Nen and the Lonely Fisherman by Ian Eagleton

There have been many re-imaginings of The Little Mermaid, with varying degrees of success, but I feel that Nen will become – and deserves to be – a standout story to be cherished.

In an era of much digitalised techniques, Mayhew’s more traditional renderings create a highly individualistic style is immediately identifiable and filled with such warmth and love. The sweeping waves of the sea mirror the mists and colours of the sky – a poetic style that captivates and entwines you into the storytelling.

James Mayhew’s illustrations are, as always, gorgeous and utterly unique. The book is all the more powerful because of this – we don’t need the author to tell us that Nen’s and Ernest’s love should be allowed because we see it for ourselves and wonder at those who are trying to make it stop. The messages are there in the story but evolve alongside it – they are as much part of the action as everything else that is happening.

This might make Nen sound like a book that preaches to its audience but Eagleton’s prose succeeds in saying these things without ever resorting to moralistic posturing. It is a wistful evocation of how life could be if we loved and accepted everyone for who they are instead of through our own misconceptions and judgements. It is a quiet lament about the how humankind is disregarding the seas. It is a story about companionship and love – a love that, for many, is forbidden. Like the oceans, this picture book has hidden depths. He causes a terrible tempest, during which Ernest’s little boat is capsized and Ernest falls into the tumultuous waves of the sea. He doesn’t want his son mixing with the people who are destroying his oceans. The match feels pre-destined: both Nen and Ernest are kind and caring but lonely, looking for their soulmate. That is until he meets Ernest, a fisherman who devotes his life to ‘rescuing, freeing, collecting, dreaming … and creating!’. He is happy but also missing something important from his life – companionship. Nen is a Merman, who spends his days exploring the ocean and all the treasures beneath the waves. The first is a delightful story resulting from the collaboration of Ian Eagleton and James Mayhew called Nen and the Lonely Fisherman, published by Owlet Press.

Nen and the Lonely Fisherman by Ian Eagleton