Interesting and enjoyable retelling of The Little Mermaid - http://www.susanhatedliterature.net/2017/12/the-little-homo-sapiens-scientist/ ( )

This was gorgeous. A really interesting flipped fairy tale retelling where instead of a mermaid turning into a human, a human becomes a mermaid (or the SF equivalent in this story). There is so much going on here about identity - gender identity, self identity, morality... And some interesting discussion about sentience. Really really lovely.

I also really appreciated that this was more Hans Christian Anderson than Walt Disney. ( )

The world is only just beginning to learn about the atargati, a second race of sentient beings who dwell deep in the ocean. And while no human can really be said to know them, Dr. Cadence Mbella comes the closest of anyone, having actually interacted with them, studied them extensively, and learned to speak their language. Her professional life comes to an abrupt halt, however, when she discovers one of the atargati has been kidnapped for study. Unable to let this stand, Dr. Mbella rescues the atargati, but in doing so, she loses everything . . . and yet, even on the run from her country, she finds her curiosity unsated as she yearns to learn more of this culture.

In The Little Homo Sapiens Scientist, Huang gives a dark, reverse retelling of “The Little Mermaid.” And let me just say, this short novelette packs a punch. It’s lovely and moving, but it’s also absolutely heartbreaking. Not a happy ending; consider yourself warned. I really enjoyed this story, though. It’s presented as a log of Dr. Mbella’s that she records as the story progresses, and I enjoyed both her unique voice and the way in which you get snatches of the story as it happens with all the emotion and urgency that each moment entails. The author does a great job of giving us that without losing the flow of the narrative. The portrayal of this utterly alien submarine culture is fascinating–and very notably alien. I loved how Huang uses both details that are rooted in scientific actualities and the strangeness of the unknown and possibly unknowable to flesh out the narrator’s understanding and depiction of the atargati. Dr. Mbella’s moral and ethical quandaries in dealing with this culture–and in interacting with her own in relation to the atargati–is compelling and adds depth to the story beyond a simple fairy tale retelling. Additionally, the author does a good job of portraying the narrator’s struggles with identity as she identifies as lesbian yet finds herself falling for someone of a completely different, non-binary species. On the whole, The Little Homo Sapiens Scientist was a fascinating, thought-provoking story that breaks from a lot of traditional molds while giving a solid retelling of Hans Christian Anderson’s classic fairy tale–non-Disney-fied, just the way I like it. ( )

Well. I'm crying.

I suppose it's my fault for letting Disney make me forget that the original Little Mermaid did not have a happy ending.

Nevertheless, this was a beautiful, wonderful, perfect reverse retelling of the Little Mermaid story. I loved every word of it, despite the fact that it tore my heart out.

Excuse me while I go and keep crying. ( )

If a queer retelling of The Little Mermaid is of interest, then you should check out The Little Homo Sapiens Scientist by S.L. Huang. Only, think the Hans Christian Anderson original, not the happily ever after Disney version.

Dr. Cadence Mbell has devoted her life to studying the atargati, the sentient, deep sea species the public keeps referring to as “mermaids.” She’s the only human who knows how to speak their language, and she’s considered the top atargati scholar. But when the government captures an atargati, Cadence knows she has to free her.

The story mostly sticks to the broad strokes of the original Hans Christian Anderson tale, only the roles of mermaid and human reversed. Cadence meets an atargati and becomes obsessed with becoming one, joining their world. Her desire is presented as a mix of romantic feelings and burning curiosity to learn more about the mysterious atargati. The whole falling for someone after one meeting never made much sense to me, so I’m glad Huang decided to play up the curiosity aspect of the story.

The Little Homo Sapiens Scientist addresses some other topics as well. How respectful is the study of the atargati really? Why are we assuming that humans must be more technologically advanced than the atargati? The heroine also starts questioning her own identity, since being a lesbian is very important to her, but then she falls for a member of a wholly different species who don’t fit into gender binaries. It’s an aspect of queer identity I haven’t often seen addressed.

The Little Homo Sapiens Scientist is either a shorter novella or a longer novelette. Either way, it’s a quick read, easily a book you can read in the span of an hour or so. However, I think it could have stood to be longer. Parts of it felt a little hasty, a little unfleshed out. It moves from plot point to plot point so quickly, and I think it would have helped the story to have a bit more breathing room.
Regardless, The Little Homo Sapiens Scientist is worth a read for anyone looking for fairy tale retellings, particularly queer ones.

Originally posted on The Illustrated Page. ( )