved once again by their blood and by their love for one another as daughters and mothers. The sea will always be with them and the singing of the mermaids will always be the myth that will signify the relationship of the three generations of women in Inis Muruch.