Jackson Pearce’s fairy tale retelling series takes the originals seriously. Fathomless retells The Little Mermaid, and unlike a significant portion of the retelling genre, it does not primarily aim to rehabilitate the source material or make it more comfortable. The original Hans Christian Andersen story is cruel and sad and specifically about the cost of wanting to be something you’re not. Pearce doesn’t look away from that.
Celia is a girl who can communicate with ocean girls — the mermaids of this story — who are drawn to shore to try to acquire souls, which requires falling in love with a human. The story follows the original’s structure while adding Celia’s perspective as someone caught between the two worlds.
Pearce’s strength throughout this series is emotional directness. She doesn’t overexplain her characters’ feelings, but she also doesn’t aestheticize them into obscurity. The grief in Fathomless — and there is grief — is specific and earned.
The book pairs with Sisters Red and Sweetly, and reading the series in order rewards the reader with a growing sense of a shared world that is darker and more internally consistent than the individual books make immediately apparent.
Published: 2012 · Genre: YA fantasy, fairy tale retelling · Series: Fairy Tale Retellings
Frequently Asked Questions
What fairy tale does Fathomless retell and how faithfully? Fathomless retells The Little Mermaid, and unlike much of the retelling genre, it ‘does not primarily aim to rehabilitate the source material or make it more comfortable.’ The original Hans Christian Andersen story ‘is cruel and sad and specifically about the cost of wanting to be something you’re not’ — and Pearce ‘doesn’t look away from that.’ Celia, who can communicate with the mermaids, adds a new human perspective while following the original’s structure.
What is Pearce’s strength as a fairy tale reteller? The review identifies ’emotional directness’ as Pearce’s defining quality throughout the retelling series: ‘she doesn’t overexplain her characters’ feelings, but she also doesn’t aestheticize them into obscurity.’ The grief in Fathomless is described as ‘specific and earned’ — a balance between clarity and restraint that the review implies is rare in the genre.
How does Fathomless fit into Jackson Pearce’s fairy tale series? The book pairs with Sisters Red and Sweetly, and reading the series in order ‘rewards the reader with a growing sense of a shared world that is darker and more internally consistent than the individual books make immediately apparent.’ The review positions this cumulative effect as a design feature rather than an accident.
What is the original Little Mermaid story actually about according to the review? The review characterises Hans Christian Andersen’s original as specifically about ’the cost of wanting to be something you’re not’ — not a romance but a tragedy about transformation, sacrifice, and the impossibility of fully belonging to a world you were not made for. Pearce’s fidelity to this theme is what the review credits.
Further Reading from Authoritative Sources
- The Little Mermaid — Wikipedia’s The Little Mermaid article provides context for the Hans Christian Andersen original that Fathomless is retelling, including the story’s darker elements and its history of adaptation, helping readers understand what Pearce is preserving and what she is transforming.
- Jackson Pearce — Wikipedia’s Jackson Pearce article provides biographical and bibliographical context for the author and her fairy tale series, helping readers understand Fathomless within her broader retelling project.
