Cloud Chamber

by Michael Dorris

Book Overview

Ten years after his "dazzling" (San Francisco Chronicle) bestselling debut novel, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, Michael Dorris returns to the family at the core of that work to write the rich score of the "full-blown, complex opera of his new novel, Cloud Chamber" (Robb Forman Dew).

Opening in late nineteenth century Ireland and moving to Kentucky and finally to the high plains of Montana, Cloud Chamber tells...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684835355
• ISBN13: 9780684835358
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Magnificent family saga

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"

Fantastic. A pastiche family.

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!"

Prelude and Postlude

`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.

Michael Dorris's book, Cloud Chamber, was thrilling and evoc

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'll reread it

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.