Summerland (novel)

Infobox Book |
name = Summerland
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author = Michael Chabon
cover_artist = William Joyce
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Fantasy novel
publisher = Miramax (part of Hyperion)
release_date = September 17, 2002
media_type = Print (Hardcover and Paperback) and audio-CD
pages = 500 pp (hardcover edition)
isbn = ISBN 0-7868-0877-2 (hardcover edition)
preceded_by =
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"Summerland" is a 2002 fantasy young adult novel by American writer Michael Chabon. It is about young children who save the world from destruction by playing baseball, the central theme and symbol throughout the novel. Often touted as a Native American version of "The Chronicles of Narnia", "Summerland" weaves elements of a World Series, parallel-universe road trip, and a hero's odyssey. Despite mixed reviews ("The New York Times" called it "bewilderingly busy" and likened it to "the novelization of an animated action film"), [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9405E4D71E30F934A25752C1A9649C8B63 CHILDREN'S BOOKS; Field of Really Strange Dreams - New York Times ] ] the novel became one of the bestselling children's books of all time. [ [http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-chabon1may01,1,477309.story?ctrack=1&cset=true The idea hit him right in the kishkes - Los Angeles Times ] ]

Plot summary

The story starts off on a small island off the coast of Washington called Clam Island. There, an eleven year old boy named Ethan plays baseball but does not acquire good baseball skills. He encounters a gracious werefox, Cutbelly, who explains the Lodgepole to the ignorant Ethan. Cutbelly explains that there is a life form known as Coyote who is planning to end the Lodgepole. He takes Ethan to the Summerlands where they meet small Indian looking people called ferishers. Ethan’s dad is captured by Coyote, as is Cutbelly. Ethan assembles a small group out of a ferisher clan leader, Cinquefoil, and two friends from baseball, Thor and Jennifer T., to go out and find Ethan’s dad and save the world. They have many adventures, accumulate intimate friends who give them assurance, and play baseball, the game of worlds, with the hope that they will stop Coyote.

etting

The setting of the book Summerland is anomalous. It is explained by a character in the beginning of the novel that there is not one world but four worlds. Earth and the universe as most humans know it is only one world, the Middling. The true universe is a giant tree. On the tree are four branches, which are the four worlds; the Summerlands, the bleak Winterlands, and the Gleaming are the other worlds. These break up into smaller and smaller branches until they hit leaves, which are places. There are many places on the tree where the branches touch each other. Certain beings that are Shadowtails can move along these crossings. The tree is referred to as the Lodgepole. The passive creatures in the Gleaming are sedentary because of Coyote. Coyote closed the Gleaming with a shield so creatures can’t leave or go to the Gleaming. The Gleaming is obscure to most beings.

Mythology

Many links to different types of Mythology are evident in the novel. The two most prevalent are Norse mythology and Native American Mythology. Certain examples are subtly referenced, such as in the name of the Felds' car, Skidbladnir, known in Norse myths as the legendary vehicle of Freyr, so well crafted it can fold up and fit in his pocket. Also, the name of Thor Wignutt is a reference to the Norse god of storms, Thor. Coyote introduces himself as Loki, Norse god of chaos at one point, and the term 'Ragged Rock', meaning the end of the world, translates to the Norse Ragnarok, the final battle in which the world is destroyed and reborn in the Skaldic poems. Finally, the Lodgepole, tree of the worlds, is based on Yggdrasil, the world tree of the Norse. The names and actions of Coyote (aka Glooscap, Satan and other monikers), and Raven are of Native American origin, while the legend of La Llorona is Hispanic-American. The tales of the Big Liars are taken from heroes of American folklore: The Tall Man with the Axe (Paul Bunyan), The Tall Man with the Big Maul (Joe Magarac), the Tall Man with the Harpoon (Old Stormalong), the Tall Man with the Pole (Mike Fink),The Man with the Knife in His Boot (possibly Stagger Lee), The Man with the Rattlesnake Necktie (Pecos Bill), The Tall Man with the Hammer (John Henry), Annie Christmas (Female Mississippi keelboat pilot), and Judge Roy Bean, owner of the Jersey Lily Saloon. Also, the "big one-eyed bully" referenced by Coyote near the end of the book may be a reference to Odin. Chiron Brown (Ringfinger) the scout who recruits Ethan as a hero, is named after the Centaur Chiron; the role of Chiron in the Prometheus myth (Promtheus being one of the masks of Coyote) adds depth and resonance to the character Ringfinger Brown.

Non-mythological references

One of Jennifer T. Rideout's great-aunts is named Aunt Shambleau. "Shambleau" is a word invented by science fiction writer C.L. Moore, the title of one of her Northwest Smith stories, about sexual addiction; the titular shambleau is a medusa-figure. Aunt Shambleau enforces behavior among her great-nieces and nephews by threatening to take off her dark glasses although, when in fact she does so, her eyes are no different from those of other humans.

References

Further reading

* [http://dir.salon.com/story/books/int/2002/10/22/chabon/index.html "The lost adventure of childhood"] , a 2002 Salon.com interview with Chabon about the novel
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