Customer Reviews

Dreams Underfoot: A Newford Collection

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

In the nineteen stories about the fictional Canadian city of Newford collected in this book, Charles de Lint relocates the mythical creatures of fairy tale and folklore from their traditional settings and surrounds them with urban scenery. As one character writes in the final story: "That was the real magic for me: the possibility that we only have to draw aside a veil to find the world a far more strange and wondrous place than its mundaneness allowed it could be." That quote sums up why I love the Newford stories than I ever could.

While not a novel, these stories do add up to more than the sum of their parts. Minor characters in one story may go on to star in stories of their own. Events in one tale have resonances later on. The reader is given a cross-sectional look at the small events that make up life in this city, and gets a chance to know its inhabitants.

De Lint's prose is gentle and relaxing. These stories almost beg to be read aloud, so that the reader can savor the language. Whenever I'm feeling upset, I know I can read one of de Lint's stories and feel better, just by "listening" to his voice. He doesn't always have something groundbreaking to say about people or life or love, but sometimes it's good to be reminded of things we already know to be true, and even better to be reminded in such a beautiful fashion.

No matter how much one reads, there's always an author or two that always seems to manage to slip through the cracks. For me, it was de Lint. I had read some stories by de Lint in Year's Best volumes, but never had picked up a novel or a collection. Spurred on by continual references to his writing on Rondua, and a recommendation from Alexlit (do you get the feeling that these two resources have been ruling my reading list lately? you'd be right), I picked up this collection of stories set in the fictional but familiar city of Newford.

The term used to pigeonhole de Lint's stories is "urban fantasy," in that he places the creatures of fantasy--goblins, faeries, etc.--into a realistic cityscape. This differs from the magic realism approach because many of de Lint's human characters are astonished to see the magic; in magic realism, the fantasy is taken as a given--as if it were normal. His major characters are a ragtag assortment of artists: Jilly Coppercorn, a painter and savior of strays; Christy Riddell, writer of fantasy stories and possibly de Lint's alter ego; Geordie Riddell, busker (a street musician) fiddler; Meran and Cerin, wife and husband duo of harp and flute.

I liked the stories, but had an initial unfavorable reaction to the entire book by the fawning introduction by Terri Windling, who also edited the book and did the cover art. It was lucky that the story containing a reference to Windling was halfway through the book, giving me enough of a taste of de Lint's true style. If the reference had been in the first story, I would likely have tossed the book across the room. In a case such as this, I think it better to let the stories speak for themselves, or maybe the introduction would have been better as an afterword. To belabor the point, there's a real danger in this almost incestial relationship between editor and author, writer and artist, creator and critic. Already walking a fine line by having a near alter-ego in Christy Riddell, the reader begins to wonder how much of this the author believes as fact or fiction himself. Self-referential comments are almost too precious, threatening the suspension of disbelief barrier, or at least, jarring the reader with the realization that they are reading, as in a film when the microphone boom dips into the shot.

The fact that de Lint overcame this problem is all due to the stories. As I read them, I kept saying to myself, this is nothing special, this is nothing different. They are fantasy stories, pure and simple. Take an old tale, graft it with an urban setting, and voila. Except that the characters start living in your mind. You start to know what Jilly will say, or look forward to seeing Geordie step into another characters' story. You start to feel for the characters, wanting the story to end with a happy ever after for them just like in a normal fairy tale, yet knowing that this is a different type of story. People get hurt, people suffer loss, people die.

The two best tales here are the ones original to this collection: "In the House of My Enemy," a story about child abuse, and "Ghosts of Wind and Shadow," a tale of belief and self-knowledge. The ones I liked least were the ones that had been written for theme anthologies. De Lint was good at keeping the flavor of Newford in these stories, but each still lacked something that the ones not written to meet a certain theme had--something organic, as if he had needed to force or bend the theme stories slightly, making them a little out of wack compared to his others. Although I enjoyed the collection, I am looking forward to reading a novel by de Lint rather than more short stories. His is a style and manner that can easily benefit from the longer form, and I am anxious to see exactly how true that statement can be.

Welcome to Newford, an average North American town. Well, maybe at first glance, but by the second, there is a little more than meets the eye. Meet Jilly, a strong independant woman who seems like she knows everyone and maybe a witch? Meran, is she wholey human? Geordie, an average joe, who thinks he met the woman of his dreams.

I really loved this book. There was soo many good stories, that it made it really hard to put the book down.

de Lint has a way of really coming across as a natural thought or natural flow of a story. Which is why this book is so involving to read, because this could be me and just maybe that knock on the wall isn't just the wind blowing the tree. Some of these stories kinda made it a little hard to sleep!

My favorite theme of these collection is the fact that our lives weave together with others as we live indepentantly. You meet one character learn a little, and than meet them six stories on. This auroa of magic that lays just beneath the sight of most people is just overwhelming. Makes life a little more interesting.

Enjoy Newford, because once you visit, Newford has left a little bit of it in you.

This is a collection of short stories by Charles de Lint, which are unified by common themes and characters, though each can easily be read on its own. The stories are all fantasy stories taking place in modern urban settings. As with his other works, de Lint is better in creating mood and characters than actual plots - and his view of real-world social problems seems rather simplistic and romantic; nevertheless, the atmosphere of wonder prevading these tales, and the evocation of beauty emerging even from the darkest parts of life, are strong enough to grab the reader's minds and hearts.

I'm not usually a fan of short story collections. That said, Charles De Lint (Canada's King of Fantasy, in my book), has put together a collection of his "Newford," stories in "Dreams Underfoot."

Newford is a city touched by magic. "Urban Fantasy," is a great way to think of it - you've got a typical tough city atmosphere, but magic is there, waiting to be found, if one only believes. Through some reoccurring characters, the stories tie together wonderfully - with an amazing final story that wraps up the collection with great style.

Newford is a place where the homeless sometimes walk fairy roads, where music can save a life, and where a sleeping woman can meet the man of her dreams, while she's dreaming. Inherit a wonderful collection of myth and magic of today - go get this book.

I've owned many books in my time, (I'm young, though, don't worry) and this one is the best one I've ever read. I've owned it three times already and ended up giving it away because I just knew that one of the stories cradled within it would touch a friend's heart just when they needed it the most. Its worth every penny I pay, every time I pay it. Take my word that you will not be disappointed by this book, even if you're not that fond of fantasy, urban or not.

I love Charles de Lint's brand of urban fantasy, the lyricism of his writing, the way he takes the ordinary and banal and adds just a touch of magic and enchantment, transforming it. This short story collection is a good introduction to his fictional town of Newford, where many of his stories and novels take place. These stories range from the beautiful to the horrific; and, unlike most story collections, I didn't feel like they were disjointed or unconnected. There was some kind of unifying force behind them all, so that, together like this, their collective force tells some kind of greater, larger story than any of them do seperately. I was entranced. Give this book a shot; I doubt you'll regret it.

I was already in love with Charles DeLint's work befoe I read Dreams Underfoot, but now I am uterly obsessed! After hearing great reviews, I bought it, and started reading. The first story, "Uncle Dobbin's Parrot Fair" Left me a little confused, but as I read more and more, I fell into the rhythm of the tales of newford, until I had suddenly finished the book. That night, I ordered the next, Ivory and The Horn. Everything about Dreams Underfoot is amazing. Each story is filled with an unfeniable sense of hope, wisdom, magic, and wonder. My particular favorites are Freewheeling, The Ghosts of Wind and Shadow, and The Conjusre Man, but all of them are fabulous. I can't get over DeLint's use of descriptive language, the way he painstakingly sets the foundation for each tiny detail in your mind, making the world of Newford more real than the trees and sky. Anyone, Everyone! Read this book!!!

I'm not usually drawn to collections of short stories. It was entirely on a whim I even picked up this book by an author I had never heard of at the time. It ended up being the book that I insist people to read if they've never read it. I buy copies of this just so I can give it to them. Charles De Lint writes stories that are modern fairy-folk tales, with a twist of 'The Twilight Zone'. Only these stories don't all end with a happily ever after, which feels right. It makes you want to read the next collection of short stories by him, just to see how their life continues to unfold. It's about the journey, not the destination.

I read this book about six months ago and the characters still seem alive in my mind. That is how great this book is. When I was done reading and set the book aside I felt like I was giving up old friends and pleasant company. That is not all however, de Lint has a way of telling the stories so that life seems to breathe forth from the page. So that you think the faerie are just behind you peeking at what you read. This is definitely one to get in hard back, if just to let it survive longer... My poor paperback is falling apart from people borrowing it!!!