Summerland

Rating:
Summary: Not recommended
Review: Good fantasy/childrens' authors (Rowling, Tolkien, L'Engle, Ende, Lewis, etc.) twist or bend reality to reveal new worlds. In contrast, Chabon uses a blunt force trauma approach.

For example, there is a special creature (Cutbelly) who can travel from "Summerland" to "Winterland" and other worlds. Cutbelly can take the protagonist (Ethan) with him. Cutbelly dies or gets injured (reader can't tell) and Ethan simply picks up a really smart/nerdy grade school classmate to perform the complex task of navigating between worlds/dimensions. No explanation given as to how this seemingly normal gradeschool child without magical abilities can do this.

Characters, save one or two, did little to endear themselves to the reader.

The Ultimate Fatal Flaw: Chabon rather randomly creates characters, plot points, situations and worlds without adequate grounding, explanation, or motivation.

Unfortunately, I rarely read fiction (almost always reading work-related nonfiction) --- so this book was to be my "Summer" treat.

Avoid the dissapointment.

Rating:
Summary: Home run by Michael Chabon
Review: I expected a funny interesting book from the writer of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, but I didn't give Chabon enough credit. Summerland is great if you like baseball or fantasy, or if you enjoy any story with an active imagination.

This book is 1 part fable (explaining why there is never any rainfall on this small corner of Washington), 5 parts adventure (Ethan Feld is on a quest - not only to improve his pitching, but also to save Summerland, baseball, and the world), and 2 parts baseball, bringing in not only detailed information about the game and some of the best players, but also a genuine love of the sport.

A kid at heart, I love reading kids books, but this is really a book for all ages. I bought two copies of this book after reading it (in hardback because this book is so good it can't wait for the paperback version) - one for my 10 year old sister and one for my 28 year old sister. It is really that good. I loved this book.

Thank you Michael Chabon for writing it. Summerland is wonderful.

Rating:
Summary: perfect for my commute
Review: I got this CD from the library and throughly enjoyed it! The author should have a second career as a voice-over artist! He was great! I don't get why people had issues with this book; I'm 27 and I love'd it! I'm hoping to get a copy for my brother who's in high school...for anyone who enjoys baseball & fantasy (I'm a cubs fan and well acquainted with both! :) It's perfect!)

Rating:
Summary: Suspend your Disbelief
Review: I have spent a number of incredibly enjoyable hours over the past few days devouring Summerland (when I should have been writing, playing with my kids, etc.,). Chabon has pulled from a variety of mythologies, Native American legends, and a remarkable storehouse of baseball lore in order to create an engrossing world of fantastic creatures and thrilling adventures. If John Irving, Stephen King, and Susan Cooper decided to write a book together, they just might come up with one as compelling as Summerland. Yes, Summerland is quite different from the magnificent Kavalier & Clay, but it is still uniquely Chabon--with its funky humor, in-depth characterization, and unusual vision, all steered by a questing morality. Suspend your disbelief, sit back, and enjoy. Incidentally, although Summerland is classified as adolescent lit, I found it in the adult section at my local library.

Rating:
Summary: Second 1/2 Made It Worthwhile
Review: I read this book because it was a gift from a friend who really enjoyed it. By page 250 of this 500-page book I was wondering what she liked so much about it. It seemed like the author was trying too hard, using too much cloying imagery and too many heart-rending techniques.

But then, at about page 250, where the young girl is talking to the sasquatch about leaving your family to follow your heart's desire... it somehow became a page turner.

Yes, the book does ramble and it really does try too hard - but all in all it is a pleasant read.

Sidenote: Keep in mind, I'm not the target 'young adult' audience. This is the view of a 35-year old avid reader.

Rating:
Summary: More Magic by Michael
Review: It was always apparent that Michael Chabon had a fantasy novel in him. From the vivid imagery of the Cloud Factory in "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" through the fact/fiction world of Kavalier and Clay, Chabon's ability to create worlds with words has been unparralled in so called "modern fiction". What's suprising is the ease with which he leaps from serious writing to whimsical storytelling, without missing a beat.
"Summerland" was rumored to be a book for youths, but the crisp language and artful plotline are hallmark Chabon. Set in parallel worlds of Little League baseball, the story speaks to the kid in all of us that doesn't have all the talent, but finds in the end that faith can put tickmarks on the scorecard. Ethan Feld, the hero of "Summerland" is clearly a younger version of Art from "Mysteries", playing a part he feels wholly unsuited for, yet Chabon doesn't allow him to fail. One of my favorite things about Chabon's writing is his method of creating this type of character, and then nurturing him through rough waters. The other role players in this story include a legendary baseball bat ("Splinter"), ferishers, a werefox (a play on Chabon's Werewolves in Their youth?)and other fantasy sorts that are richly drawn and highly stylized. Ethan's friend, Jennifer T. Rideout is also a great character, with a knowledge of baseball lore that accompanies a golden throwing arm, and she is probably Chabon's best female creation to date (sorry Phlox), owing to her youth and love of baseball.
By the time you reach the "Home" section of this 500 page novel, you are reminded why, if you are a fan of his, you love Chabon's writing. His stories always close neatly, and leave you wondering just what happens to his cast on page 501. He's truly one of our greatest writers, and "Summerland" is a worthy successor to his achievements to date.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining fantasy romp
Review: Okay, you won a Pulitzer. Where do you go from there? If Michael Chabon is any indicator, then you venture into the jungle of kids' fantasy. Written because his daughter isn't yet old enough to read his previous works, Chabon's first kids' book is an entertaining blend of fantasy, folklore, and... well, baseball.

Ethan Feld doesn't like baseball, and he's about the only person in the idyllic Clam Island who doesn't. So he's more than slightly confused with a bushbaby-like werefox called Cutbelly takes him through the Tree that connects all the worlds, to the Summerland. There, a race of American-Indian-like "ferishers" are being threatened by the villainous Coyote, who is trying to destroy the Tree -- and everyone on it. And a giant clam (yes, you read correctly) has predicted that Ethan will be the one to help the ferishers. (And somehow it involves baseball)

Then the hideous graylings massacre the ferishers, leaving only the chieftain Cinquefoil behind. And Ethan's father is kidnapped by Coyote, who wants Mr. Feld's airship secrets to help him, well, destroy the world. With the help of his best friend Jennifer T., Cinquefoil, a pleasant Sasquatch and others, he sets out to be the baseball-playing hero they all need.

Chabon manages to create a book with a warm edge, despite the poignant spots and grim storyline. Very, very weird material such as the ferishers, the giants, werefoxes, baseball saving the world, and the giant prophetic oyster is somehow made quite normal and believable. But tossing fantasy elements at the readers isn't why the book is appealing; rather, it is Chabon's ability to make us laugh, cry or shiver. Between the more comical moments are things such as a ferisher mourning her beloved baby brother, who became a faceless rag doll, or the introduction of the hideous, head-pitching graylings (which, as disfigured ferishers, show anunderstanding of what made J.R.R. Tolkien's Ringwraiths so hideous -- ordinary creatures transformed into something intensely evil and hideous).

Ethan is the oddball kid, the quiet one who doesn't want to doggedly pursue something he isn't good at, and can't possibly imagine himself a hero. Jennifer T. is a tough girl, but her own vulnerabilities are shown in her dislike of failure, even if it wasn't the other person's fault. And Coyote rises above most fantasy villains as he is presented as evil, but we get some insights into his hideously twisted thought processes. Some of the characters, such as Taffy the Sasquatch, are a little harder to swallow, but Cinquefoil is a very human, very likeable guy. While this book is fairly wordy, it's a deft wordiness that fans of "Hobbit" will probably enjoy. Chabon's dialogue is realistic, and his descriptions are detailed but not overly so.

Because of Chabon's Pulitzer win, some readers may be expecting an incredibly in-depth classic for the ages. That will only yield disappointment. It's merely a good book, with all the elements of a good book that kids, and most probably adults as well, will enjoy. Not to mention die-hard baseball fans.

Rating:
Summary: Chabon should go back to writing adult stories
Review: Summerland by Michael Chabon
If I had to describe this book in 5 words, it would probably be a spin- off of the Harry Potter series. This book was not one of the best books I have read to say the least. I mean, sure it was "ok" and it did have some originality into it, but it didn't live up to its praise by Publisher's Weekly review stating that "Pulitzer Prize winner Chabon hits a high- flying home run." I wasn't impressed by Chabon's writing; the book didn't hold my attention; the most attention-grabbing parts were the color less pictures at the beginnings of each chapter. This book took me a lot to get into it and nothing to get me out of it. I highly anticipated this book when my 7th grade language teacher told me that after reading "Time Magazine" article on the adult author, Chabon is going to be the next J.K Rowling. But obviously, Chabon should go back to being an adult writer. Chabon is an adult writer so maybe adults would like to read a children's book written by an adult writer, I presume why the ratings for this book are so high. I would find it to be an insult to J.K Rowling's work because her work was being compared to his. Summerland is about a boy, Ethan, who lost his mother at a very young age, (like Harry Potter) and is having trouble playing baseball in which he is forced to play by his father. His Father is an inventor and invented a flying car. At this point the author doesn't clarify if this is in the future, past or present. From there, Ethan meets a creature by the name of Cutebelly and tells him of the other secret worlds in, which he lives in, that nobody knows of which might be vanished by an evil dictator named Coyote. Then Ethan discovered his father mysteriously disappeared (who was really kidnapped by Coyote). Along goes Ethan and friends to stop the evil Coyote from ruling the world(s) and possibly killing his Father by traveling through the worlds using his Father's old flying car and winning baseball games to defeat enemies that cross their path. This book is filled with morals, adventure and sickening amount of baseball games, so many that it makes you literally want to jump out of your chair and get a bat in order to play baseball using the book as a baseball. On a more serious note, I enjoyed how the author incorporated the metaphor of summer having its own world since during the summer it feels like a whole different place. I enjoyed his various and descriptive characters that he put in the book, but it may be overwhelming to some people. This book is arguably bad or good considering the person. My opinion on this book when recommending it would be not to read it, but if you enjoy Michael Chabon as a writer and have an obsession with baseball I would definitely recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Delightful and Disappointing
Review: This book is a little frustrating. It has all the right pieces to be a fine book, for kids and adults. Baseball. Mythology. American legends like Paul Bunyan and John Henry. A battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil.

But despite all of these, or maybe because of these, subjects and characters and plot devices, the book is a little bit hollow. Chabon sounds too many notes. The characters are charming, but not touching, if that makes any sense. I kept wanting to dive into the imaginative space of Summerland. At the same time, the confusion of all the bric-a-brac allusions to Norse mythology, then Native American mythology, then American Legend, graft upon graft, kept my feet planted firmly on the edge of the pool.

An okay read for a lazy summer's day, but one that probably won't be read again.


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Rating:
Summary: Summerland
Review: This was a very, very, very good book. it was very well written. this book is wonderful for all ages. i would reccommend it for the High-Schhol age reading leval though.