Summerland

Author: Michael Chabon

I must confess -- I actually read this book a very long time ago. I am using it as a stand-in, because this post should really be about another Michael Chabon book, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. The reason that I am not posting about Kavalier and Clay is that I haven't read it, and the reason that I haven't read it is -- I don't really know, actually. I love Summerland (we're coming back around to Summerland, I promise), the premise of Kavalier and Clay is right up my alley (my alley is semi-sarcastic humorous fiction with a supernatural twist, in case you're wondering), and I have been told by numerous people that I would love love love it. And yet, I have tried to read it seven or eight times, and I just can't get into it for some reason. I have reader's block. Quite tragic, really.
While we're waiting for me to overcome my difficulties, let's discuss the awesomeness that is Summerland. It's about fairies and baseball, which seem like they don't go together but it turns out that they totally do. The main character, Ethan, is charged with the task of saving several worlds and rescuing his father, with a whimsically mish-mash group of sidekicks that he picks up along the way. The book does have a bit of that Americana Baseball is Religion thing, but the author somehow makes it poignant (even for me, and I find baseball painfully boring) instead of aggravating. Plus, the plot, which sounds stupid when written out (young boy fated to save world and dad by playing baseball with fairies) is absolutely perfect. Voice of the author, character development, interactions between characters, oh, it's just all so good.
This is a children's book, but like many children's books, it works for any age, and it is very pleasing. And, as an added bonus, it gives us something to talk about while we wait for me to suck it up and read past the first twenty pages of Kavalier and Clay. Which I totally will. Someday soon.