Cover of Sirena

Sirena

  • 1998 first published
  • 210 pages
  • 4 editions

Donna Jo Napoli's Sirena (1998) is a mythic fiction and mermaid fiction novel. Much of the action takes place in Aegean Sea Region. It deals with mermaids, Greek Mythology, mediterranean region and quick reads.

28 Open Library readers have it on their want-to-read list. It has been published in 4 editions.

It runs to roughly 210 pages — 3–4 hours of reading at an average pace.

About Sirena

Offered immortality if they can win a man's love, Sirena's mermaid sisters use their silvery voices to lure sailors to them even though it will cause the sailors certain death. Sirena, however, exiles herself from this grim mating game and winds up on the island of Lemnos. There she meets the Greek warrior Philoctetes (the subject of a famous play by Sophocles). True to the legend, this Philoctetes has been abandoned by his crew mates because of a snake bite, but instead of spending the next 10 years letting his wounds fester, per the Sophoclean model, this hero falls in love with an equally adoring Sirena. She becomes immortal, a gift that she does not want in light of her lover's inability to share it, and then she must yield him up when fate calls upon him to reenter the Trojan War
Description from Open Library

Themes, setting & tropes

Genres

Setting

  • Aegean Sea Region

Subjects

  • Mermaids
  • Greek Mythology
  • Mythology, Greek
  • Children's fiction
  • Mediterranean region
  • Aegean Sea Region
  • Best books for young adults, Fiction
  • Romance fiction
  • Quick reads

Quick answers

Who wrote Sirena?

Sirena was written by Donna Jo Napoli and first published in 1998.

What genre is Sirena?

It is usually shelved as Myth & Legend Fiction and Mermaids & Sea Creatures.

How long is Sirena?

The median edition has 210 pages, about 3–4 hours of reading at 250 words per minute.

What books are similar to Sirena?

Readers who like it often enjoy The Gray-eyed Goddess, Daughter of the Pirate King and The Siren.

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