If the mermaid doesn',t swim back to the sea, but instead goes ashore, she will learn to walk on two legs. Perhaps, she will even learn to dance...... ,  , In her early thirties, Summer lives alone, jobless, with little material wants. Her only passion is dancing. To be more specific, ballroom dancing. She is at an awkward position: she started too late to be competition-worthy, yet takes dancing far too seriously to be a mere pastime. Her solitary existence poses another obstacle: you need a partner in the ballroom, where ",men lead, women follow", is the ironclad rule.  , Under the tutelage of the legendary Donny, Summer embarks on a journey of self-discovery and, perhaps more importantly, in search of the perfect partner. ,  , Her hopes are dashed again and again as she witnesses (and sometimes partners with) the colorful characters in the ballroom: the arrogant youngster Youlin from a dancing dynasty, the talented Grace who wants nothing but an ordinary life, and the petite Meixin, forever at war with her fiance/partner. There is of course Donny, the gay dancer ferociously committed to competition and every bit as traditional as most straight men.  , As Summer continues her pursuit for Mr Right, she is forced to confront the dark memories of her past: the slut-shaming from her control-freak mother, the attempted suicide of her cousin, and the painful humiliation of sex with a classmate. She dreams of the perfect dancing body, yet dreads her own sexuality.  , The Mermaid',s Tale is a beautiful solo dance of a novel. It brings to mind the exploration of the female body in The Vegetarian and the madness of the dance world of Black Swan, but is told in a lighter voice at once dreamy, whimsical, and scintillating. Written in the author',s darkest days, it is nevertheless a book about life and freedom.  ,