Tideland
Encyclopedia
Tideland is the third published book by author Mitch Cullin
, and is the third installment of the writer's Texas Trilogy that also includes the coming-of-age novel Whompyjawed
and the novel-in-verse
Branches
.
The story is a first-person narrative
told by the young Jeliza-Rose, detailing the summer she spent alone at an isolated, rundown farmhouse in Texas
called What Rocks. With only the heads of old Barbie dolls to keep her company, Jeliza-Rose embarks on a series of highly imagined and increasingly surreal
adventures in the tall grass surrounding the farmhouse.
Tideland was first published in the United States
in 2000 by Dufour Editions. While destined to maintain a cult
status, the book received major notices upon publication, including a review from New York Times Book Review which wrote that the novel was "brilliant and beautiful." Some have favourably compared the book to earlier Southern Gothic
American literature such as To Kill a Mockingbird
and A Rose for Emily
, while others, including Terry Gilliam
and film producer Jeremy Thomas
, have called the book a modern hybrid of Psycho
and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
. A subsequent United Kingdom
paperback edition followed in 2003 from Weidenfeld & Nicolson, with Gilliam's infamous blurb on the cover: "F*cking wonderful!" Other editions have since been published in the Netherlands
, Japan
, France
, Greece
, Italy
, Poland
, Russia
, Turkey
, and Korea
.
In 1999, Cullin sent a pre-publication galley
to Gilliam for a cover blurb, but Gilliam so liked what he read that he optioned the book with an eye to direct. The controversial film version
was produced by Gabriella Martinelli and Jeremy Thomas
for Capri Films and Recorded Picture Company, and was directed by Gilliam and shot in Canada
in 2004. Cullin was given a brief cameo in the movie, contributed lyrics to the soundtrack, and the name "M. Cullin" appears on the mailbox at the farmhouse where much of the film takes place. The script adaptation was written by Gilliam and screenwriter Tony Grisoni.
Mitch Cullin
Mitch Cullin is an American writer of Scotch-Irish and Cherokee descent. He is the author of seven novels, and one short story collection. He currently resides in Arcadia, California and Tokyo, Japan with his partner and frequent collaborator Peter I. Chang...
, and is the third installment of the writer's Texas Trilogy that also includes the coming-of-age novel Whompyjawed
Whompyjawed
Whompyjawed is the debut novel by American author Mitch Cullin. It is the first installment of the writer's Texas Trilogy that also includes the dark novel-in-verse Branches and the surrealistic novel Tideland....
and the novel-in-verse
Verse (poetry)
A verse is formally a single line in a metrical composition, e.g. poetry. However, the word has come to represent any division or grouping of words in such a composition, which traditionally had been referred to as a stanza....
Branches
Branches (book)
Branches is a novel-in-verse by American author Mitch Cullin, with illustrations by the Japanese artist Ryuzo Kikushima. It is the second installment of the writer's Texas Trilogy that also includes the coming-of-age football novel Whompyjawed and the surrealistic novel Tideland.In a 2000 interview...
.
The story is a first-person narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
told by the young Jeliza-Rose, detailing the summer she spent alone at an isolated, rundown farmhouse in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
called What Rocks. With only the heads of old Barbie dolls to keep her company, Jeliza-Rose embarks on a series of highly imagined and increasingly surreal
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
adventures in the tall grass surrounding the farmhouse.
Tideland was first published in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 2000 by Dufour Editions. While destined to maintain a cult
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
status, the book received major notices upon publication, including a review from New York Times Book Review which wrote that the novel was "brilliant and beautiful." Some have favourably compared the book to earlier Southern Gothic
Southern Gothic
Southern Gothic is a subgenre of Gothic fiction unique to American literature that takes place exclusively in the American South. It resembles its parent genre in that it relies on supernatural, ironic, or unusual events to guide the plot...
American literature such as To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was instantly successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature...
and A Rose for Emily
A Rose for Emily
"A Rose for Emily" is a short story by American author William Faulkner first published in the April 30, 1930 issue of Forum. This story takes place in Faulkner's fictional city, Jefferson, Mississippi, in the fictional county of Yoknapatawpha County...
, while others, including Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
and film producer Jeremy Thomas
Jeremy Thomas
Jeremy Jack Thomas, CBE is a British film producer, founder of the Recorded Picture Company. He was the producer of Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor, which won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2006 he received a European Film Award for Outstanding European Achievement in World...
, have called the book a modern hybrid of Psycho
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...
and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...
. A subsequent United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
paperback edition followed in 2003 from Weidenfeld & Nicolson, with Gilliam's infamous blurb on the cover: "F*cking wonderful!" Other editions have since been published in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
.
In 1999, Cullin sent a pre-publication galley
Galley proof
In printing and publishing, proofs are the preliminary versions of publications meant for review by authors, editors, and proofreaders, often with extra wide margins. Galley proofs may be uncut and unbound, or in some cases electronic...
to Gilliam for a cover blurb, but Gilliam so liked what he read that he optioned the book with an eye to direct. The controversial film version
Tideland (film)
Tideland is a 2005 British-Canadian fantasy thriller film co-written and directed by Terry Gilliam, an adaptation of Mitch Cullin's novel of the same name. The film was shot in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, and surrounding area in the fall and winter of 2004...
was produced by Gabriella Martinelli and Jeremy Thomas
Jeremy Thomas
Jeremy Jack Thomas, CBE is a British film producer, founder of the Recorded Picture Company. He was the producer of Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor, which won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2006 he received a European Film Award for Outstanding European Achievement in World...
for Capri Films and Recorded Picture Company, and was directed by Gilliam and shot in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 2004. Cullin was given a brief cameo in the movie, contributed lyrics to the soundtrack, and the name "M. Cullin" appears on the mailbox at the farmhouse where much of the film takes place. The script adaptation was written by Gilliam and screenwriter Tony Grisoni.
See also
- FantasyFantasyFantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
- Southern GothicSouthern GothicSouthern Gothic is a subgenre of Gothic fiction unique to American literature that takes place exclusively in the American South. It resembles its parent genre in that it relies on supernatural, ironic, or unusual events to guide the plot...
- Southern literatureSouthern literatureSouthern literature is defined as American literature about the Southern United States or by writers from this region...
- Speculative FictionSpeculative fictionSpeculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...