Bind Me Tighter Still - by Lara Ehrlich

Book Synopsis

AUTHOR OF AWARD-WINNING, ANIMAL WIFE - WINNER OF CAI EMMONS FICTION AWARD and ERIC HOFFER AWARD - FOREWORD INDIE AWARD FINALIST - Lara Ehrlich presents her debut novel, BIND ME TIGHTER STILL

"A gorgeous, playful, thoughtful novel for feminists, for mothers and daughters, for those of us who grew up on the *other* version of mermaids, and who've thought from time to time that we might prefer to join the sirens rather than tie ourselves to the mast."
--Amber Sparks, author of And I Do Not Forgive You

The youngest of three siren sisters, Ceto is weary of an existence driven by hunger, no better than a fish. She trades her tail for life on land, marries the first man she meets, and bears a daughter, only to discover that domesticity is just as mundane as sirenhood.

In search of something more, she flees with her daughter Naia to the ocean, where she establishes a mermaid burlesque and recreates herself, performing as a siren in a tank built into the limestone cliffs overlooking the sea. She trains more sirens, expanding Sirenland from a roadside attraction to a national sensation, she rules without opposition--until Naia, at 15, begins to push back against the world Ceto has created and the role she performs in her mother's shows. A death at Sirenland threatens Ceto's authority and leads Naia to question whether this women-ruled kingdom is truly as empowering as her mother would have her believe. Bind Me Tighter Still explores power and hunger, sacrifice and motherhood, and celebrates the fierceness of female strength in a male-dominated world.

Review Quotes

"A gorgeous, playful, thoughtful novel for feminists, for mothers and daughters, for those of us who grew up on the *other* version of mermaids, and who've thought from time to time that we might prefer to join the sirens rather than tie ourselves to the mast."
--Amber Sparks, author of And I Do Not Forgive You