The brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan

On remote Rollrock Island, men go to sea to make their livings—and to catch their wives.

The witch Misskaella knows the way of drawing a girl from the heart of a seal, of luring the beauty out of the beast. And for a price a man may buy himself a lovely sea-wife. He may have and hold and keep her. And he will tell himself that he is her master. But from his first look into those wide, questioning, liquid eyes, he will be just as transformed as she. He will be equally ensnared. And the witch will have her true payment.

Margo Lanagan weaves an extraordinary tale of desire, despair, and transformation. With devastatingly beautiful prose, she reveals characters capable of unspeakable cruelty, but also unspoken love.

Don't you hate it when you finally read a book that was on your tbr for close to 10 years and you don't like it . It was a take on selkies. The writing flew over my head . It's well written. That makes it hurt more

I just finished this and I want to get my thoughts down right away. This is a really fantastic story and I am a huge fan of Lanagan. I have never read anything of selkies, so this is rather new to me. That said, I did not enjoy this story. There were chapters where I actually had pains in my stomach while I read because I KNEW the character was going to let us down. I knew it and like a car sliding on ice, I read on hoping and hoping that the character would redeem themselves. Nope.
The story raises many great questions. Who is the villain here? Is it the sea witch? Is it the men of the island? Are the women of the island to blame for allowing this to happen? While part of me sympathized with the witch, I just don't understand what happened to her from the time she bought the big house in town, to the point where she moved back to the water's edge. She remained bitter all those years? And why did her children die when all the other male children flourish?
I am sure my library needs to own this title when it is published, but finding a good match for this book and a reader is going to be a challenge. This just isn't something I think most teens would enjoy. Like I said earlier, I am glad I read it, but I didn't enjoy it. So why four stars? Because the writing is way above par, the story is excellent, and because I am a big fan.
I do wonder how this would have been had the island women called the men from the sea instead of the way it went in the novel? Hmm.