Nicely written and evocative, if a bit purple in places. I liked the stories of the mermaids from all the different cultures, but the emphasis on the author's personal obsession was, I thought, overdone in places. It took away from the more scholarly work that was sort of half-apparent, if smothered by authorial meanderings about her tail. I get it: you want to be a mermaid, but could we go back to Sedda or the rusalka now please?