Brianne Kane – Staff Writer
Mrs. Caliban is one of a kind; there is no arguing that point. Without giving anything away, Mrs. Caliban is about a 1982 housewife who has an affair and falls in love…with a seven foot tall sea monster. Well monster is such a harsh term – Mrs. Caliban fell in love with a seven foot tall sea CREATURE. If it makes it any better, he loved her back. We start Mrs. Caliban learning about Mrs. Caliban herself and watching her interact with her dimwitted and useless husband, her alcoholic and argumentative best friend, as well as her children both empty headed and useless like their father. All in all, Mrs. Caliban is lonely in every sense of the word. Suddenly, while Mrs. Caliban is cleaning and listening to the radio, a voice comes on the radio encouraging her, in the same voice as the commercial on the radio and it only happens when Mrs. Caliban is alone. Soon, Larry the seven foot tall sea CREATURE is more than just a voice and the story of Mrs. Caliban thickens. Larry, or Aquarius, is hiding from perverse scientists who conducted hurtful experiments on him and forced him to take place in ménage e trios, whom he then killed and disemboweled, causing him to be on the lamb.
Did you get lost at the seven foot tall sea creature having an affair with a housewife named Dorothy, after he escaped a research lab with literal evil scientists? I don’t blame you. Mrs. Caliban stretches the imagination and takes the term “suspension of disbelief” to an entirely new level. However, there is something about Dorothy and Larry that is genuine, necessary even for them both. For Dorothy Caliban, her life is in shambles and she has nothing to look forward to. For Larry, he was captured from his home (the ocean) and tortured and assaulted in the name of science. Both of these characters need a “safe haven,” which is precisely why they create such an immediate bond. Neither the writing nor the characters seem dated in any way, meaning nothing about this novel reminds the reader that it takes place in the past. The writing is simple, straight forward without being plain and given the plot, this is miraculous. Most stories dealing with seven foot tall sea creatures escaping the lab of a mad scientist involve magic, undercover spies, ray guns or even wands – but Mrs. Caliban is entirely limited to reality, the only aspect out of this world, is Larry himself.
This leads to the biggest question of the novel: Is Larry, the seven foot tall sea creature whom Mrs. Dorothy Caliban falls in love with, even real? The human brain is capable of amazing things, like convincing someone something it there when it is not. Could Mrs. Caliban be so depressed that she created her own perfect friend? One she can hang out with during the day, and have sex with whenever she wants – what about that doesn’t seem perfect? But Larry is a sea monster. Larry has gulls. Larry eats avocados whole because he’s from the ocean and he thinks they’re special. No one else has seen Larry. The novel ends open ended, although I would suggest not finishing this book in public (I threw it across the room in a fit of rage, while a friend of mine welled up at the ending.)
Although Mrs. Caliban is odd, there is no denying that, it is exceptional as well. The story unfolds effortlessly, naturally as the character’s progress. Mrs. Caliban and Larry learn more about each other, which inevitability teaches Mrs. Caliban about herself. In the end, Mrs. Caliban doesn’t feel like a crazy old woman but rather someone who is lonely and misses feeling loved. And Larry doesn’t seem like a giant sea creature, but just a guy who got lost and fell in love. Being under 150 pages, Mrs. Caliban is a quick and striking novel.
