Olshan, Matthew

PERSONAL:

Born in Washington, DC; married; children: a daughter. Education: Attended Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Oxford Universities. Hobbies and other interests: Beachcombing, flying airplanes, and making up stories for his daughter.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Baltimore, MD. E-mail—mdolshan@aol.com.

CAREER:

Writer and producer.

WRITINGS:

Finn: A Novel, Bancroft Press (Baltimore, MD), 2001.

The Flown Sky, Chacmool Press (Baltimore, MD), 2007.

ADAPTATIONS:

Finn was adapted for audio, Bancroft Press, 2002, new version released by Recorded Books, 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Matthew Olshan is a freelance writer and producer who was educated at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Oxford Universities and works out of Baltimore, Maryland, where he lives with his wife and daughter. In his first book, Finn: A Novel, Olshan tells the story of teenager Chloe Wilder, who, with the aid of her grandparents, escapes her abusive mother and stepfather. However, the two soon reappear in Chloe's life, with her stepfather showing up at school and kidnapping her. The intrepid young girl fakes her death to escape and finds herself on the run as she tells her story in the first person. "Huckleberry Finn's creative and mischievous spirit soars in Matthew Olshan's protagonist, Chloe Wilder," wrote Lori Atkins Goodson in the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. Lynn Bryant, writing in the School Library Journal, called Chloe "a spirited, resourceful, observant, and humorous heroine who will keep readers interested until the end."

Chloe is not alone on her journey, however. She is accompanied by her grandparents' pregnant maid, Silvia, who has also set out to find a new life. The two embark on a journey that takes them from the suburbs to the slums and on to California, where Silvia is looking for the father of their child. Along the way they encounter a wide range of characters and have several dangerous adventures, some of which highlight the circumstances of illegal immigrants like Silvia. "The book is lively and captivating," wrote Goodson. "You'll find yourself cheering the two on, even through some fairly outrageous situations."

Other reviewers also had high praise for the novel, most noting the obvious parallels between Olshan's tale and the Mark Twain classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Reviewers also noted that, similar to Twain's classic tale, Finn contains many racial stereotypes presented in a satirical manner to show society's prejudices. Shelle Rosenfeld, writing in Booklist, referred to Finn as "a multilayered story of personal growth and an entertaining, provocative satire that explores society, culture, and humankind's … notions of freedom and progress." A contributor to the Web site Nicole's Got a Library Blog (Again) wrote: "The story, … a fantastic tale that incorporates the struggles of various disenfranchised groups, … parallels the characters and plot of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." In an interview on the The Flown Sky Web site, the author noted that his book is "an effort to reread Twain's monstrously influential book, with an eye toward what had—and hadn't—changed in American culture since the late 19th century." The author went on to comment that the awakening of Chloe is also similar to Huckleberry's look at the real world and its prejudices. In Chloe's case, according to the author, the revelation lies with her growing understanding of Silvia's plight.

The idea for the author's next book, The Flown Sky, came from a bedtime story that the author made up for his daughter. In his book the author pens a satirical fantasy tale for children. The story features Eena Beena, a kindly beachcomber who lives on the magical Allele Island taking care of her stretch of beach and the occasional castaway. However, her tranquil lifestyle is soon threatened when the wicked gorilla Prospero shows up with an evil plan. Soon Eena Beena is teaming up with Queena Beena, a royal who looks just like Eena, to battle Prospero, who is out to break the barrier that separates earth from his magical world. Along with allies such as earwigs and silverfish, Eena Beena and Queena Beena embark on a dangerous trip to the Circle of Fates and encounter numerous adventures along the way, including a Scramble Pox that causes every word said by Eena to turn into an anagram (a word play resulting in the changed order of the letters to create other words). In another adventure, Queena Beena is transformed into a flea by the use of flea powder.

In an interview on The Flown Sky Web site, the author notes that he based his book on a mystical Jewish legend. The author went on to comment in the interview: "My hope is that the whole mystical apparatus is invisible to a reader. But there is another layer that may be less a part of The Flown Sky and more a part of the other novel I've written about this fantasy world. It's sort of a Jungian idea of a collective consciousness, an ocean world, if you will, that's mysteriously interconnected, but each soul is a separate island."

In a review of The Flown Sky on the Examiner.com, Emily Campbell wrote that the author "weaves teamwork, selflessness, acceptance and, perhaps most significant, the importance of knowing and liking yourself enough to stand up for what you believe in into his novel." Campbell also praised the author for not writing down condescendingly to his young readers. A Kirkus Reviews contributor called The Flown Sky "clever in parts" and also noted that "readers will be … diverted by the quirky cast."