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“Ghastly and beautiful” —Kirkus
Bind Me Tighter Still explores power and hunger, sacrifice and motherhood, and celebrates the fierceness of female strength in a male-dominated world.
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 siren-hood. 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.
People are Saying…
Packed with simmering female rage and a sense of hunger—both in a physical and metaphorical sense—Ehrlich has crafted a modern-day fairy tale that is both ghastly and beautiful, and that would give The Little Mermaid a run for its money. A thought-provoking and often intense exploration of motherhood, sisterhood, and the ties that bind.
— Kirkus
With nods to “The Little Mermaid,” Ehrlich’s lovely sophomore outing (after Animal Wife) again probes themes of womanhood and monstrosity….the dazzling specifics of Sirenland captivate. Fans of feminist fabulism should take note.”
— Publishers Weekly
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, And I Do Not Forgive You
Surreal and kind of bonkers and ridiculously cool.”
— Every Book a Doorway
The poetic prose mixed with the intense subject matter creates an undertow that will pull readers in.”
— Booklist
An inventive and wonderfully rageful look into motherhood, femininity, and sacrifice—a perfect reimagining of The Little Mermaid for the modern age.”
— Chicago Review of Books
This is the Bind Me Tighter Still music video featuring the book’s mermaid burlesque theme song!
Lara Ehrlich 