Tideland

Tideland
AuthorMitch Cullin
LanguageEnglish
PublisherDufour Editions
Publication date
August 28, 2000
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardcover)
Pages192
ISBN0-8023-1335-3
OCLC43694283
813/.54 21
LC ClassPS3553.U319 T53 2000
Preceded byBranches 2000 
Followed byThe Cosmology of Bing 2001 

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[1] and the novel-in-verse Branches.[2]

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.[3]

Tideland was first published in the United States in 2000 by Dufour Editions.[4] The book received major notices upon publication, including a review from New York Times Book Review[5][6] 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,[6] 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.[7] A subsequent United Kingdom paperback edition followed in 2003 from Weidenfeld & Nicolson, with Gilliam's infamous blurb on the cover: "F*cking wonderful!"[8] Other editions have since been published in the Netherlands,[9] Japan,[10] France,[11] Greece,[12] Italy,[13] Poland,[14] Russia,[15] Turkey,[16] and Korea.[17]

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.[18] 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 and contributed lyrics to the soundtrack,[19] and the name "M. Cullin" appears on the mailbox at the farmhouse where much of the film takes place.[20] The script adaptation was written by Gilliam and screenwriter Tony Grisoni.[21]

  1. ^ Mitch Cullin (1999-08-08). "Whompyjawed publication info". Redroom.com. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  2. ^ Mitch Cullin (2000-04-01). "Branches publication info". Redroom.com. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  3. ^ Tideland plot from IMDB.com
  4. ^ Mitch Cullin (2000-08-28). "Tideland publication info". Redroom.com. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  5. ^ Lewis, Jim (2000-09-24). "New York Times, Decomposition 101 by Jim Lewis (9-24, 2000)". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  6. ^ a b "Dufour Editions review page for Tideland". Dufoureditions.com. 2001-04-09. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  7. ^ "Terry Gilliam's Fields of Insanity Oct. 13, 2006". Nysun.com. 2006-10-13. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  8. ^ "The Skinny, Aug. 14, 2006". Theskinny.co.uk. 2006-08-14. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  9. ^ Mitch Cullin (2002-01-11). "The Netherlands edition". Redroom.com. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  10. ^ Mitch Cullin (2004-12-01). "Japanese edition". Redroom.com. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  11. ^ Mitch Cullin (2006-05-01). "French edition". Redroom.com. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  12. ^ Mitch Cullin (2006-02-02). "Greek edition". Redroom.com. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  13. ^ Mitch Cullin (2006-01-01). "Italian edition". Redroom.com. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  14. ^ Mitch Cullin (2006-07-01). "Polish edition". Redroom.com. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  15. ^ Mitch Cullin (2006-09-01). "Russian edition". Redroom.com. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  16. ^ Mitch Cullin (2005-03-23). "Turkish edition". Redroom.com. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  17. ^ Mitch Cullin (2008-05-21). "Korean edition". Redroom.com. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  18. ^ "Cullin interview at Dreams". gilliamdreams.com. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  19. ^ Tideland soundtrack
  20. ^ IMDB.com film trivia page
  21. ^ IMDB.com page