I had this series somewhere on a to-read list, reason for recommendation long forgotten. When this book came into my hands I thought it would be a good chance to check out the writing before I commit to a series. That turned out to be a great idea. The short stories in this book stand alone, but are tied together by some common elements that I think must continue in the series. The language and world-building were interesting. I guess I'll have to bump the rest of the books up my list a bit. ( )

Even the stories with a happy ending seem sad somehow

A collection of short stories, all set in DeLint's imaginary city of Newford. DeLint is a good writer. I can't deny that a couple of these stories even made me cry. But, overall, their quality is really diminished by being too social-agenda-oriented. Too many of them seem to be written For Disadvantaged Youth; To Have a Positive Influence. It's been a recurring criticism I've had of DeLint's writing - he's good enough to just let his characters Be People, rather than Girl-With-An-Eating-Disorder, Abused-Homeless-Boy, or etc. But he doesn't. I generally agree with DeLint's messages of tolerance, diversity, multi-culturalism, ecology, and especially the importance of artistic ..and the one story about the girl who gets her life together, goes back to school, gets a job - and finds herself with not enough time for things that really matter to her, definitely spoke to me) - but too often pop psychology takes over and the writing begins to feel preachy. And it's no fun to be preached at, even when you agree with the message of the sermon.

Contents:
"Waifs and Strays"
"Mr. Truepenny's Book Emporium and Gallery"
"The Forest Is Crying"
"The Wishing Well"
"Dead Man's Shoes"
"Bird Bones and Wood Ash"
"A Tempest in Her Eyes"
"Saxophone Joe and the Woman in Black"
"The Bone Woman"
"Pal o' Mine"
"Where Desert Spirits Crowd the Night"
"Dream Harder, Dream True"
"The Pochade Box"
"The Forever Trees" ( )

This collection of short stories came together to mean more to me than the individual stories did, adding to my picture of Newford. I was pleased to greet some old friends, Jilly in particular ( )

I was first introduced to deLint's world of urban fantasy with his book, Dingo, and it was love at first word. He has the ability to look beyond the day to day struggles and show the magic of the world around us, a dream world where all is possible and the inhabitants take on a life of their own, blending mythology, the spirit world, fantasy and reality together and inviting his readers to join him.

I must confess though that I truly lack an appreciation of short stories. I've always preferred a full length novel that has the time to develop the characters as well as building a well executed plot line, things not available in short stories. That being said, I also have so great an appreciation for the tales told by Charles deLint that I thought I'd give it a shot. In true deLint style he presented 15 short stories that introduced us to fairies, wood spirits, desert spirits and other magical beings we've seen in folklore from around the world. Each story was well crafted, some of which I loved, others less so, but when taken as a whole seemed to lack a cohesive flow leaving the tales to blend together in what I felt was a bit muddled fashion.

Not being a veteran short story reader I fear that I approached and read the book in the wrong way. I read it as though it was a regular length novel without leaving enough time between stories, time to digest what I had read and to savor each tale on its own merits. I wish I had used a different method and read one short story per night so that I could have appreciated the book more, the way it deserved. I started out loving it but for the reasons given lost much of my enthusiasm. Still, deLint remains one of my favourite authors and I'm eagerly anticipating reading some of his other works that rest on my nightstand.

Rating: 3.5
Originally published on www.chapterofdreams.com ( )