Tideland

Rating:
Summary: Taxidermy meets Behind the Attic Wall meets Teddy.
Review: "Tideland," Mitch Cullin's third novel, is at once similar and different than his first two novels, "Whompyjawed" & "Branches." First, the background takes place in the vast wilds of West Texas - loosely connected to the two prior novels. (In Whompjawed, Sherriff Branches - the narrative voice in Branches - has a cameo appearance. And, completing the circle, in Tideland there is a mention of Willy Keeler, star football player in Whompyjawed. - So, we can assume Tideland takes place in the same region as the first two...) Cullin, using the eyes of Tideland's narrator Jeliza Rose, again shows his gift for capturing surrounding. The look through a small girl's imaginative world born amongst the surrounding Johnsongrass, the mesquite, fireflies, etc. It takes on a magical quality, without being overly sentimental. It reminded me of a juvenile book I read years ago, "Behind the Attic Wall" by Sylvia Cassedy. Except I felt that a large portion of the middle section of Tideland could have been eliminated with. Some might appreciate the "real time" aspect of it, but I have to say it became an annoyance the way it began to loop, day to day. When Jeliza Rose finally meets the odd duo of Dell and Dickens, it is a sigh of relief.

In Tideland, Cullin seems to extemporize many of the odd details amongst its pages. Like Jeliza's father's obsession with Denmark, bog men, his rockabilly past, onto the imaginative worlds of Jeliza and Dickens', etc. Most of these details seem to have no purpose other than being creative. But I, personally, appreciated it, and also encourage Cullin to cut loose more in the future. Which leads to a criticism of Tideland. Throughout much of the novel Jeliza's voice bounces around from extremely naïve to Salinger's Teddy gifted, making connections and observations most adults may pass over. In Whompyjawed, Cullin's sense of tact, control, and believability in the narrator's voice is impeccable. As is Branches, for that matter. But in Tideland, I got the definite sense that Cullin wanted to breakout and away from the boundaries of Jeliza's voice. And though Jeliza often mimicked things heard or learned from her father/mother, there's a different feeling that Cullin interjected himself, his creative observations in place of the limited capacities of Jeliza's.

And though saying what I have, Tideland is darkly funny, creative, and an interesting read. Its plots (once into gear) twist into unexpected places of the heart and imagination at the drop of a hat. And even though I do not recommend Tideland as highly as his first two efforts, Cullin is a great talent to be reckoned with. Watch out.

Rating:
Summary: Taxidermy meets Behind the Attic Wall meets Teddy.
Review: "Tideland," Mitch Cullin's third novel, is at once similar and different than his first two novels, "Whompyjawed" & "Branches." First, the background takes place in the vast wilds of West Texas - loosely connected to the two prior novels. (In Whompjawed, Sherriff Branches - the narrative voice in Branches - has a cameo appearance. And, completing the circle, in Tideland there is a mention of Willy Keeler, star football player in Whompyjawed. - So, we can assume Tideland takes place in the same region as the first two...) Cullin, using the eyes of Tideland's narrator Jeliza Rose, again shows his gift for capturing surrounding. The look through a small girl's imaginative world born amongst the surrounding Johnsongrass, the mesquite, fireflies, etc. It takes on a magical quality, without being overly sentimental. It reminded me of a juvenile book I read years ago, "Behind the Attic Wall" by Sylvia Cassedy. Except I felt that a large portion of the middle section of Tideland could have been eliminated with. Some might appreciate the "real time" aspect of it, but I have to say it became an annoyance the way it began to loop, day to day. When Jeliza Rose finally meets the odd duo of Dell and Dickens, it is a sigh of relief.

In Tideland, Cullin seems to extemporize many of the odd details amongst its pages. Like Jeliza's father's obsession with Denmark, bog men, his rockabilly past, onto the imaginative worlds of Jeliza and Dickens', etc. Most of these details seem to have no purpose other than being creative. But I, personally, appreciated it, and also encourage Cullin to cut loose more in the future. Which leads to a criticism of Tideland. Throughout much of the novel Jeliza's voice bounces around from extremely naïve to Salinger's Teddy gifted, making connections and observations most adults may pass over. In Whompyjawed, Cullin's sense of tact, control, and believability in the narrator's voice is impeccable. As is Branches, for that matter. But in Tideland, I got the definite sense that Cullin wanted to breakout and away from the boundaries of Jeliza's voice. And though Jeliza often mimicked things heard or learned from her father/mother, there's a different feeling that Cullin interjected himself, his creative observations in place of the limited capacities of Jeliza's.

And though saying what I have, Tideland is darkly funny, creative, and an interesting read. Its plots (once into gear) twist into unexpected places of the heart and imagination at the drop of a hat. And even though I do not recommend Tideland as highly as his first two efforts, Cullin is a great talent to be reckoned with. Watch out.

Rating:
Summary: Cullin's best
Review: Both poetic and thrilling, the best thing about this novel in the texture: the language and visual imagery are both stunning. This is a wonderful take on a twisted childhood, and so it's no surpirise Terry Gilliam will direct the movie version: the surreal and dreamy misprision is right up his alley. One might quibble that the voice of the narrator in the novel would be beyond that of a child, but the payoff of the reading experience is probably worth the suspension of disbelief.

Rating:
Summary: Cullin's best
Review: Both poetic and thrilling, the best thing about this novel in the texture: the language and visual imagery are both stunning. This is a wonderful take on a twisted childhood, and so it's no surpirise Terry Gilliam will direct the movie version: the surreal and dreamy misprision is right up his alley. One might quibble that the voice of the narrator in the novel would be beyond that of a child, but the payoff of the reading experience is probably worth the suspension of disbelief.

Rating:
Summary: Hypnotic and Shocking
Review: Tideland seized my imagination from the first page, and I think most readers will follow Cullin's extraordinary conceptions with astonishment and delight. Told in the past tense, thus suggesting a good deal of time has passed before its telling, Jeliza-Rose's adventures among the mesquites are haunting, strange, and often beautiful. Her encounters with the odd pair of Dell and Dickens come at a welcome time, yet leads us down an even darker path of family secrets and hidden boxes of dynamite.

Considering Tideland came just months after Cullin's Branches and only a few months before his equally wonderful but different The Cosmology of Bing, one can only imagine what this very talented and singular storyteller has up his sleeve next. Until then, I highly recommend the curious world of Tideland, which is a work of so unusual a nature as to throw new light on Cullin's already brilliant career.

Rating:
Summary: Hypnotic and Shocking
Review: Tideland seized my imagination from the first page, and I think most readers will follow Cullin's extraordinary conceptions with astonishment and delight. Told in the past tense, thus suggesting a good deal of time has passed before its telling, Jeliza-Rose's adventures among the mesquites are haunting, strange, and often beautiful. Her encounters with the odd pair of Dell and Dickens come at a welcome time, yet leads us down an even darker path of family secrets and hidden boxes of dynamite.

Considering Tideland came just months after Cullin's Branches and only a few months before his equally wonderful but different The Cosmology of Bing, one can only imagine what this very talented and singular storyteller has up his sleeve next. Until then, I highly recommend the curious world of Tideland, which is a work of so unusual a nature as to throw new light on Cullin's already brilliant career.