Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen (Random House, 2021) is the first installment in the Of Mermaids and Orisa series and is followed by Soul of the Deep. The novel follows a young mermaid on her journey to seek forgiveness for a transgression against the creator as she learns what it truly means to be who she is. Skin of the Sea is Bowen’s debut novel and a New York Times bestseller that received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews. Bowen is a Nigerian-Welsh writer and teacher. She studied creative writing at Bath Spa University while working many other jobs. Bowen connected with her Nigerian heritage in adulthood and was inspired to write Skin of the Sea after learning about Black mermaids and their impact on West African culture. She lives in the U.K. with her family. This guide follows the 2021 Random House edition of Skin of the Sea.

Plot Summary

Skin of the Sea is set in West Africa during the 1400s, shortly after the Portuguese began abducting West Africans from their homes and selling them as slaves. Backdropped by this history, the novel incorporates the slave trade while focusing on Yoruba myth and elements of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson. Simi (Simidele) is one of seven Mami Wata (mermaids) created by Yemoja (goddess of the sea) to carry the souls of those taken from their homes back to Olodumare (the creator). When Simi saves the life of Kola, a boy thrown from a slave ship during a storm, and brings him back to Yemoja’s island, she unknowingly defies Olodumare’s decree that orisas (gods) and their helpers shall not interfere in the lives or deaths of humans, which starts Simi on a journey to seek forgiveness for herself and Yemoja.

After jumping into the sea to escape her own capture, Simi was remade into a Mami Wata by Yemoja, but Simi has never felt like she belongs among the mermaids. Rather than let the sea take the memories of her past life, she chooses to spend time in human form on land and recall who she used to be.

To seek Olodumare’s forgiveness, Simi must travel to Kola’s village and visit the babalawo (priest) there to retrieve powerful rings and contact Olodumare before Esu, the trickster god, learns of what Simi has done and convinces the creator to destroy the Mami Wata. During this journey, Simi must remain in human form to travel among people, and the longer she is human, the more her memories return and the more she longs for what she no longer has. Additionally, Yemoja warns Simi not to develop feelings for any human, as doing so will revoke her Mami Wata power and leave her nothing but seafoam.

Simi and Kola encounter orisas and mythical creatures on their journey that help and hinder their cause. When they reach Kola’s village, they learn his twin younger siblings were taken by Esu. As twins, the siblings have mystical abilities, and with them gone, the land begins to rot. At the ceremony to confirm their power a week prior, the babalawo gave the rings to the twins. The twins may not be separated from the rings by force, but if Esu manages to charm or trick the twins into giving him the rings, he will have supreme power over the creator and all beings. With the company of Kola’s warrior friends, he and Simi set out for Esu’s island. Fearful that she won’t be able to stop Esu, Simi uses the cover of night to enter the water and transform into Mami Wata, where she makes a deal with the imprisoned orisa of the deep ocean to help stop Esu.

On the journey, Simi gets close to the group, and her feelings of friendship toward Kola deepen toward love. On the island, the group faces danger after danger until only Simi, a mortally wounded Kola, and one warrior remain to enter the orisa’s palace. Once inside, the remaining warrior reveals himself as Esu. The orisa has been following Simi’s journey almost since the beginning and plans to destroy the Mami Wata as soon as he learns where one of the twins hid their ring. Realizing Esu’s greatest flaw is arrogance, Simi tells Esu the missing ring is in the sea and then tricks him into believing he’s won before dragging him out a palace window and into the water. She drags Esu to the bottom of the sea, where the orisa of the deep imprisons Esu and gives Simi the missing ring.

Simi brings the ring back to the palace, where she finds Kola taking his final breaths. With the help of the twins’ power, Simi restores Kola’s soul to his body, bringing him back to life. Simi uses the rings to contact Olodumare, who forgives her and thanks her for what she’s done. In addition to the ring, Simi agreed to keep the imprisoned orisa of the sea company, and as Kola reaches for her, she dives into the water, leaving him and the twins to find their way home.