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    Summerland: A Novel
    Summerland: A Novel
    Summerland: A Novel
    Audiobook15 hours

    Summerland: A Novel

    Written by Michael Chabon

    Narrated by Michael Chabon

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    From the Pulitzer Prize winning Michael Chabon comes this bestselling novel for readers of all ages that blends fantasy and folklore with that most American coming-of-age ritual: baseball—now in a new edition, with an original introduction by the author.

    Ethan Feld is having a terrible summer: his father has moved them to Clam Island, Washington, where Ethan has quickly established himself as the least gifted baseball player the island has ever seen. Ethan’s luck begins to change, however, when a mysterious baseball scout named Ringfinger Brown and a seven-hundred-and-sixty-five-year-old werefox enter his life, dragging Ethan into another world called the Summerlands. But this beautiful, winter-less place is facing destruction at the hands of the villainous Coyote, and it has been prophesized that only Ethan can save it. 

    In this cherished modern classic, the New York Times bestselling, Pulitzer Prize winning author brings his masterful storytelling, dexterous plotting, and singularly envisioned characters to a coming-of-age novel for readers of all ages.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateApr 12, 2016
    ISBN9780062446145
    Author

    Michael Chabon

    Michael Chabon is the bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of seven novels – including The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and The Yiddish Policemen's Union – two collections of short stories, and one other work of non-fiction. He lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife and children.

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    Reviews for Summerland

    3.5/5

    640 ratings48 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is a story of the triumph of good over evil (always an excellent plot choice). I first read it one March when I thought the snow would never stop, and because good is warm and summer and evil is cold and winter in the book, it hit just the right note. If you don't already believe that baseball is beautiful, you probably won't like this book all that much, because baseball is central to both the plot and structure. I have read it several times, and it's been just as good each time.
    • 4/5
      Charming book. Maybe a little too little kiddish for my taste. Wonderful message. Author did a wonderful job narrating.
    • 2/5
      Summerlands by Michael ChabonAmerican Gods by Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite books, as is The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. Now, take Chabon’s voice, Gaiman’s book, toss in a healthy dose of baseball, and make it a “kid’sâ€? book, and you get Summerland. Except it is really not a kid’s book, in my opinion, and there were many parts of this book that I had to reread three of four times before they made sense.2 on LibraryThing
    • 1/5
      Neither Sara nor Brian could get through more than the first 50 pages or so. Though we like Chabon's adult fiction, this book is unsuccessful. The biggest problem is that the supernatural baseball playing elves at the heart of the story speak in a ridiculous, affected dialect. Who can read that?
    • 2/5
      Great story but the book skipped ahead several times. With so much world-jumping the glitches made it difficult to follow along.
    • 4/5
      The baseball theme initially kept me from starting this book, but once I did it completely won me over. Now I just want to go and play! The fantasy setting is first-rate, a smooth blending from a variety of mythologies, bringing them all together in a way that feels very natural. I was immediately enamored of all the characters, especially Chabon's take on Coyote/Loki. The only other book of his I've read is Kavalier & Clay, but this makes me feel I should bump his other work up my queue.
    • 5/5
      Chabon's "children's book" is just as much for adults. However, having the author read the book, gives you the feeling you are his child and he has written it just for you. A long and wonderful story for children if all ages.
    • 4/5
      The story of a true fantasy baseball league. When Ethan's dad is kidnapped by the trickster Coyote as part of a plan to end the world, Ethan and two of his friends cross worlds and play a series of games to save the world in 9 innings.
    • 3/5
      Good YA fiction based on baseball, Norse myths, American folklore, and Indian myths, etc. Good but kind of long.
    • 4/5
      I first read this many years ago and remembered enjoying it, but not the details. I picked it up again when I learned that Michael Chabon was writing for Star Trek: Picard which I love for its intelligent, thoughtful and edgy writing. I enjoyed Summerland this second time, though I found it too long. Still, I love Chabon’s beautiful writing and wide array of characters, from “Coyote” the trickster to Sasquatch to “ferishers” (similar to the mythological “Little People”) to were-beings (I liked that Cutbelly the were-fox affectionately called Ethan and Jennifer T. "piglets"). And though I’m not a baseball fan, I appreciated the references and layout around the game, as I could share that with my baseball-fan husband. I enjoyed the fictional “Clam Island” setting as I live in the San Juan Islands that it was modeled after. Themes of friendship and loyalty and resilience always resonate with me. It took me a long time to finish it, though living in COVID-19 times may have contributed to this. But finish it, I did, and I am glad I did.
    • 5/5
      This is a story about baseball and friendship and perserverance and magic. If that isn't enough to intrigue you then you may have lost your ability to wonder. I'm glad to say that even at 66 years of age I was able to lose myself in this magical book.Ethan Feld is 11 years old and lives with his father on Clam Island off the coast of Washington State. His mother, a veterinarian, died of cancer a few years ago when they were living in Colorado Springs and his father followed a dream that she figured in to this remote spot. Ethan's father is an aeronautical engineer and he is working on a personal use dirigible. He occasionally flies his prototype around the island and sometimes uses it to take Ethan to his Little League baseball games at the tip of the island. This tip is called Summerland for the fact that it is always sunshiney in the summer even though the rest of the island is often covered in clouds. The reason for this unexpected weather pattern is revealed when Ethan finds a werefox that can scamper between different realities. The Summerland end of the island has a connection to another reality that is also called Summerland which is populated by faeries. However this reality and two others that are supported by the great tree of life are in trouble. Coyote, that old trickster of myth, is trying to bring down the whole tree which would end all existence as we know it. Ethan has been identified as the champion who can possibly help prevent this. Ethan isn't so sure of his abilities especially since they seem to depend on his baseball prowess which is pretty much nonexistent. Nevertheless when he comes home and finds his father has been tricked away by Coyote he is determined to try. He gets his friends Jennifer T. Rideout and Thor Wignutt and the werefox Cinqufoil together and they take off in the Feld's old Saab attached to a dirigible envelope. They make it across the join between the worlds but that is just the start of their adventure. Along the way they meet giants and Sasquatches and other beings that are spoken of in myths and stories and tall tales. And they play baseball for increasingly important reasons. Follow their journey and be amazed.What a great way to finish out the year! Although this book is actually meant for children I sincerely loved it. Since I purchased it in 2009 it took me a long time to crack it open but I'm glad I kept it.
    • 2/5
      This thinly-veiled attempt to make baseball interesting via derivative mythology did not succeed.
    • 3/5
      This is a children's book addressed to relatively sophisticated young readers, and to adults who aren't embarrassed to be caught reading children's books. It's definitely not for children who are struggling with their reading skills, or adults who are going to be put off by Chabon's periodically directly addressing his presumed young audience, or who have forgotten how difficult it can be for intelligent children to communicate some things even to the most sympathetic of adults.

      Summerland is set on Clam Island, in Puget Sound, and tells of one harrowing summer for eleven-year-old Ethan Feld, his friends, his father, and the magical little creatures who call themselves ferishers. The summer starts badly for Ethan because the religion of Clam Island is children's baseball, and Ethan is really, really bad at baseball. Because it's a source of constant humiliation and disappointment for him, he naturally hates it. Of course, his father, a gentle if somewhat distracted soul, is the biggest baseball fan on Clam Island, making it difficult for Ethan to simply quit. And on the day when Ethan's baseball humiliation becomes unbearable to him, he starts seeing and hearing impossible things--first a bushbaby, or maybe a fox, or a lemur, or maybe something else, on the road to the game; then a strangely little black man who makes audible comments to Ethan from too far away, and whom no one else seems to notice at all, and finally strange men tearing up the land around an abandoned resort hotel on the most magical and perfect part of the island, when Ethan runs away from the humiliating experience of the baseball game.

      The little black man is Chiron Brown, a talent scout of a very odd kind. The bushbaby, or fox, or lemur, is Cutbelly, Ethan's guide to the world of the ferishers. The ferishers need Ethan's dubious talent as a champion, to save their world, the Summerland, from being completely severed from our world, the Middling, by Coyote and his minions--the sinister gang Ethan saw at the abandoned hotel. Ethan is naturally reluctant to believe that any of this is anything other than a weird delusion, but when his father is kidnapped by Coyote's chief minion, Robin Padfoot, he has to do something. What he does is recruit a couple of his teammates, Jennifer T. Rideout (the best pitcher the Ruth's Fluff-n-Fold Roosters have), and Thor Wignutt (who is convinced he's an alien android) and follow Cutbelly to the Summerland.

      Coyote's ambitions prove to be much greater and more dangerous than merely severing the Summerland and the Middling, and Ethan and his painfully recruited band of would-be heroes (Grim the [little] Giant, Spider-Rose the ferisher princess, Taffy the Sasquatch, barnstorm their way across the Summerland, losing most of their games and falling further and further behind in their struggle to reach the root of the Tree in time to stop Coyote, save the universe, and rescue Ethan's father. It's all grim and frightening enough to satisfy bloodthirsty young minds, without being so scary as to terrify their parents into snatching it out of their hands. Recommended.
    • 5/5
      Lol, re-reading this one a decade later because I found an audiobook read by the author.
    • 2/5
      Ethan Feld is eleven years old and not much of a baseball player. So it seems hardly likely that he would have the stuff of heroes, let alone cross-world mythical heroes that may be required to save the whole shebang. And yet… With his good friend and pitcher, Jennifer T., the changeling Thor Wignutt, and a few other more peculiar acquaintances, Ethan is about to set out on an epic adventure. And also get an opportunity to play some good baseball for a change.Michael Chabon notes in an introduction that he wrote this lengthy yarn over the course of a single year. And some of that shows. There is more plot here than can be adequately covered in the space available. And a whole host of creatures, characters, and cosmic myth-making that needs more time to unfold, or more simmering to intensify the flavour. And in particular there seems to a lack of attention to the emotional detail and commitment required in a young adult novel. Lots and lots of potential. Just not sufficient delivery this time. Which is too bad because Chabon is a tremendous writer. I think if he had given this story the time (and possibly greater length, or conversely a reduced plot) it deserved, it might have been wonderful.Sadly not recommended.
    • 4/5
      I would've gone 4, but I dropped half a star for length. This is a superior YA fantasy, even if you don't like baseball, but it didn't have the richness and depth of Kavalier and Clay to merit 500 pages.Still highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      I forgot to rate this book until I saw that Neil Gaiman rated it. If you like Gaiman, you are probably going to like this book by Michael Chabon, although most of Chabon's books are not this whimsical.
    • 4/5
      Fantasy for all ages of avid readers - might get the attention of a reluctant reader" who is also a baseball fan. *Time* magazine says: "Summerland adapts Norse mythology, Native American folklore, American fables, Homeric myth, Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, to teach the enduring lessons about finding strength within yourself.""
    • 4/5
      Pretty good children's adventure story. It seemed long at times. It was able to surprise me with how things went.
    • 1/5
      Summerland by Michael Chabon is one of those books that had been sitting on my TBR shelf for so long, I couldn't remember when or where I got it. I liked the cover and was hopeful I'd like the book tooWhen a cartoon series needs to stall for time because it's lacking plot, it tosses in a base ball game or a beach episode (or an onsen episode if it's anime). Baseball may be the American (and Japanese) pass time but it doesn't make an interesting television show or in this case, fantasy novel.Clam Island in Puget sound is renowned for its perpetual summer weather and perfect baseball games. Except Ethan Feld can't play. He's terrible at the game and now the safety of the world.So Ethan ends up being recruited to a fairy baseball team, representing Clem Island. His team is up against a team who if they win will bring about "Rag-Rock." Ugh. Even Ragnarok is cutesy in this book.
    • 4/5
      Summerland combines mystical creatures and Native American legends with the love of baseball and the insecurities of prepubescent boys. This recipe is complex, but it works. Here’s how I see it broken out by its elements:1. Mystical creatures: The main human characters, Ethan Feld and Jennifer T. Rideout, travel through a land populated with faeries who prefer to be called ferishers. They are also accompanied by a werefox and wererat who are half fox or rat and half human. There are also giants and a sasquatch named Taffy who is a bit whiny but nice. This aspect of the book became a little tiresome, as if each time Michael Chabon’s writing stalled, he would come up with another creature. But the target audience for this book seems to be children from 9 to 12 and I’m certain their reaction to this aspect would be different than mine.2. Native American legends: There are also influences from Norse mythology and from North American tales such as the Paul Bunyan story, but the Native American influence is what struck me. In the story there is a tree of life with many branches. The world of the humans (Ethan and Jennifer) is on one branch while the world of the ferishers is on another. There are places where the branches touch and it is at these places where characters with special abilities may cross from one world to another. Also, the main villain is named Coyote. Although Coyote isn’t an animal, the concept of animal spirit guides for good or evil comes through.3. Baseball: The story begins with Ethan and Jennifer playing ball on a losing team in a youth league. Later they find that baseball is even more important in the land of the ferishers. It is nearly worshiped. Sports are a great metaphor for life and Chabon uses baseball well in this sense. Baseball is a sport that combines individual play with team play better than any other sport I can think of and, in many ways, day to day life is the same.4. Insecurities: Ethan isn’t a good ball player, while his father is the most loyal fan among the parents. Ethan is disappointed in his own abilities, but worse he feels he’s disappointing his dad. The father/son relationship is important throughout the story. Ethan’s father is a scientific genius, but also someone capable of getting into serious trouble. The story is as much about their relationship as it is about anything else.There were times I felt the book dragged a bit and repeated itself. But overall I think this is an interesting read for anyone who likes tween novels.Steve Lindahl – author of Motherless Soul and White Horse Regressions
    • 5/5
      I can see how this would work as a kids' book but it worked for me as a slightly whimsical adult book. As it happens I read not long after I read [American Gods] and I was surprised by the resonances I found between the two works. Four point eight seven stars!
    • 3/5
      While I found some aspects of this book enjoyable, it was not enough to make me want to stick with it for the remaining two-thirds. I grew bored as the plot became increasingly fantastic, so I figured I'd get out while I still had a favorable impression of the proceedings.
    • 3/5
      I went into this one expecting a coming-of-age story about baseball. I’m not sure how I completely missed the fact that it’s a fantasy adventure tale. The other work I’ve read of Chabon’s has been for adults, so this was an interesting change of pace. Ethan is an 11-year-old living in a quiet town in Washington. His mother passed away and his brilliant but distracted father (a bit of an absent-minded professor) is too caught up in his work to realize how much Ethan is struggling in their new home. He is on the local baseball team, but is a horrible player. Then one day he starts to see some odd creatures. Soon he’s off on an adventure with his friend Jennifer T, oddball Thor and a strange collection of misfits, including a tiny giant, a Sasquatch, and other creatures. They can travel between the branches of the Tree of Life to the different worlds. They are traveling across the Summerland as they try to find Ethan’s father. In order to pass through certain areas they must play games of baseball with the creatures that live there. I’m not a baseball fan, so that recurring theme made the book feel a bit long to me. I loved the other fantasy elements though. BOTTOM LINE: It’s sweet and fun with a few darker twists. A perfect fit for teen readers, particularly those who love baseball. It’s a bit on the long side, but it’s a great quest book for young adult readers.
    • 4/5
      I think actually I would give this book 3/5 stars but mainly because I dislike baseball, which is an ongoing theme. Still, the sense of adventure is key and, for the most part, it would be a great book to read to kids who are a little older (think fourth grade and up). However, I have said it before and I will say it again-Michael Chabon has yet to write anything nearly as impressive as The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and, to be blunt, everything else I have read by him is a bit disappointing in comparison.

      This book has a great deal of imagination, though. It's a fairy tale world that collides with the humans and most specifically children in the human world. There is evil, a plot to end the world, and a great deal of fantasy baseball. I'm sure fans of fantasy and sports would love this book to bits.
    • 4/5
      Summerland is an ebuliant quodlibet! A little Lord of the Rings, a little Alice in Wonderland, just a shade of Harry Potter, *a lot* of folklore and a lot of baseball combine to make a great story. And also a great and meaningful ending as well. A great between-innings read!
    • 5/5
      A real weaving of Norse and American Northwest Indian mythology.Ethan Feld is a motherless 11-year old who shows no talent for baseball and wants to quit the team, until he is unexpectedly (and erroneously) called upon to save the Universe. Together with his friends and teammates Jennifer T. and Thor, Ethan sets out to find his kidnapped father, “scampering” into another world via Summerland, a baseball meadow that is one of the few crossing points not yet disconnected by shapeshifter Coyote in his plan to destroy the worlds of the Tree of Life. Ethan, Jennifer T., Thor and a bizarre assortment of creatures that include fairies, Sasquatch and a vertically challenged giant are pitted against the fiercest, most avid baseball players in the Universe. They play for safe passage across hostile lands in a hopeless race to reach Murmury Well before Coyote, with help from Ethan’s hapless father, can poison the waters that sustain the Tree of Worlds.The story moves at a suspenseful pace switching between the protagonists’ odyssey and the antagonist’s progress. Chabon’s writing style employs a wild mixture of humor, horror, baseball culture, nanotechnology, mythology, shamanism and tall tale to craft the plot, drawing on the rich heritage of Norse, Pacific Northwest Indian and Frontier American story telling. The length may put off younger readers, but it’s hard to imagine a more entertaining read for a fantasy fan or a more incongruous crew of unlikely heroes. This book could make reading assignments and genre research look fun.
    • 2/5
      Could not finish unfortunately and gave it away to the free book mobile in town. I loved, loved, loved Kavalier and Clay so I was disappointed that I could not even get through this one.
    • 3/5
      Ethan Feld and his motley crew of friends have to stop Ol' Coyote from ending the world. A lot of baseball (too much for me), mythology (mostly fae-related), and a bit-too-lengthy tale overall; I felt it could have been shortened a bit and been a stronger story. I lost interest a few times. I did like many of the support characters, who I felt had more heart and oomph than the main (namely Jennifer T., Cutbelly, and to a degree Thor Wignutt) character Ethan - who starts off rather whiny. As this book is technically a young adult fantasy, perhaps this is why it didn't jibe with me completely. Still, a decent enough story - I always enjoy apocalypses and myth and there is that here.
    • 5/5
      Ethan Feld, a terrible baseball player is chosen to help save the magical world, Summerland, from enemies. The only problem is, is they need a baseball star...