And de Lint delivers, eschewing gnomes and pixies. Which is fine for mainstream fiction, but de Lint readers expect a healthy dose of the fantastic to go with their prose. It's a literary trick that works quite well, involving the reader as well as any mystery, an extended foreplay that's as maddening as it is ultimately satisfying. De Lint refuses to clue the reader in on significant past events-such as the death of Katharine Mully-instead doling out piecemeal fragments of the story indirectly, colored by Isabelle's perceptions. Told partly in the present, partly in flashback, Isabelle's life is fascinating in a frustrating way. Following the life of starving artist Isabelle Copley, de Lint confronts head on the harsh realities of denial, abusive relationships, suicide and ultimately, responsibility for one's own actions. Using the colorful, mythical North American city of Newford as his background, de Lint draws up a rich tapestry of myth and magic, using painting-and, on a deeper level, creation-as a metaphor throughout the book. Twenty years previous, a woman whose artistic power brought to life the images she painted turned her back on her talent when the forces she unleashed brought tragedy to loved ones, but now she is being drawn back to the nightmare in order to fulfill a promise to a long-dead friend. Philip José Farmer's The Dungeon: The Valley of Thunder (1989) Philip José Farmer's The Dungeon: The Hidden City (1990)
Merlin Dreams in the Mondream Wood (1992) Charles de Lint: Memory & Dream (1994) Description
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