When she was little she knew she was different, she just didn't understand how she was different. There were those in town who would whisper as she passed, others with courage would openly scorn her but most would simply turn away as though she were never there. That is till one day when the world opened up to her, her secrets were exposed and she performed magic; she called forth a maiden from the sea.

When he was younger he had never noticed the obvious, how all the mams on the island were the same graceful glossy haired beauties. All the mams that is but his own. His father had gone to the mainland to fetch a bride and had hopes he would do the same. But can a bride from the mainland, however beautiful, ever compare to a bride brought from the sea?

Being so young he didn't notice how unhappy his mam was, how unhappy all the mams were. They were born from the sea and living on land and, no matter how much they loved their families,...

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The people of Rollrock Island live a hard life. Eking out a living as fishermen, their home is a bleak, foggy, oppressive place, battered by stormy seas on all sides. There are those who say that witches have the power to bring a woman from a seal. These seal-women are part of Rollrock’s past—a past never spoken of but destined to be repeated when the downtrodden Misskaella discovers she is one of those blessed (or cursed?) with this power. A seal-woman will instantly enchant the first to look upon her, and she will be equally enchanted. How could the ordinary, hard-working women of Rollrock possibly compete? Misskaella watches with glee as the men of Rollrock are tempted, one by one, by the promise of a seal-woman, while the women of Rollrock leave, one by one, for the mainland. The men are completely incapable of resisting the call of their sea-brides, leading them to carry out acts of incredible cruelty. Margo Lanagan’s writing is hauntingly...

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