Bind Me Tighter Still

Paperback, 216 pages

English language

Published Sept. 9, 2025 by Red Hen Press.

ISBN:: 978-1-63628-280-0

The youngest of three siren sisters, Ceto is weary of an existence driven by hunger, no better than a fish. She trades her tail for life on land, marries the first man she meets, and bears a daughter, only to discover that domesticity is just as mundane as sirenhood. In search of something more, she flees with her daughter Naia to the ocean, where she establishes a mermaid burlesque and recreates herself, performing as a siren in a tank built into the limestone cliffs overlooking the sea. She trains more sirens, expanding Sirenland from a roadside attraction to a national sensation she rules without opposition—until Naia, at 15, begins to push back against the world Ceto has created and the role she performs in her mother’s shows. A death at Sirenland threatens Ceto’s authority and leads Naia to question whether this women-ruled kingdom is truly as empowering as her mother …

The youngest of three siren sisters, Ceto is weary of an existence driven by hunger, no better than a fish. She trades her tail for life on land, marries the first man she meets, and bears a daughter, only to discover that domesticity is just as mundane as sirenhood. In search of something more, she flees with her daughter Naia to the ocean, where she establishes a mermaid burlesque and recreates herself, performing as a siren in a tank built into the limestone cliffs overlooking the sea. She trains more sirens, expanding Sirenland from a roadside attraction to a national sensation she rules without opposition—until Naia, at 15, begins to push back against the world Ceto has created and the role she performs in her mother’s shows. A death at Sirenland threatens Ceto’s authority and leads Naia to question whether this women-ruled kingdom is truly as empowering as her mother would have her believe. Bind Me Tighter Still explores power and hunger, sacrifice and motherhood, and celebrates the fierceness of female strength in a male-dominated world.

1 edition

Taylor Drew reviewed Bind Me Tighter Still by Lara Ehrlich

Somewhat underwhelming feminist Little Mermaid story

2 stars

I found the concept for this story really interesting. It calls back to The Little Mermaid to form its base, but takes on a strongly feminist tone, though it's not necessarily extremely explicit in this. Exploring the monstrousness of the relationship Ceto and Naia do and don't have was something that was really interesting to me. It also had a very queer undertone. These are all things I really liked about the story.

That being said, the overall execution fell a bit flat for me. I really like stories told in present tense and stories that shift perspective and time, but there just wasn't time to feel any kind of connection with any of the characters. Nothing really surprised me or caught me off guard in any meaningful way and even though the ending had what it took to be moving, I found that I didn't really care either …

I found the concept for this story really interesting. It calls back to The Little Mermaid to form its base, but takes on a strongly feminist tone, though it's not necessarily extremely explicit in this. Exploring the monstrousness of the relationship Ceto and Naia do and don't have was something that was really interesting to me. It also had a very queer undertone. These are all things I really liked about the story.

That being said, the overall execution fell a bit flat for me. I really like stories told in present tense and stories that shift perspective and time, but there just wasn't time to feel any kind of connection with any of the characters. Nothing really surprised me or caught me off guard in any meaningful way and even though the ending had what it took to be moving, I found that I didn't really care either way. I just wasn't invested in anything that was happening. Given how emotionally fraught the story is, my lack of emotional commitment to the story honestly comes as a bit of a surprise. Even though the concept and key features interested me, I just didn't care for the storytelling itself.

I want to be emotionally invested in a story like this, but my experience ended up feeling clinical and detached. I felt no raw emotion when reading Ceto and Naia's story and I finished the book unconvinced by the emotions presented in the story either and I'm sorry about that.

Subjects

American literature