In The Jellyfish Problem, Tessa Yang explores grief, community, and human connection in a story about a small island in Maine being menaced by a giant glowing jellyfish the local schoolchildren have dubbed Clementine. Dr. Jo Ness is a jellyfish scientist trying to finish her book and raise jellyfish sprouts at the small aquarium she works at while processing her grief at the loss of her close colleague and friend Aldo. When she receives a call from her college best friend and a blurry photo of a species of jelly she’s never been seen before, Jo decides this mystery is exactly what she needs to distract herself from her problems and sets off for Maine. The Jellyfish Problem publishes June 2, and I would like to thank Penguin Random House for the ARC.
To start with, The Jellyfish Problem lies much further towards the literary fiction end of the speculative fiction spectrum than the horror or fantasy end. If that floats your boat, I think The Jellyfish Problem is something you should definitely add to your list! Though her presence upends the lives of all the characters in Maine, the titular Clementine has surprisingly little time actually on the page and instead haunts the narrative as everyone scrambles to deal with her. Instead, much of the focus is on Jo, who spends her time dealing with her own feelings rather than racing to use her scientific training and knowledge of jellyfish to help the locals. Jo’s obsession with jellyfish is wrapped up in her grief of losing Aldo, and she can neither study Clementine without that lens nor process her feelings and move on. The rest of the characters, inhabitants of the tiny Shattering Point island, are also stuck in limbo, mostly due to Clementine but also as people who have chosen to live on a remote island cut off from the bustle of mainstream society. As characters are forced to re-examine their lives and feelings because of a giant jellyfish, expect lots of introspection and grief rather than Jaws theme music or magical jellyfish action.
The Jellyfish Problem also deals a lot with relationships. Jo has been estranged from Nadia since they graduated from college, and yet drops everything and puts her career on hold to go and help her out. Not quite hoping for an explosive reunion considering how quickly Nadia ghosted her after their one college hookup, Jo is nonetheless dismayed to find Nadia is married. To a man. Roger, as a boyfriend, seems eager to dismiss Nadia as flighty, is unbothered when she goes missing, and throughout the rest of the story spends most of his timely posturing. This is actually an incredible portrait of a quintessential queer experience: watching your straight women friends get married to Just Some Guy while you wonder why this is better than being single, what they are possibly getting out of this relationship, and if they even really like each other. Luckily for Jo (and us), the island’s only B&B is run by a lesbian covering for her aunt for the summer named Tony. Jo and Tony’s flirtation isn’t the most important plot line, but it is a happier note than most of the rest of the plot, and gives Jo someone positive to connect with. Tony is also Jo’s in with the rest of the islanders, who do a wonderful job of demonstrating that if you live in a small town, you have to just deal with everyone you live around because there’s no one else to deal with socially, professionally, or romantically.
In conclusion, The Jellyfish Problem does feature a giant glowing jellyfish, but do not let that scare you off if speculative fiction is not your thing. Yang delicately uses Clementine to explore grief, human connection, and group dynamics. From a queer perspective, come for the fantasy of meeting a hot lesbian at your remote B&B and stay for the queer reality of watching baffling romantic choices unfold amongst your straight friends and acquaintances.
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