Tideland
by Mitch Cullin
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Book Summary Information
Author: Mitch CullinEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-01-31
ISBN: 080231340X
Number of pages: 182
Publisher: Dufour Editions
Book Reviews of Tideland
Book Review: Texas Gothic
Summary: 5 Stars
Alas, it seems that Terry Gilliam's film adaptation, beset with problems, will not serve well this fine, imaginative novel. That is a shame, because I am convinced that one day this book will be a classic, with a place of its own next to Flannery O'Connor's "Wise Blood", and the works of William Faulkner.
I entreat those of you who like beautiful, evocative writing combined with indelibly grotesque characters to give this book a try.
***SPOILER ALERT!!*** IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE READING A PLOT SUMMARY, STOP RIGHT HERE.
To read this book is to inhabit the mind of Jeliza-Rose, the narrator. Jeliza-Rose is an unfortunate young girl, a haunting victim in the mold of Edward Gorey's "Hapless Child". Both of her parents are junkies, and by the time she is nine, Jeliza-Rose has learned to prepare their fixes for them. When the mother overdoses and dies, Jeliza-Rose's father (a has-been Rock 'n Roller) travels to Texas with her by Greyhound bus to find sanctuary in his family's remote and deserted homestead. Not long after moving into the house, the father also dies of an apparent overdose. As her father reposes untouched in his chair, the utterly alone jeliza- Rose retreats into the shadowy world of her imagination. She occupies herself by battling the natural intrusions of the outside world--red ants and a noisome squirrel that invade the house. There is a beautiful, dreamy suspension about these interludes. Jeliza-Rose further protects herself by engaging in imaginary telepathic conversations with her collection of Barbie-doll heads, particularly one that she calls "Classique". The dolls are enlisted as her allies. For parts of the book, the doll heads seem to function like a Greek chorus, bouncing comments both satirical and poignant back to Jeliza-Rose as she play-acts through her traumas.
As Jeliza-Rose begins tentatively exploring the area around the house, she encounters a mysterious, shrouded woman at work gardening. After observing the woman from a distance, Jeliza-Rose's curiosity moves her toward making contact. The woman at first seems only aloof and severe--but instead of hope for Jeliza-Rose's plight, the woman ("Dell") offers only a more deeply disturbed pathology. Jeliza-Rose is drawn into her web, where also resides "Dickens", Dell's freakish, child-like brother. Jeliza-Rose forms a queasy bond with Dickens, as his "playmate."
At the conclusion of the book, Dickens in effect blasts a hole into the real world by dynamiting a passenger train which runs by the property. Whether Jeliza-Rose will choose to be rescued remains unclear, but Mitch Cullin seems to imply that only another catastrophe can free the girl from her doomed existence.
Mitch Cullin has created a character, in Jeliza-Rose, that will haunt your mind long after you have finished this book. She is the wispish, precociously imaginative Alice-in-Wonderland for our dark, drug-addled times.
Summary of Tideland
A look at the world through the eyes of a wildly imaginative young girl in contemporary Texas.Movie Tie-Ins Books
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