Customer Reviews

Cloud Chamber: A Novel

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I read "Yellow Raft on Blue Water," I was riveted. I was amazed that a man could capture the spirit of a 16 year old, mixed race girl so seemingly effortlessly, and also so well. Coming away from the novel, my only questions were centered around Rayona's father, Elgin. It seemed to me that if there were reasons for Christine's bizarre behavior, there ought to be some for Elgin's as well. My favorite part of reading "Cloud Chamber" and discovering the roots of Elgin's insecurities. I could feel myself relaxing in my anger for his neglect of his daughter as I read of his own neglect and pain. Elgin remains a mystery to me, but at least some questions were answered. The other characters in the novel ranged from amusing and frustrating, Marcella, to downright infuriating, Rose. However, my all- around favorite remains Rayona, the brave young heroine who inspired me as a neglected misfit in "Yellow Raft." I was struck by the sub! tle change wrought in Rayona's relationship with her maternal grandmother, which seems somewhat less adverserial in "Cloud Chamber." Overall, I find Dorris' sequel somewhat less satisfying than the first installment, but still well worth the read. I mourn for the loss of a talented writer, one I have emulated since first reading about his Rayona.

This novel begins in the late 19th century and follows an Irish "family" from Ireland to the United States. It involves five generations and and the people are very real. Some you can't help but extremely dislike but they are all such an integral part of the development of this family's history. The story progresses in turn by the memories of a single character in each chapter. It is like an old tapestry. At the beginning of it's creation you may not see much that you enjoy, but your need to see the final product pushes you to continue to watch it evolve. The life experiences of this family include betrayal, murder, forbidden love, rejection, forgiveness, faith, and finally an open acceptance of what makes a family a family. At the beginning of this story I felt it was very dark and sad but the writing was so eloquent that it wouldn't let me go. By the end of the book I was so moved, the story was so beautiful,so full of heart and soul, that I realized this was a wonderful novel and could not wait to share it with family and friends. I look forward to reading Yellow Raft in Blue Water. If you do enjoy this book you will also enjoy Plainsong by Kent Haruf!

This book is truly incredible. Dorris was a brilliant writer and I am only disappointed that I didn't find my way to this book sooner.

In many ways this book reminds me of Ann Marie MacDonald's "Fall On Your Knees" in that it is a family saga that spans over generations. In this case however, the family is a hodgepodge of different origins. Dorris makes the mismatched pieces fit like a glove.

In my opinion, this novel is a very realistic display of family and he in turns displays the tragic ugly side of humanity along with its utter hilariousness.

I've heard that this book serves as both a prequel and sequel to "Blue Raft on Yellow Water." Though I have not had the pleasure of reading that book yet, I can assuredly say that "Cloud Chamber" stands strongly on its own and it is a true joy to experience. I laughed out loud a countless number of times, and was fuming mad an equal number of times. I had much trouble putting it down. The book simply begs to be finished.

Clearly, the point is that we don't get to choose our family, and therefore must simply make the best of it in whatever ways we can. As Dorris shows, sometimes it takes a vivid imagination.

I challenge anyone to read this and not find familiar quirks within their own family structure. As paraphrased by a character in the novel, "Thank God we are not all normal!"

`Cloud Chamber' is the follow-up novel to his earlier `A Yellow Raft on Blue Water'. To say follow-up, however, is somewhat misleading. It is actually both a prequel and a sequel to that novel. Whereas in YRBW we are presented with the history of three generations of women in a backwards progression, in `Cloud Chamber' we begin several generations prior, leading one to speculate (even unto the last quarter of the book) why exactly is one reading this, and what relationship it truly has to YRBW?

The patient will be rewarded in her or his reading. We begin in Ireland, with a tale of passion and betrayal (as only the Irish under English-domination could seem to muster). This account, almost unrelated to the rest of the story save as the seed of the action, actually provides an undertow of passion and betrayal felt by the family's succeeding generations.

When the young, best-prized son becomes a priest, and then dies tragically in a rather stupid accident, both the mother and the woman-in-love (who marries his brother, ironically, to stay close to him) get angry with the entire world, to no good end.

Men, when they figure in the story at all, are usually distant characters, not fully developed, and the full implication is that the literary character is not very developed because the human character is likewise undeveloped. That being said, this is not feminist-philosophy here; as happened so often, women often had a very different psychological and personality development, given cultural mores, and perhaps the view of the men could never be complete given this societal-enforced distance.

We come up on Rayona's lineage from the other side this time, through her father, but in this, it is very much the matriarchal line. We learn that, even given strong women of intelligence and passion, the wisps of reality still can make for a struggle for survival. Chronic disease runs through the family; great need (most often unacknowledged) contrasts and conflicts with great strength.

The story ends in hope, and renews the hope at the end of YRBW. Rayona has a history and prehistory of tension and passion and difficulty, but also one of love and hopefulness, and this is the conclusion.

This is a truly intriguing way of introducing an entire new cultural element into the storyline, and an innovative way of following up a great novel.

I read "A Yellow Raft on Blue Water" on a day when I was home, sick from the fourth grade. I have read it countless times since then. As a writer Cloud Chamber is the kind of book, I hope I will write. I read Cloud Chamber after I heard of Michael's suicide. I do not believe he abused his children. In my heart I wish he was still alive. Trying to do stuff to become happy.
I read Cloud Chamber in one sitting, and I'm sure I will read it again.

I thought Cloud Chamber was an extremely good book. It was exciting, and it contained characters that actually had real life problems that most people can relate to. It dealt with trials and tribulations of love, and it also dealt with geographical racism. It spoke about black life in the south, and indian life in the northwest. This book kept you on the edge of your seat because it was filled with unexpected twists and turns. Cloud Chamber truly captivated me, and I feel this book is well worth anyone's time that it takes reading it. I was introduced to this book through a literature course, and I am truly happy I have got to read this book.

I came to this book without connecting it to the story I had read some time ago of the author's suicide. Neither had I read 'Yellow Raft'. As such, my view was relatively free from preconceptions. I liked Cloud Chamber a lot. No doubt, the plot is compelling and nicely paced - if read without demands the book makes a fine, literary plane or train read. Stylistically, I felt the book's structure of rotating tale-telling between the major characters from chapter to chapter provided a neat framework on which to hang a multigenerational novel without it becoming too Michener-like. Dorris covers a lot of ground while being able to give us some fine psychological detail. An intriguing feature of his prose style is that though each separate voice preserves its individuality and distinctiveness, a skilled, unified lyrical tone is preserved throughout. We do not feel that the delicate surface texture becomes awkward or inappropriate in the mouth of even the harsher characters such as Rose. Some of the historical detailing is beautiful, such as the way the women use the Bible as a "fortune-telling" tool, or the treatment of the sisters consumption. I liked Cloud Chamber best for its quiet, unassuming illumination of the sisters interior lives. Dorris does a wonderful job of giving these anxious, devout women real voices without resorting to melodrama or stereotyping. Where its weaknesses are manifest are in the intended unity provided by the "curse" of Rose Mannion, and in the overreaching of including quite so many races to represent the American melting pot. For me, these themes ultimately proved a little clumsy. Overall, though, I can recommend this book as an enjoyable yarn with some lovely portraiture. Read it in a couple of sittings and be entertained - don't expect a profound life lesson.

First read Yellow Raft in Blue Water before reading Cloud Chamber.
Do not expect it to be the same. The writing style is excellent, and also very different. Stick with it and the last chapters will make it all worthwhile.

I absolutely loved "Yellow Raft in Blue Water". But there were so many questions I had, about Rayona's past, and her future. I liked how "cloud Chamber" looked at Elgin's side of the family. THis book was altogether captivating, though I'm not sure I like the idea of everything going wrong. It upset me a little, actually. Rose Mannion made an interesting character, that I loved, and yet hated at the same time. This story lacked the plot of "Yellow Raft in Blue Water", but it still was an excellent novel.

I do not understand some of the negative-sounding reviews of the book. This book was a magnificent family saga which explored the themes of love, forgiveness, and acceptance. That made it a highly spiritual book for me. I especially appreciated that since I am the author of a spiritually-themed book entitled "The Misadventures of Sister Mary Olga Fortitude."

While this is a definite companion piece to Michael Dorris' exquisite first novel, it certainly stands alone. Undoubtedly the reader will want to read "Yellow Raft" if not having already done so. I loved the author's evocative writing style. His characters are both compassionate and irascible. The book is filled with humor, though some of it is dark. I liked the comic aspects of my book since I write both spiritual and humorous fiction. He also deftly writes about people of other races although the family in this book is largely of Irish origin.

I have read three of the author's books and this is as superb as any of them. For anyone who wants to explore the dimensions of humanity within the context of a beautifully written book, I would highly recommend this.

Davis Aujourd'hui, author of "The Misadventures of Sister Mary Olga Fortitude"