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A review by katie_is_dreaming
Dreams Underfoot: The Newford Collection by Charles de Lint
Rating: 10/10
I've had this book on my virtual TBR shelf for well over five years without reading it, even though I really wanted to read it. I don't fully know why I held off for so long. I think part of it is that I really wanted it to be good and I didn't want to be disappointed. Part of it was perhaps because I knew it would be good and I wanted to hold off, because I'd only get one chance to read it for the first time. And perhaps there was also part of me that knew what creative inspiration this book would provide for me, and the right time to read it hadn't come yet. Or perhaps that's all just me inventing excuses after finally having read it.
Anyway, I did read it, and it was good: really, really good. A handful of books a year (if that) come into my life and speak to my soul. This book did that. Even fewer books a year actually provide inspiration for my writing. This book did that too. I'm aware that this collection forms part of a much larger project, and I've wanted to do something like what de Lint does here for years, but wasn't brave enough to take the plunge with it. Having finally read the book, I can say without exaggeration that it's opened up so much scope for me as a writer. I've had so many ideas from reading this book, and that's definitely one of the reasons I love it so much.
Another reason I love it is that it's about hope, love, connection, stories, art, and music: all the things that make life so worthwhile. At the centre of the stories is Jilly Coppercorn, an artist with a dark past and a huge capacity for compassion. Through Jilly, and the people we meet through her, we see reasons to go on, to hope, to refuse to give in to despair. We see magic in many forms, both the quotidian kind, in a meeting of friends or the creating of art, and in the more fantastical kind, through the myriad otherworldly beings that find their way to Newford and populate its streets. I love stories about hope and connection. There is plenty of darkness here, make no mistake - content warnings for just about everything you can think of, but this isn't a bleak book.
Is it a perfect book? No, of course not (what book is?). It's somewhat dated in parts in its style and in its cultural milieu. There are also a few darker stories I would probably skip on reread, that feel a little out of step with the more optimistic tone of the rest of the book. In general, though, I loved this. I think this is the kind of urban fantasy that I really gravitate to. It's got a touch of the real mixed with a dash of the fantastical, and that's just right up my street. Newford seems like such a cool place, and I can visualise it so well. I just really love the vibe of these stories, and I'm excited to read the first full-length novel in the Newford world soon. Definitely a new favourite. So excited to read more from de Lint.
I've had this book on my virtual TBR shelf for well over five years without reading it, even though I really wanted to read it. I don't fully know why I held off for so long. I think part of it is that I really wanted it to be good and I didn't want to be disappointed. Part of it was perhaps because I knew it would be good and I wanted to hold off, because I'd only get one chance to read it for the first time. And perhaps there was also part of me that knew what creative inspiration this book would provide for me, and the right time to read it hadn't come yet. Or perhaps that's all just me inventing excuses after finally having read it.
Anyway, I did read it, and it was good: really, really good. A handful of books a year (if that) come into my life and speak to my soul. This book did that. Even fewer books a year actually provide inspiration for my writing. This book did that too. I'm aware that this collection forms part of a much larger project, and I've wanted to do something like what de Lint does here for years, but wasn't brave enough to take the plunge with it. Having finally read the book, I can say without exaggeration that it's opened up so much scope for me as a writer. I've had so many ideas from reading this book, and that's definitely one of the reasons I love it so much.
Another reason I love it is that it's about hope, love, connection, stories, art, and music: all the things that make life so worthwhile. At the centre of the stories is Jilly Coppercorn, an artist with a dark past and a huge capacity for compassion. Through Jilly, and the people we meet through her, we see reasons to go on, to hope, to refuse to give in to despair. We see magic in many forms, both the quotidian kind, in a meeting of friends or the creating of art, and in the more fantastical kind, through the myriad otherworldly beings that find their way to Newford and populate its streets. I love stories about hope and connection. There is plenty of darkness here, make no mistake - content warnings for just about everything you can think of, but this isn't a bleak book.
Is it a perfect book? No, of course not (what book is?). It's somewhat dated in parts in its style and in its cultural milieu. There are also a few darker stories I would probably skip on reread, that feel a little out of step with the more optimistic tone of the rest of the book. In general, though, I loved this. I think this is the kind of urban fantasy that I really gravitate to. It's got a touch of the real mixed with a dash of the fantastical, and that's just right up my street. Newford seems like such a cool place, and I can visualise it so well. I just really love the vibe of these stories, and I'm excited to read the first full-length novel in the Newford world soon. Definitely a new favourite. So excited to read more from de Lint.