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American Mermaid

A Novel

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American Mermaid

Written by: Julia Langbein
Narrated by: Tara Sands
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About this listen

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR • "Sublime." —New York Times Book Review

"Brilliantly sharp, funny, and thought-provoking, the gripping story of a woman trying to find her way in our chaotic world." —Madeline Miller, bestselling author of Circe

Broke English teacher Penelope Schleeman is as surprised as anyone when her feminist, eco-warrior novel American Mermaid becomes a best-seller. But when Hollywood insists she convert her fierce, androgynous protagonist into to a teen sex object in a clamshell bra, strange things start to happen. Is Penelope losing her mind, or has her fictional mermaid come to life, enacting revenge against society’s limited view of what a woman can and should be?

American Mermaid follows a young woman braving the casual slights and cruel calculations of a winner-take-all society and discovering a beating heart in her own fiction: a new kind of hero who fights to keep her voice and choose her place. A hilarious story about deep things, American Mermaid asks how far we’ll go to protect the parts of ourselves that are not for sale.

©2023 Julia Langbein (P)2023 Random House Audio Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Funny Witty Heartfelt
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What the critics say

Named a Most Anticipated Book of the Year by LitHub

"Sublime...Langbein intertwines Penny’s story with chapters from her own novel, and this book-within-a-book structure allows us to mourn the gap between the novel Penny has written and the version she’s told will make a good movie...Langbein’s novel considers how we decide who owns a story — and, far more compelling, how we know when a story succeeds." —New York Times Book Review

“Let this book’s gorgeous and unassuming cover draw you into one of the smartest, most hilarious books you’ve ever read. Julia Langbein has crafted a perfect work of meta-fiction. . . [AMERICAN MERMAID] is so, so smart, toeing the line of the believably absurd. Langbein dazzles with her wholly original, sharply funny voice, making her a must-read author after this homerun fiction debut.” —Iowa Public Radio

“Wildly inventive, this book will get you thinking about artistic integrity as it elicits plenty of snarf-yourself laughs.” —Real Simple

What listeners say about American Mermaid

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American Mermaid

at first I tried reading it and didn't get through the first chapter. Months later I picked it up to Gove it another chance.

I am glad I did. A unique story with rwtists and turns .

the characters are well defined. the narration was good clear
and the storyline was very good

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