The Woman in the Seal Skin
In 17th-century Scotland, Malie lives on the wild and windy isle of Orkney, where she and her family eke out a subsistence living. She’s unhappily married to abusive Johne, who fishes with her father and brothers. But the nets are increasingly empty, and the men are looking for someone, or something, to blame.
Malie is drawn to the sea where her mother was said to have come from as a selkie, a magical creature that shapeshifts between seal and human forms to seduce men. Malie’s mother disappeared – back to the sea where she came from, Malie’s father tells her. But is this true?
Malie is expecting her own child and envisions her mother in the pregnant seals swimming in the bay. She is determined to find out why her mother vanished and asks her friend Henrye, who has lost a wife to the waves, for help. But then a woman—or is she a selkie?—washes up on the shore alive. Malie and Henrye want to protect the outsider, who would be blamed for the looming environmental disaster, but face danger doing so.
Mythology, motherhood and lack of female autonomy are the themes of this engrossing novel, the second from Keegan, an Australian ARA Historical Novel Prize longlisted writer. Written from Malie and Henrye’s point of view, the pacing might be too slow for some readers and there is violence against animals that might be distressing. However, this is a gripping novel, and the description of the island is captivating – you feel you are there among the salt, waves and possibly a few selkies.
