Customer Reviews

Dreams Underfoot: The Newford Collection

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Dreams Underfoot is the first book I ever read by Charles De Lint, and he became my favorite author half way through the text. Although I have read every other De Lint book or story I can find, and they are all simply breathtaking, (check out Memory and Dream!!) Dreams Underfoot has remained my favorite. Sentimentality, no doubt. Dreams Underfoot is a tapestry novel, with characters and events that weave themselves together to give you a fabulous picture of the city of Newford and all its strange and wonderful aspects. De Lint's writing style is brilliant, both lyrical and funny, both sad and strange. If you like Fantasy novels, in particular Urban Fantasy, then do not, under any circumstances, miss this book. De Lint is considered one of the seminal authors of the Urban Fantasy genre, and there is no doubt in my mind that he is a master of his craft.

Skillfully interweaving magic, music, art, compassion, and contemporary issues such as child abuse and homelessness, Charles DeLint is hardly an escapist. However, in this anthology he offers glimpses of a well-realized world much like our own, just different enough to allow faerie to wander city streets barefoot in winter, or for a practical joke involving a gorilla suit to lead to a fleeting encounter with a genuine yeti. My favorite story in the collection is a gorgeous, heartbreaking retelling of 'The Little Mermaid'.