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89 pages 2 hours read

The House in the Cerulean Sea

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020

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Chapters 1-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary

Linus evaluates a young telekinetic girl (Daisy) at an orphanage after an incident in which the girl threw a chair at another child with the power of her mind. The master of the orphanage is eager to present Daisy in a positive light and to downplay the frequency with which she uses her gifts. Linus is kind and professional with the child. The master observes that Linus is good with the children; he tells her it’s important to give all children a chance. The master asks Linus how he can work for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY), but Linus shuts down this questioning quickly and leaves. On his way out, he sees the children gathered in the kitchen. One is a selkie—a creature that transforms from seal to human form—another a siren, another a witch; there are number of other unusual children. He also sees official DICOMY posters that say things like, “We’re happiest when we listen to those in charge” and “Who needs magic when you have your imagination?” (14).

Chapter 2 Summary

At work, Linus is confronted by his boss, Ms. Jenkins, and her assistant, Gunther. The workplace is strictly regimented, and workers are under constant surveillance by management. No personal items are allowed at their desks, but Linus does have a mousepad with a picture of the beach and the words, “Don’t you wish you were here?” Linus worries that he’s going to get his first demerit in his 17 years of working at DICOMY. He tries to apologize to Ms. Jenkins for the faint orange stain on his shirt, but she tells him that he’s been summoned to a meeting with Extremely Upper Management (EUM) the next day. EUM is notoriously remote, appearing only once or twice a year at company events; Linus has never heard of an individual being called before them. He is anxious about the meeting.

Linus misses his bus and has to wait in the rain; he then has to walk from the stop to his house. His neighbor Mrs. Klapper complains that his cat was in her yard again chasing squirrels. She observes that Linus never dates and offers to set him up with her grandson. Linus declines and spends the night talking to his cat and listening to his beloved records, as usual. He wonders whether he is lonely and, when these thoughts prove uncomfortable, begins studying the 947-page DICOMY Rules and Regulations to prepare for his meeting the next day.

Chapter 3 Summary

Linus arrives at work two hours early and stays at his station until it’s time to attend the meeting. He rides the elevator to the fifth floor, where very few people ever go, and is greeted by a bored-looking young woman who seems surprised to see that he has an appointment with all of Extremely Upper Management. The meeting room he is led to is large and very dark. The members of EUM reveal themselves above him at the top of a tall wall. They question Linus about his job satisfaction and how much importance he places on the directives of distance, accuracy, and belief in the chain of command. Having decided that he is the correct person for the job, they tell him that he’s been selected for a classified investigation of a non-traditional orphanage that houses “problematic” children. He is to spend a month at the remote orphanage, evaluating the home and its master, Arthur Parnassus, and sending weekly reports back.

One of the members of EUM, Mr. Werner, stays behind after the others leave. He tells Linus that he has a “vested interest” in the findings and that he expects a high level of detail and thoroughness in the reports. The receptionist meets him with a folder and instructions to leave the building immediately and without speaking to anyone. He finds himself at home without remembering the journey. It is still raining. Mrs. Klapper assumes that he’s been fired and suggests he go to work for her grandson, an accountant.

Chapter 4 Summary

Linus boards the train with his cat, Calliope, and is surprised to find that his destination is at the end of the line. As the journey progresses, the dismal, gray, rainy weather of the city gives way to bright blue skies and sunshine. He sees the ocean through the train windows and is astonished by its beauty. It seems to speak to him, saying, “Don’t you wish you were here?”

He finds himself alone on the platform after getting off the train. A payphone rings; when he answers it, a woman’s voice tells him that he’s late, that she will arrive to pick him up in an hour, and that he is now supposed to open the envelope with details about the orphanage. Inside the envelope he finds a letter that advises him to keep his windows and doors closed and locked at night and that EUM “look[s] forward to [his] extraordinarily thorough reports” (55). The first file he opens belongs to a young boy, nicknamed Lucy. His real name is listed as Lucifer, his father as the devil, and his species as the antichrist. Linus faints.

He awakens to find Ms. Chapelwhite, the island’s caretaker, who has arrived to retrieve him. She is dismissive. The drive to the island is traumatizing for Linus, as Ms. Chapelwhite drives very quickly and recklessly. She warms to him a little as they talk. Linus remembers the file he opened and is alarmed again. Ms. Chapelwhite sharply reprimands him and reminds him that the children are first and foremost children and should be cared for accordingly. He realizes that Ms. Chapelwhite is an unregistered island sprite. She chides him for asking about her status, and he apologizes. They pass briefly through the village of Marsyas, which Ms. Chapelwhite explains is very unfriendly to the orphanage’s residents.

They take a ferry to the island. During the trip, Ms. Chapelwhite asks Linus to give the children a chance and show them compassion. She disappears from the driver’s seat. On the rest of the journey, Linus reviews only Arthur Parnassus’s file, which is very sparse and gives little more information than his name and age.

Chapters 1-4 Analysis

These early chapters accomplish a great deal of the world building needed to support the events of the novel. The story begins in media res (in the middle of the narrative) rather than opening with exposition that describes the world and the characters in it. The reader instead learns about Linus, DICOMY, the types of magic some people have, and the way society receives that magic through Linus’s observations and interactions. It is important to understand Linus’s character and values, as he is the lens through which the reader interprets his world. Linus is a fundamentally good person who sincerely cares for the children whose welfare he investigates. He is kind and fair and accepting of their magical natures. When the master of the first orphanage expresses surprise and admiration for these qualities, the reader learns that many DICOMY caseworkers do not share Linus’s compassion and open-mindedness. Linus’s loyalty to his employer and the comfort he finds in the Rules and Regulations suggest that he prefers situations in which duties, expectations, and appropriate behaviors are clearly stipulated. At the same time, Linus has a seed of rebellion in him. DICOMY employees are allowed no personal items at their desks, but Linus has subverted this rule somewhat in his choice of mousepad, which beckons, “Don’t you wish you were here?” These words and Linus’s love of the ocean will reappear throughout the novel.

Beginning in these chapters, Klune makes references to George Orwell’s seminal novel, 1984. One of the most overt of these references are the posters that Linus observes everywhere as he moves through his world. Propaganda posters are an important motif in 1984, and Klune makes significant use of them here, while also drawing upon recent United States national security rhetoric. One of the common posters Linus sees proclaims: “See something, say something! Registration helps everyone!”, which mimics the US Homeland Security “see something, say something” program, launched in July of 2010 to enlist citizens to help monitor suspicious behaviors they may see in their communities. The nature of “registration” is revealed as the novel progresses, but the reader can understand from these early chapters that magical youth and adults are required to be “registered” with DICOMY or its adult counterpart, DICOMA. Registration allows the government to monitor those people for whom it decrees such monitoring necessary. This process facilitates mass tracking of “magical” persons, which is problematically administered by “non-magical” officials.

These elements, in combination with the orphanage master’s dismissal of the likelihood of adoption for any of the children, and further combined with the open hostility Linus sees while simply driving through the village of Marsyas, paint a picture of a world in which the magical and non-magical fear each other. It’s important to note that, while the non-magical may fear the potential of destruction or violence from the magical, it is the non-magical who oppress, register, and surveil the magical.

Finally, Klune gives the environment a key function in the novel. Repeatedly throughout the early chapters, Linus is drenched, slogging through the incessant rain, and suffering under the dismal gray of the clouds that hover over the city. The ocean and the blue sky appear closely together on his train ride; Linus uses the word “cerulean” in the narrative, and Klune uses it in the novel, suggesting that the presence of color is important to the characters and the movement of the narrative. 

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