Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Reading ‘When the Tides Held the Moon’ by Venessa Vida Kelley unlocked a forgotten childhood memory of an old film about a mermaid in a circus, but that was a horror movie, and this is a gay romantic-fantasy, but also in a circus-like setting.
Set in New York 1910s, ‘When the Tides Held the Moon’ tells the story of a Puerto Rican blacksmith who falls in love with a gorgeous blue mer-napped merman, ironically, the very one he once helped capture to be displayed as an “oddity” at a Coney Island amusement park.
Protagonist Benigno Caldera, known as Benny, is introduced as an orphan who travels to America in search of a better life, fulfilling a promise he made to his beloved late aunt. A struggling blacksmith by trade, Benny’s life changes when he builds a water tank and catches the attention of a showman named Morgan, the man who commissioned it, who then invites him to join his crew. First task: kidnapping a mythical merman to add to Morgan’s “Menagerie of Human Oddities.”
The best thing about ‘When the Tides Held the Moon’ are the few illustrations by author Venessa Vida Kelley, delicately scattered across the chapters. The beautiful pencil illustrations breathe life into the story, putting faces to the many names on the page. I almost feel like maybe ‘When the Tides Held the Moon’ would’ve worked better as a graphic novel. Maybe.
While the plot itself is fascinating, the growing romance between Benny and the merman he names Rio leans more toward Stockholm syndrome than love. Benny is the only one who shows Rio any kindness, while Morgan tries to train him like an animal, and the other performers grow increasingly insecure, worrying about their futures once the merman act makes its debut.
‘When the Tides Held the Moon’ alternates between Benny and Rio’s perspective, and the writing style gets a little more poetic when the merman is pouring out his heart. Rio feels like a mythical demi-god, elegant, emotional, and tragically gorgeous, stuck in the filthy world of men. Benny, meanwhile, is as ordinary as they come: a struggling immigrant with ‘bad lungs’, constantly mocked and pushed around. All the other performers in Morgan’s menagerie are also a ragtag group of curious immigrants, although none of them are particularly memorable.
Watching Rio unhappy in the elaborate fish tank, Benny can’t help but see himself in the merman’s misery, drawing a poetic parallel about being trapped in a cruel, unfamiliar world. But let’s be honest, being the guy who feeds the prisoner and cleans his cage isn’t exactly the same as being the prisoner. Ironically, the more romantically entangled Benny becomes with Rio, the less inclined he is to free him, because doing so would mean losing him.
What doesn’t quite land is how quickly the furious merman softens toward Benny – this is a guy who’s lost his home, family, and freedom, yet somehow one blacksmith smile later, he’s swooning. Midway through the book, the author finally drops the detail that Benny’s also very handsome but just riddled with low self-esteem. Ah, of course, that explains everything. Two hot guys fall for each other? Sure, obviously. Sold.
The climactic chapters feel overdrawn and chaotic. Author Venessa Vida Kelley pours considerable effort into describing the daring “free Rio” mission that Benny finally sets in motion, but despite the detail, it comes across as a bit of an overkill. Regardless, she also adds an interesting little twist that makes the romance between the primary characters a lot more believable than before. And what’s nice about the twist is the fact that’s its foreshadowed well through little hints and doesn’t just pop out of the blue.
Overall, ‘When the Tides Held the Moon’ is an easy to follow romantic-fantasy, and if the plot sounds interesting to you, give it a read.
Rating: 3 on 5.
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