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Newford #11
Widdershins
While bitter conflict rages between the magical North American "animal people" and the more newly-arrived fairy folk, the long-awaited romance between Jilly Coppercorn and Geordie Riddell begins to blossom.
560 pages, Hardcover
First published May 16, 2006
120 people are currently reading
2420 people want to read
About the author
Charles de Lint
446 books3,996 followersCharles de Lint is the much beloved author of more than seventy adult, young adult, and children's books. Renowned as one of the trailblazers of the modern fantasy genre, he is the recipient of the World Fantasy, Aurora, Sunburst, and White Pine awards, among others. Modern Library's Top 100 Books of the 20th Century poll, conducted by Random House and voted on by readers, put eight of de Lint's books among the top 100.
De Lint is a poet, folklorist, artist, songwriter and performer. He has written critical essays, music reviews, opinion columns and entries to encyclopedias, and he's been the main book reviewer for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction since 1987. De Lint served as Writer-in-residence for two public libraries in Ottawa and has taught creative writing workshops for adults and children in Canada and the United States. He's been a judge for several prominent awards, including the Nebula, World Fantasy, Theodore Sturgeon and Bram Stoker.
Born in the Netherlands in 1951, de Lint immigrated to Canada with his family as an infant. The family moved often during de Lint's childhood because of his father's job with an international surveying company, but by the time Charles was twelve—having lived in Western Canada, Turkey and Lebanon—they had settled in Lucerne, Quebec, not far from where he now resides in Ottawa, Ontario.
In 1980, de Lint married the love of his life, MaryAnn Harris, who works closely with him as his first editor, business manager and creative partner. They share their love and home with a cheery little dog named Johnny Cash.
Charles de Lint is best described as a romantic: a believer in compassion, hope and human potential. His skilled portrayal of character and settings has earned him a loyal readership and glowing praise from peers, reviewers and readers.
Charles de Lint writes like a magician. He draws out the strange inside our own world, weaving stories that feel more real than we are when we read them. He is, simply put, the best.
—Holly Black (bestselling author)
Charles de Lint is the modern master of urban fantasy. Folktale, myth, fairy tale, dreams, urban legend—all of it adds up to pure magic in de Lint's vivid, original world. No one does it better.
—Alice Hoffman (bestselling author)
To read de Lint is to fall under the spell of a master storyteller, to be reminded of the greatness of life, of the beauty and majesty lurking in shadows and empty doorways.
—Quill & Quire
His Newford books, which make up most of de Lint's body of work between 1993 and 2009, confirmed his reputation for bringing a vivid setting and repertory cast of characters to life on the page. Though not a consecutive series, the twenty-five standalone books set in (or connected to) Newford give readers a feeling of visiting a favourite city and seeing old friends.
More recently, his young adult Wildlings trilogy—Under My Skin, Over My Head, and Out of This World—came out from Penguin Canada and Triskell Press in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Under My Skin won 2013 Aurora Award. A novel for middle-grade readers, The Cats of Tanglewood Forest, published by Little Brown in 2013, won the Sunburst Award, earned starred reviews in both Publishers Weekly and Quill & Quire, and was chosen by the New York Times Editors as one of the top six children's books for 2013. His most recent adult novel, The Mystery of Grace (2009), is a fascinating ghost story about love, passion and faith. It was a finalist for both the Sunburst and Evergreen awards.
De Lint is presently writing a new adult novel. His storytelling skills also shine in his original songs. He and MaryAnn (also a musician) recently released companion CDs of their original songs, samples of which can be heard on de Lin
De Lint is a poet, folklorist, artist, songwriter and performer. He has written critical essays, music reviews, opinion columns and entries to encyclopedias, and he's been the main book reviewer for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction since 1987. De Lint served as Writer-in-residence for two public libraries in Ottawa and has taught creative writing workshops for adults and children in Canada and the United States. He's been a judge for several prominent awards, including the Nebula, World Fantasy, Theodore Sturgeon and Bram Stoker.
Born in the Netherlands in 1951, de Lint immigrated to Canada with his family as an infant. The family moved often during de Lint's childhood because of his father's job with an international surveying company, but by the time Charles was twelve—having lived in Western Canada, Turkey and Lebanon—they had settled in Lucerne, Quebec, not far from where he now resides in Ottawa, Ontario.
In 1980, de Lint married the love of his life, MaryAnn Harris, who works closely with him as his first editor, business manager and creative partner. They share their love and home with a cheery little dog named Johnny Cash.
Charles de Lint is best described as a romantic: a believer in compassion, hope and human potential. His skilled portrayal of character and settings has earned him a loyal readership and glowing praise from peers, reviewers and readers.
Charles de Lint writes like a magician. He draws out the strange inside our own world, weaving stories that feel more real than we are when we read them. He is, simply put, the best.
—Holly Black (bestselling author)
Charles de Lint is the modern master of urban fantasy. Folktale, myth, fairy tale, dreams, urban legend—all of it adds up to pure magic in de Lint's vivid, original world. No one does it better.
—Alice Hoffman (bestselling author)
To read de Lint is to fall under the spell of a master storyteller, to be reminded of the greatness of life, of the beauty and majesty lurking in shadows and empty doorways.
—Quill & Quire
His Newford books, which make up most of de Lint's body of work between 1993 and 2009, confirmed his reputation for bringing a vivid setting and repertory cast of characters to life on the page. Though not a consecutive series, the twenty-five standalone books set in (or connected to) Newford give readers a feeling of visiting a favourite city and seeing old friends.
More recently, his young adult Wildlings trilogy—Under My Skin, Over My Head, and Out of This World—came out from Penguin Canada and Triskell Press in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Under My Skin won 2013 Aurora Award. A novel for middle-grade readers, The Cats of Tanglewood Forest, published by Little Brown in 2013, won the Sunburst Award, earned starred reviews in both Publishers Weekly and Quill & Quire, and was chosen by the New York Times Editors as one of the top six children's books for 2013. His most recent adult novel, The Mystery of Grace (2009), is a fascinating ghost story about love, passion and faith. It was a finalist for both the Sunburst and Evergreen awards.
De Lint is presently writing a new adult novel. His storytelling skills also shine in his original songs. He and MaryAnn (also a musician) recently released companion CDs of their original songs, samples of which can be heard on de Lin
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 291 reviews
December 9, 2008
This book disappointed me. I have enjoyed other books by the author and in this series. I loved the Onion Girl, and waited eagerly for its sequel. But I thought the plot of Widdershins was too fragmented. DeLint introduced too many new characters, used too many different points of view and tried to tell too many stories at the same time.
Half a dozen new characters were introduced, most of whom got point-of-view chapters, and just as many minor characters from previous books made an appearance. Several old characters were pulled out as Dei-ex-machina, seemingly just so they could get in a cameo. There were at least three or four loosely entertwined plots, each of which deserved a whole book to themselves. Several sin-and-redemption arcs took place simultaneously, but they weren't well enough connected to really complement each other. And Jilly's story, supposedly the focus of the book, was relegated to the status of an unrelated subplot.
Was this a book about Jilly that got hijacked by a subplot that the author found too interesting to ignore? Was it a book about a war between Fairy and Native spirits that DeLint added some Jilly material to in order to sell it to a romance-hungry audience? Was it a parable of redemption where the elements were not sufficiently connected to make a coherent narrative? I couldn't figure it out.
And, in the end, this book left me with the same bad taste in my mouth that had almost tainted my enjoyment of the Onion Girl. Jilly, once more, seeks redemption for the evil she had inadvertently done in trying to escape her own abuse. DeLint's poor raped Jilly says too many times: "I was just a kid, I didn't know what I was doing." Neither she nor, I suspect, the author, entirely believe it. I do. The character is not responsible for leaving her sister behind when she ran away from their sadistic brother, and she's not responsible for creating thought-forms to take her abuse in her place. So why did she spend two books trying to atone for it-- without, apparently, ever learning that it really wasn't her fault?
Half a dozen new characters were introduced, most of whom got point-of-view chapters, and just as many minor characters from previous books made an appearance. Several old characters were pulled out as Dei-ex-machina, seemingly just so they could get in a cameo. There were at least three or four loosely entertwined plots, each of which deserved a whole book to themselves. Several sin-and-redemption arcs took place simultaneously, but they weren't well enough connected to really complement each other. And Jilly's story, supposedly the focus of the book, was relegated to the status of an unrelated subplot.
Was this a book about Jilly that got hijacked by a subplot that the author found too interesting to ignore? Was it a book about a war between Fairy and Native spirits that DeLint added some Jilly material to in order to sell it to a romance-hungry audience? Was it a parable of redemption where the elements were not sufficiently connected to make a coherent narrative? I couldn't figure it out.
And, in the end, this book left me with the same bad taste in my mouth that had almost tainted my enjoyment of the Onion Girl. Jilly, once more, seeks redemption for the evil she had inadvertently done in trying to escape her own abuse. DeLint's poor raped Jilly says too many times: "I was just a kid, I didn't know what I was doing." Neither she nor, I suspect, the author, entirely believe it. I do. The character is not responsible for leaving her sister behind when she ran away from their sadistic brother, and she's not responsible for creating thought-forms to take her abuse in her place. So why did she spend two books trying to atone for it-- without, apparently, ever learning that it really wasn't her fault?
May 15, 2012
A sweet and charming fantasy, this rather hefty volume is in many ways a lighter version of Neil Gaiman's classic "American Gods." It is lighter in tone, being more of a romance than a horror tale, and lighter in impact as well. "American Gods" haunted my thoughts and dreames for weeks after I finished it. "Widdershins" has almost entirely faded from my conscious slightly more than 24 hours after I read the last page.
This is not meant to be dismissive. I enjoyed de Lint's story and universe thoroughly and am quite likely to re-read this book in the future or to dip into others of his Newford books. But there were only a few points at which I felt that the story might not end well -- I can't say more without spoilers -- whereas "American Gods" kept me guessing about resolutions from beginning to end.
The story is like "American Gods" in that it brings together ancient spirit beings from a number of mythologies and puts them together along with humans from the current age. Not all humans can see (or admit they see) the spirit beings but they are thoroughly a part of our post-modern world nonetheless.
The human characters are sympathetic without exception; the spirit beings nearly so. We find redemptive qualities even in the most antagonistic of the latter. Still, even with the quality of mercy being unstrained, raw justice is also applied and it is left to the reader to decide which is more satisfying.
I should add that I found one aspect of this book frustrating, similar to my reaction to the previously-reviewed "Tigana" by Guy Gavriel Kay: the set-up to the world of the book seems too long. Can these modern fantasy authors really not find better ways to jump into the story and provide us with necessary backstory interwoven into the adventure? I don't remember this as a problem with Tolkein, for example.
This is not meant to be dismissive. I enjoyed de Lint's story and universe thoroughly and am quite likely to re-read this book in the future or to dip into others of his Newford books. But there were only a few points at which I felt that the story might not end well -- I can't say more without spoilers -- whereas "American Gods" kept me guessing about resolutions from beginning to end.
The story is like "American Gods" in that it brings together ancient spirit beings from a number of mythologies and puts them together along with humans from the current age. Not all humans can see (or admit they see) the spirit beings but they are thoroughly a part of our post-modern world nonetheless.
The human characters are sympathetic without exception; the spirit beings nearly so. We find redemptive qualities even in the most antagonistic of the latter. Still, even with the quality of mercy being unstrained, raw justice is also applied and it is left to the reader to decide which is more satisfying.
I should add that I found one aspect of this book frustrating, similar to my reaction to the previously-reviewed "Tigana" by Guy Gavriel Kay: the set-up to the world of the book seems too long. Can these modern fantasy authors really not find better ways to jump into the story and provide us with necessary backstory interwoven into the adventure? I don't remember this as a problem with Tolkein, for example.
September 29, 2010
This is the closest de Lint has come to writing a sequel to any of his Newford novels; it takes place two years after the events in The Onion Girl and finishes Jilly's story. Still, it isn't absolutely necessary to have read The Onion Girl first; de Lint does a decent job of catching new readers up.
As with The Onion Girl, the thing that takes me the most by surprise is that the returning characters hold less interest than the new characters for me. I was involved with Lizzie from her very first chapter as narrator, but it took until mid-way through the book for me to particularly care what was happening with Jilly and Geordie -- even though when they were new characters in the stories in Dreams Underfoot they were two of my favorite characters. Part of it may simply be that I'm tired of de Lint's descriptions of his regular characters -- Jilly is always messy, petite, with masses of tangled hair and a perpetual smile, which is a great description the first time you see it in a short story, but by the time she's been the focus of two novels and appeared in dozens of other stories the description is getting rather hackneyed. The same goes for Geordie, Joe, and Cassie in Widdershins -- I've just heard them described way too many times by now and it's always exactly the same no matter what other character is describing them.
Still, by halfway through I was invested in all of the characters (with the exception of Galfreya who seemed like a wasted viewpoint), and the story was moving along briskly. Then the other major problem with Widdershins became apparent: de Lint simply had too many moving pieces in this novel. By the halfway point the plot felt poised on the brink of the climax -- buffalo cousins living and dead had massed in between and had brought out the war drums and everyone else was scrambling to find some way to stop it. I could feel the tension permeating the novel -- until that was followed with over 100 pages of jumping from viewpoint to viewpoint to get all the characters who needed to be there in position, which totally wrecked the tension, so that by the time the showdown occurred I was totally taken out of the story. Pacing is commonly a problem with novels that have such large casts of viewpoint characters, and de Lint does not overcome it here.
Still, despite those two (fairly sizable) issues, I liked Widdershins better than The Onion Girl. It does conclude Jilly's story happily, it introduces us to more cousins (always my favorite parts of de Lint stories), and despite the pacing issues it has more action than The Onion Girl did, more jeopardy for everyone involved, so it feels like a more rounded out novel. Definitely recommended for de Lint fans.
As with The Onion Girl, the thing that takes me the most by surprise is that the returning characters hold less interest than the new characters for me. I was involved with Lizzie from her very first chapter as narrator, but it took until mid-way through the book for me to particularly care what was happening with Jilly and Geordie -- even though when they were new characters in the stories in Dreams Underfoot they were two of my favorite characters. Part of it may simply be that I'm tired of de Lint's descriptions of his regular characters -- Jilly is always messy, petite, with masses of tangled hair and a perpetual smile, which is a great description the first time you see it in a short story, but by the time she's been the focus of two novels and appeared in dozens of other stories the description is getting rather hackneyed. The same goes for Geordie, Joe, and Cassie in Widdershins -- I've just heard them described way too many times by now and it's always exactly the same no matter what other character is describing them.
Still, by halfway through I was invested in all of the characters (with the exception of Galfreya who seemed like a wasted viewpoint), and the story was moving along briskly. Then the other major problem with Widdershins became apparent: de Lint simply had too many moving pieces in this novel. By the halfway point the plot felt poised on the brink of the climax -- buffalo cousins living and dead had massed in between and had brought out the war drums and everyone else was scrambling to find some way to stop it. I could feel the tension permeating the novel -- until that was followed with over 100 pages of jumping from viewpoint to viewpoint to get all the characters who needed to be there in position, which totally wrecked the tension, so that by the time the showdown occurred I was totally taken out of the story. Pacing is commonly a problem with novels that have such large casts of viewpoint characters, and de Lint does not overcome it here.
Still, despite those two (fairly sizable) issues, I liked Widdershins better than The Onion Girl. It does conclude Jilly's story happily, it introduces us to more cousins (always my favorite parts of de Lint stories), and despite the pacing issues it has more action than The Onion Girl did, more jeopardy for everyone involved, so it feels like a more rounded out novel. Definitely recommended for de Lint fans.
July 1, 2025
I absolutely devoured this book. Charles deLint absolutely delivers again. While the newford books all can be read as stand alone I do recommend reading Onion Girl before Widdershins so you know Jilly’s backstory.
January 10, 2012
Two upfront disclaimers: One, I am not a fan of urban fantasy. I think it's a real kitschy genre and I've never been able to take it seriously. Two, I never read any of the previous books in this series. So, hey, if this is your thing and you've been following these characters for a long time, my review is going to be meaningless to you.
Aside from those things, I just thought there were a number of problems. de Lint writes really poorly. There's nothing subtle in the narration at all. The explanations of mystical elements are redundant, and worse, the explanations are repeated verbatim by various characters throughout the book (see especially, the power of names, every SINGLE TIME names are traded or given in the story). It's almost as if he has no faith in his readers to interpret things themselves or remember the ground rules for the world he sets up. I also had enormous problems with the structure of this book. The story is told using a combination of third person omniscient and multiple first person perspectives, which is bewildering and utterly confusing. Why do certain characters warrant a first person perspective in their chapters while others don't? Maybe if I'd read previous entries that would make sense, but it appeared completely arbitrary to me. First person points of view for Geordie and Jilly make sense as they come to grips with the feelings they have for one another, but the others were useless to me and just distracting - especially with the third person perspectives sprinkled in-between. The first person points of view aren't even done especially well. Every character has exactly the same voice. They read exactly the same and have no defining quirks to let the reader know who they're listening to without the headings at the start of each chapter. The resolution was also incredibly drawn out. Most of the action abruptly ends about 3/4 of the way into the book and there are still over one hundred and fifty pages of loose ends to tie up. This being the end of a much longer arc, maybe that makes sense, but to me, it just felt unnecessarily prolonged.
All that got in the way of a decent story. Even a new reader can't help but hope to see Geordie and Jilly together and to finally see them overcome their personal struggles to embrace a happier life. The world de Lint creates is nothing new or spectacular (Christopher Golden's is remarkably similar in many respects, and in my opinion, much superior) and the ideas explored are similar to the ones Gaiman presented in American Gods, but it's not horrible either. You can tell a lot of work went into it's creation, it's rules and it's plausibility. The greater conflict between the newer fairies and the spirits (or cousins) of the old world is layered in a way that has promise and is competently strung together, but ---arghhh --- the narration! Mr. de Lint, do yourself a favor and find a new editor. Cutting out those extra narrators and focusing in more tightly on Geordie and Jilly would have made this a much, much better book.
Aside from those things, I just thought there were a number of problems. de Lint writes really poorly. There's nothing subtle in the narration at all. The explanations of mystical elements are redundant, and worse, the explanations are repeated verbatim by various characters throughout the book (see especially, the power of names, every SINGLE TIME names are traded or given in the story). It's almost as if he has no faith in his readers to interpret things themselves or remember the ground rules for the world he sets up. I also had enormous problems with the structure of this book. The story is told using a combination of third person omniscient and multiple first person perspectives, which is bewildering and utterly confusing. Why do certain characters warrant a first person perspective in their chapters while others don't? Maybe if I'd read previous entries that would make sense, but it appeared completely arbitrary to me. First person points of view for Geordie and Jilly make sense as they come to grips with the feelings they have for one another, but the others were useless to me and just distracting - especially with the third person perspectives sprinkled in-between. The first person points of view aren't even done especially well. Every character has exactly the same voice. They read exactly the same and have no defining quirks to let the reader know who they're listening to without the headings at the start of each chapter. The resolution was also incredibly drawn out. Most of the action abruptly ends about 3/4 of the way into the book and there are still over one hundred and fifty pages of loose ends to tie up. This being the end of a much longer arc, maybe that makes sense, but to me, it just felt unnecessarily prolonged.
All that got in the way of a decent story. Even a new reader can't help but hope to see Geordie and Jilly together and to finally see them overcome their personal struggles to embrace a happier life. The world de Lint creates is nothing new or spectacular (Christopher Golden's is remarkably similar in many respects, and in my opinion, much superior) and the ideas explored are similar to the ones Gaiman presented in American Gods, but it's not horrible either. You can tell a lot of work went into it's creation, it's rules and it's plausibility. The greater conflict between the newer fairies and the spirits (or cousins) of the old world is layered in a way that has promise and is competently strung together, but ---arghhh --- the narration! Mr. de Lint, do yourself a favor and find a new editor. Cutting out those extra narrators and focusing in more tightly on Geordie and Jilly would have made this a much, much better book.
March 22, 2009
Charles deLint lives in a weird, wonderful world peopled by Celtic fae and Native American mythic figures. Every time I read one of his books, I live there too for a while. The book explores many types of relationships between friends, lovers and family. It also touches on the effects of abuse and the methods of overcoming it. All these serious themes are wrapped in an engaging story of bogans, faerie courts, Crow girls, music and love. I find myself excited every time I see a new deLint book in the library, and this one lived up to every expectation.
November 17, 2010
Thank you, Charles De Lint, for this book. Not only was it funny, it was also scary, and heartwarming, and oh so full of magic. If Onion Girl made you feel deeply depressed (I did), than this book is the Anti-depressant. Read your fill, and you'll come out ahead. I promise.
May 12, 2017
All of the love.
Review to come.
Review to come.
January 22, 2018
A real grab bag that'll reward you more if you've read some of the earlier Newford stories. Why? Because the cast of characters is rather large, some have backstories or baggage introduced in past stories. Regardless of whether you've read other Newford stories, you'll need to pay attention to all of the characters because it's not so easy to predict who is going to be part of the action.
That's part of the fun here - this cast of major and minor players really moves around. Their adventures are unpredictable with a few story-driving exceptions .
Charles de Lint brings together archetypes and bit players from fairy tales, fables, North American, Native American and other legends to pull off this complicated set of stories within stories. He also interweaves the perspective of touring folk musicians all the way down to who's working the merchandise table, setting some of the scenes at gigs and formatting the book with section titles that borrow from traditional music.
It's a busy book that wont be a favorite read for everyone, if you're looking for a little Newford taste test, take a dip with Our Lady of the Harbour (Newford, #1) or Timeskip, or to start someplace aside from Newford that'll sorta still get you prepped for this one, maybe try The Wind in His Heart .
That's part of the fun here - this cast of major and minor players really moves around. Their adventures are unpredictable with a few story-driving exceptions .
Charles de Lint brings together archetypes and bit players from fairy tales, fables, North American, Native American and other legends to pull off this complicated set of stories within stories. He also interweaves the perspective of touring folk musicians all the way down to who's working the merchandise table, setting some of the scenes at gigs and formatting the book with section titles that borrow from traditional music.
It's a busy book that wont be a favorite read for everyone, if you're looking for a little Newford taste test, take a dip with Our Lady of the Harbour (Newford, #1) or Timeskip, or to start someplace aside from Newford that'll sorta still get you prepped for this one, maybe try The Wind in His Heart .
November 3, 2008
Ow. Did I say Onion Girl (the book to which this is a sequel) was painful? This was an order of magnitude more painful to read and experience. But I thought it was a better book, and truer to the Newford canon.
In this one, a fiddler accidentally makes some enemies among a bunch of trouble-making boggans. Unfortunately, they're part of a larger crisis in the supernatural world, and precipitate a war between the native spirits and the European fairies. When Lizzie, the fiddler, gets pulled into things, her cousin has her arm broken by the boggans, and Lizzie calls her friend Geordie to fill in, who brings Jilly (permanently crippled by the car accident) with him. All of them are pulled into the crisis.
The book is full of major crises and resolutions -- good and evil, prejudice and bigotry, love and hate, and growth and stagnation. Jilly confronts the root of her childhood trauma, and is forced to deal with it directly, at the same time that her friends, coming to rescue her, are completely derailed by the oncoming war.
This was a powerful book, and had a lot to say about how people deal with each other -- their expectations and reality, and their willingness to grow and move on.
In this one, a fiddler accidentally makes some enemies among a bunch of trouble-making boggans. Unfortunately, they're part of a larger crisis in the supernatural world, and precipitate a war between the native spirits and the European fairies. When Lizzie, the fiddler, gets pulled into things, her cousin has her arm broken by the boggans, and Lizzie calls her friend Geordie to fill in, who brings Jilly (permanently crippled by the car accident) with him. All of them are pulled into the crisis.
The book is full of major crises and resolutions -- good and evil, prejudice and bigotry, love and hate, and growth and stagnation. Jilly confronts the root of her childhood trauma, and is forced to deal with it directly, at the same time that her friends, coming to rescue her, are completely derailed by the oncoming war.
This was a powerful book, and had a lot to say about how people deal with each other -- their expectations and reality, and their willingness to grow and move on.
Read
October 19, 2010de Lint has come up with a really interesting background for the story, about a kind of war between the Native American spirits and the Celtic fae immigrants. This could be a neat way to explore the appropriation that especially occurs in genre fiction all the time which results in a lot of Celtic-driven urban fantasy. Unfortunately, it looks like (haven't finished it yet) the main focus is going to be on whether or not the human characters can find lasting luuuuuuuv, and....that's not really very interesting to me. Also, the ending (yes I checked it already, I always do) looks terrible. I liked Onion Girl quite a lot, Spirit in the Wires not so much, and I think after this I might got back to earlier de Lint books if I want a Newford fix.
ETA It got better as I went along - altho the question about the buffalo spirits was a big plot hole. It wasn't quite as wholly focused on Jilly and Geordie as I feared, and I liked Anwatan. The parts with Jilly in the pocket world/house were moving.
ETA It got better as I went along - altho the question about the buffalo spirits was a big plot hole. It wasn't quite as wholly focused on Jilly and Geordie as I feared, and I liked Anwatan. The parts with Jilly in the pocket world/house were moving.
September 9, 2016
I don't think I realized the first time I read this book that, because of how all the ends are tied up, this was probably the final big Newford book.
January 4, 2018
Widdershins (Обратно на часовника?) е поредният многопластов роман на де Линт, изпълнен с десетки живи герои и представен през гледната точка на всеки от тях, като авторът вече толкова си е подобрил стила, че читателя няма време да си поеме дъх през цялата книга.
Лизи попада на група богани, прясно нарушили примирието между фей и духовете на земята с убийството на момиче от церва коляното (тревопасните). С малко помощ успява да ги разкара, но вреадта е нанесена. Новивят вожд на клана на водните биволи обявява война на двора на фей в Нюфорд и призовава духовете на всички починали войни от биволите с цел да изтрие всичи заселници, магични и не, от континента. Оказва се, че на боганите е помагал местен дух, който търси отмъщение. Войната изглежда неизбежна и само Боунс може да я спре.
По някакъв начин Джили успява да се намеси в схемите им и е отнесена в Другия свят, където се заклещва на много неприятно място, подвластно на грозните спомени от детството и, от където може да се измъкне само ако се пребори със себе си.
Няоклкото сюжетни линии се преплитат многократно, събират се и се разделят. Има директни препратки към „Onion girl”, “Forest of the Heart” и „Some place to be flying” като се отговаря няколко отдавна повдигнати въпроса. Има нови лица, както и много от старите любими персонажи. Също така, това е най-бруталната (буквално) книга на де Линт, която съм чел. Редуването на красиви приказни истории с натурална жестокост е нещо, което сякаш само той умее.
Светът на Нюфорд е жив, той се движи във времето, героите му еволюират, а всяка чудатост намира удобно място там. Всеки път се изумявам как може един човек да държи цяла вселена в главата си, да следи десетки герои и повествованието му да не се изроди в сапунена опера. Гледам как намаляват непрочетените книги и ми става едно тегаво...
Лизи попада на група богани, прясно нарушили примирието между фей и духовете на земята с убийството на момиче от церва коляното (тревопасните). С малко помощ успява да ги разкара, но вреадта е нанесена. Новивят вожд на клана на водните биволи обявява война на двора на фей в Нюфорд и призовава духовете на всички починали войни от биволите с цел да изтрие всичи заселници, магични и не, от континента. Оказва се, че на боганите е помагал местен дух, който търси отмъщение. Войната изглежда неизбежна и само Боунс може да я спре.
По някакъв начин Джили успява да се намеси в схемите им и е отнесена в Другия свят, където се заклещва на много неприятно място, подвластно на грозните спомени от детството и, от където може да се измъкне само ако се пребори със себе си.
Няоклкото сюжетни линии се преплитат многократно, събират се и се разделят. Има директни препратки към „Onion girl”, “Forest of the Heart” и „Some place to be flying” като се отговаря няколко отдавна повдигнати въпроса. Има нови лица, както и много от старите любими персонажи. Също така, това е най-бруталната (буквално) книга на де Линт, която съм чел. Редуването на красиви приказни истории с натурална жестокост е нещо, което сякаш само той умее.
Светът на Нюфорд е жив, той се движи във времето, героите му еволюират, а всяка чудатост намира удобно място там. Всеки път се изумявам как може един човек да държи цяла вселена в главата си, да следи десетки герои и повествованието му да не се изроди в сапунена опера. Гледам как намаляват непрочетените книги и ми става едно тегаво...
October 9, 2023
How I love Charles de Lint! He is one of my faves. This novel takes us back to the Newford gang, humans, fairies, old spirits, and so very many more endearing or despicable characters. I always find wisdom and insight in his books, but this one seemed to be particularly full of it. Redemption, resurrection, forgiveness, letting go - heavy themes brilliantly played.
My only complaint is that there are just too many characters. Many different points of view, maybe 10 or so, which would have been ok, but then there are dozens more we are supposed to keep track of. It's amazingly well done, but just too much. I also wish they were easier to find on audio, because I'd rather be reading the Newford books in order. Anyway, read them, read them all if you like magical realism, fantasy and the like.
My only complaint is that there are just too many characters. Many different points of view, maybe 10 or so, which would have been ok, but then there are dozens more we are supposed to keep track of. It's amazingly well done, but just too much. I also wish they were easier to find on audio, because I'd rather be reading the Newford books in order. Anyway, read them, read them all if you like magical realism, fantasy and the like.
September 27, 2023
That was crazy!! I love the spin on fairies that de lint takes here. Despite being book 74829473 in the series, this truly is a whole complete story that I was able to fall into and enjoy without any prior knowledge of the world. I’d love to eventually read some more of his work, clearly he knows what he’s doing.
I’ll admit it dragged on quite a lot- there was a LOT of characters and conflicts and relationships that tangled everything together, which is not a thing that happens in a short amount of pages. But the imagery was very cozy and magical and autumnal and it was the best book in my arsenal that I could’ve been reading this month.
Thanks Charles for the food
I’ll admit it dragged on quite a lot- there was a LOT of characters and conflicts and relationships that tangled everything together, which is not a thing that happens in a short amount of pages. But the imagery was very cozy and magical and autumnal and it was the best book in my arsenal that I could’ve been reading this month.
Thanks Charles for the food
July 16, 2019
I had high hopes for this book. I really wanted to love it as much as I loved The Onion Girl. But I didn't. This book was forced and meandering. So much filler and so much repetitive nonsense.
February 24, 2022
The 11th book of a series by an author I've never heard of? Well, really it was just a random borrow from the library.
A bit on the long side, though it never seemed to stray into "boring". It always seemed I must be close to the climax, but really nowhere close.
I've not had to go through the childhood trauma that one of the main characters had to, but I imagine that this novel could be helpful to people in similar situations.
A bit on the long side, though it never seemed to stray into "boring". It always seemed I must be close to the climax, but really nowhere close.
I've not had to go through the childhood trauma that one of the main characters had to, but I imagine that this novel could be helpful to people in similar situations.
Read
November 27, 2025Oof! Will not rate this, because I am not the audience for this book at all. Listened to audiobook for my book club’s November pick and all it did was confirm once again romance/fantasy is not for me.
February 5, 2009
wid·der·shins (w d r-sh nz ) or with·er·shins (w th -)adv.
In a contrary or counterclockwise direction: “The coracle whirled round, clockwise, then widdershins” (Anthony Bailey).
What would you do for love? Would you write a sonnet? Would you climb mountains for it? Would you battle for it? What about traveling to an alternate universe inside of the woman that you love, to battle beings from her past? This is just what Geordie Riddell has to do to save the love of his life, Jilly Coppercorn.
Fans of Charles De Lint’s Newford books have been waiting with bated breath for Jilly and Geordie to get together and realize the one thing that everyone else knows: They love each other. But they’ll have a lot to get through before they even realize their love exists. There is trouble brewing on the streets of Newford and, as usual, the Fey are involved.
Animosity is building between the Fey clans: The Native American Spirits that have lived since before time began and the New Spirits: those that have come later or immigrated on ships and barges. There is a thunder that is starting in the ground, a rhythm of drums; and the drums mean war.
Geordie and Jilly become involved in the battle through no fault of their own, though the danger has already been predicted for Geordie. If he hopes to survive, he must depend on those around him; especially Jilly. Regrettably, through Goblin involvement, she has withdrawn inside herself, to a world that exists only within her. There, Jilly the Broken Girl, has to relive all of her old hates, her old hurts.
If Geordie plans on saving her, he will need all the help he can get. But in the world of the Fey, there is one cardinal rule: Nothing is ever easy….
For as long as I can remember, Jilly Coppercorn has been my favorite character in De Lint’s Newford books. I identify with her for various reasons, she’s fun, has a good sense of humour; we’re both artists. It’s like she breathes in flesh and blood instead of just on the printed page.
De Lint’s many fans, myself included, have been waiting and waiting to know what would happen to Jilly after 2002’s “The Onion Girl”. And many more wanted to know when Geordie and Jilly would get together. The time has finally come to find out.
“Widdershins” is easily De Lint’s best novel to date. It’s almost like literary fantasy; its themes include discrimination, prejudices, racism, feuds, battles, all told in this glorious prose. The story flows off the page, rather than being just a bunch of printed words. “Widdershins” is also surprisingly somber.
Compared to some of his earlier works where the otherworld in Newford was a little brighter, here we see a darker side of Newford that we have not seen before. There is also some very grim subject matter that, for me, made parts of the novel difficult to read. This is mostly because I care about the characters so much that I hate to read or see anything bad happen to them.
In the end, “Widdershins” is a masterwork. A deft weaving of faiths, lore, legend, characters and plot. The result? A wonderful tapestry of story that just cries out for your attention. Read it and be enchanted.
I for one will be haunted by “Widdershins” for some time.
In a contrary or counterclockwise direction: “The coracle whirled round, clockwise, then widdershins” (Anthony Bailey).
What would you do for love? Would you write a sonnet? Would you climb mountains for it? Would you battle for it? What about traveling to an alternate universe inside of the woman that you love, to battle beings from her past? This is just what Geordie Riddell has to do to save the love of his life, Jilly Coppercorn.
Fans of Charles De Lint’s Newford books have been waiting with bated breath for Jilly and Geordie to get together and realize the one thing that everyone else knows: They love each other. But they’ll have a lot to get through before they even realize their love exists. There is trouble brewing on the streets of Newford and, as usual, the Fey are involved.
Animosity is building between the Fey clans: The Native American Spirits that have lived since before time began and the New Spirits: those that have come later or immigrated on ships and barges. There is a thunder that is starting in the ground, a rhythm of drums; and the drums mean war.
Geordie and Jilly become involved in the battle through no fault of their own, though the danger has already been predicted for Geordie. If he hopes to survive, he must depend on those around him; especially Jilly. Regrettably, through Goblin involvement, she has withdrawn inside herself, to a world that exists only within her. There, Jilly the Broken Girl, has to relive all of her old hates, her old hurts.
If Geordie plans on saving her, he will need all the help he can get. But in the world of the Fey, there is one cardinal rule: Nothing is ever easy….
For as long as I can remember, Jilly Coppercorn has been my favorite character in De Lint’s Newford books. I identify with her for various reasons, she’s fun, has a good sense of humour; we’re both artists. It’s like she breathes in flesh and blood instead of just on the printed page.
De Lint’s many fans, myself included, have been waiting and waiting to know what would happen to Jilly after 2002’s “The Onion Girl”. And many more wanted to know when Geordie and Jilly would get together. The time has finally come to find out.
“Widdershins” is easily De Lint’s best novel to date. It’s almost like literary fantasy; its themes include discrimination, prejudices, racism, feuds, battles, all told in this glorious prose. The story flows off the page, rather than being just a bunch of printed words. “Widdershins” is also surprisingly somber.
Compared to some of his earlier works where the otherworld in Newford was a little brighter, here we see a darker side of Newford that we have not seen before. There is also some very grim subject matter that, for me, made parts of the novel difficult to read. This is mostly because I care about the characters so much that I hate to read or see anything bad happen to them.
In the end, “Widdershins” is a masterwork. A deft weaving of faiths, lore, legend, characters and plot. The result? A wonderful tapestry of story that just cries out for your attention. Read it and be enchanted.
I for one will be haunted by “Widdershins” for some time.
September 4, 2007
Widdershins is the continuation of where The Onion Girl left off. While technically it can be viewed as a sequel (some would argue that, since Spirits in the Wires came out after Onion Girl and before Widdershins), again de Lint creates a novel that can stand alone if you hadn't read anything of his prior. You open this book and it immediately takes off after a few fill-you-in pages. So now we know how Jilly Coppercorn came to be, but what happens now? How does she cope with her physical life as well as her emotional and magical life?
It was nice to see that the book wasn't entirely about Jilly... I mean, that's what The Onion Girl was for. Granted the over all plot arc involves Jillys journey of healing herself, but her problems literally drag in some of her friends (and a few strangers as well).
The ending is a fairytale ending, of course. It was predictable but let's just say it was appropriate. It also heralds the resolution to the long standing question of whether or not Jilly and Geordie will ever hook up....
It was nice to see that the book wasn't entirely about Jilly... I mean, that's what The Onion Girl was for. Granted the over all plot arc involves Jillys journey of healing herself, but her problems literally drag in some of her friends (and a few strangers as well).
The ending is a fairytale ending, of course. It was predictable but let's just say it was appropriate. It also heralds the resolution to the long standing question of whether or not Jilly and Geordie will ever hook up....
January 12, 2011
For anyone who's been reading de Lint's Newford stories—this is Jilly and Geordie's story. They've been the best of friends, closer than friends, since their college days, and pretty much continuously, one of them has always been involved with someone else—not that that's ever worked out for either of them in the long run. But even they couldn't keep that up forever.
The story within which they finally get appropriately whacked with two-by-fours concerns the efforts of one of the old native spirits, one who really knows how to carry a grudge, to engineer a war between the spirits and the immigrant fairies who migrated to this continent with the Europeans. Joe, Galfreya, the Crow Girls, Christiana, Whiskey Jack, Raven, and other familiar figures from past tales all get involved, frequently with some confusion as to who is supposed to be on whose side. (This confusion is aided by the fact that the grudge-holding spirit's major grudge isn't against the fairies.) It's a solid, enjoyable story, but maybe not the best place to start if you haven't read any of the Newford stories before.
The story within which they finally get appropriately whacked with two-by-fours concerns the efforts of one of the old native spirits, one who really knows how to carry a grudge, to engineer a war between the spirits and the immigrant fairies who migrated to this continent with the Europeans. Joe, Galfreya, the Crow Girls, Christiana, Whiskey Jack, Raven, and other familiar figures from past tales all get involved, frequently with some confusion as to who is supposed to be on whose side. (This confusion is aided by the fact that the grudge-holding spirit's major grudge isn't against the fairies.) It's a solid, enjoyable story, but maybe not the best place to start if you haven't read any of the Newford stories before.
May 10, 2009
I'm afraid I didn't read the earlier books in the series, but had been recommended this one as a good example of a novel from several POV's. Although I like the world that Charles de Lint has built, I felt this book dragged. He could have trimmed 200 pages of inner dialogue and repetitive morality narrative and it would have been a tighter and more enjoyable read. The plot was engaging, if a bit all over the place, but by midway through the book, I became quite tired of hearing characters talk about how wonderful other characters were. The constant repetition of moral points (the same ones, over and over) became tedious. To be perfectly honest, I didn't finish the last few chapters, because I simply didn't care what happened to any of the characters any longer. Disappointed. I have a feeling that the earlier Newford stories were cleaner and less self-serving, but I'm not sure I'll read the book of his shorts I picked up at the same time.
July 5, 2013
Overall this was a good book. Makes me want to read/learn more about Celtic and Native American mythology. Numerous characters to keep track of ranging from humans to spirits. It was interesting to see how they all interacted and the mythologies entwined.
What made me decide on a 3 star rating rather than 4 was the ending...or endings. For me a book doesn't always have to wrap everything up in a pretty bow. I actually like endings that leave you wondering what happens next. In Widdershins there seems to be one ending after another, after another; the last 100 pages sum up this pattern. However, with that being said I'd still recommend this one to friends.
What made me decide on a 3 star rating rather than 4 was the ending...or endings. For me a book doesn't always have to wrap everything up in a pretty bow. I actually like endings that leave you wondering what happens next. In Widdershins there seems to be one ending after another, after another; the last 100 pages sum up this pattern. However, with that being said I'd still recommend this one to friends.
December 14, 2007
I love Charles de Lint. He was the first urban fantasy writer I encountered, and he remains the best. I like that he has created a cast of characters that he truly seems to love and enjoy hanging out with. And I LOVE that he's finally exploring Jilly and Geordie as a viable couple. The intersection of European myth and Native-American myth continues to be an interesting place upon which to stand in de Lint's capable hands. Very deep, though. Don't expect this to be a light read.
Good with: chai tea and pumpkin bread.
Good with: chai tea and pumpkin bread.
May 22, 2007
It takes awhile to get into (especially cause this is my first Newford book) but once you are in, it's wonderful, a great combination of fantasy and the fantastic merging into the everyday world.
June 22, 2020
I have never read a Charles de Lint book I didn't love. In my mind he will always be the most poetic bard to put pen to paper. His writing is just that powerful.
December 3, 2023
Jilly's story continued.Wonderful.
November 17, 2024
I recently reread Widdershins, the 11th book in Charles de Lint’s Newford series (published 2006). At 560 pages, it’s a hefty tome.
I fell in love with it in chapter one when Lizzie Mahone’s car runs out of gas at a lonely crossroads in the middle of the night. Of course, you know when you’re stranded after midnight at a crossroads near an “enormous old elm tree, half dead by a lightning strike” that something extraordinary is going to happen. For Lizzie, it’s a savage attack by bogans, nasty-pants faeries with sewer-mouths whose evil plans include stealing her car.
Fortunately for Lizzie, Grey, one of the corbae (bird) cousins, arrives serendipitously and saves her. But the bogans have been hunting and left their kill in the trunk of her car. Lizzie can’t stand to see the butchered deer, so buries the pieces under the tree, then gets her fiddle and plays a lament to honor the deer’s spirit. This touching act draws the attention of Walks-With-Dreams AKA Walker, who we discover is the father of Anwatan, the butchered deer. To repay Lizzie for her kindness, Walker tells Lizzie to call on him if she’s ever in need. Well, it doesn’t take long before Lizzie’s in need.
I tell you this because the rest of this massive story plays off these different types of creatures—the humans (Lizzie and her friends), the Indigenous animal people, and the Settler faeries who invaded this land with the Europeans.
Politics is rampant and the plot and its connections complex. At its core is the conflict between the settler fae and the Indigenous animal people who call themselves cousins. A massive war is brewing, fueled by the vengeful Odawa, a cousin from the salmon clan who Grey accidentally blinded by pecking out his eyes one day. He thought Odawa was dead. Odawa betrays the animal people and joins up with the fae who refer to the Indigenous cousins disrespectfully as “Green Bree” or “pluikers.”
Meanwhile, triggered by Anwatan’s murder, Minisino and his buffalo soldiers rise up in solidarity to revenge past injustices inflicted on their ancestors by the settlers. This story is an anthropomorphic retelling of North American history. Even Lucius, the Raven who created the world, makes an appearance at the height of the conflict.
But it’s not all about faeries, transforming animals, and politics. At its heart is the ongoing love story between Jilly Coppercorn and Geordie Riddell begun in The Onion Girl (2001). Jilly’s story is dark. In order to heal and release the past horrors that are stuck deep in her subconscious to become whole, Jilly must face her childhood abuser. A lengthy piece of this book takes place within Jilly’s mind or as de Lint calls it her “heart home.” Lizzie ends up in there with her, and the pedophile who abused Jilly joins them, as horrific as he was back then. When Del turns them both back into little girls and magically makes Lizzie’s mouth disappear from her face, it seems hopeless. It's also disturbing so be forewarned.
Charles de Lint pours his musician’s soul into his characters. Lizzie and her cousin Siobhan play fiddle in a Celtic band. When Siobhan is pushed down the stairs by a vengeful bogan and sprains her arm, Geordie steps in to help.
The only thing I don’t understand about this book is the cover art. A church steeple and floating women? It’s a little too Practical Magic for me. Widdershins means to travel in a counterclockwise motion. Witches dance widdershins to unravel a spell or a circle they’ve cast. I understand what this means to the story. Jilly Coppercorn travels backward to unravel the spell cast over her mind by her abusive brother. She must untangle her future from her past. But the cover art? I think the artist never actually read the manuscript, and just went with what they knew about the word.
But this book is so much more than its cover. Venture into the mythic fiction of Charles de Lint. You’ll be captured by the first chapter.
I fell in love with it in chapter one when Lizzie Mahone’s car runs out of gas at a lonely crossroads in the middle of the night. Of course, you know when you’re stranded after midnight at a crossroads near an “enormous old elm tree, half dead by a lightning strike” that something extraordinary is going to happen. For Lizzie, it’s a savage attack by bogans, nasty-pants faeries with sewer-mouths whose evil plans include stealing her car.
Fortunately for Lizzie, Grey, one of the corbae (bird) cousins, arrives serendipitously and saves her. But the bogans have been hunting and left their kill in the trunk of her car. Lizzie can’t stand to see the butchered deer, so buries the pieces under the tree, then gets her fiddle and plays a lament to honor the deer’s spirit. This touching act draws the attention of Walks-With-Dreams AKA Walker, who we discover is the father of Anwatan, the butchered deer. To repay Lizzie for her kindness, Walker tells Lizzie to call on him if she’s ever in need. Well, it doesn’t take long before Lizzie’s in need.
I tell you this because the rest of this massive story plays off these different types of creatures—the humans (Lizzie and her friends), the Indigenous animal people, and the Settler faeries who invaded this land with the Europeans.
Politics is rampant and the plot and its connections complex. At its core is the conflict between the settler fae and the Indigenous animal people who call themselves cousins. A massive war is brewing, fueled by the vengeful Odawa, a cousin from the salmon clan who Grey accidentally blinded by pecking out his eyes one day. He thought Odawa was dead. Odawa betrays the animal people and joins up with the fae who refer to the Indigenous cousins disrespectfully as “Green Bree” or “pluikers.”
Meanwhile, triggered by Anwatan’s murder, Minisino and his buffalo soldiers rise up in solidarity to revenge past injustices inflicted on their ancestors by the settlers. This story is an anthropomorphic retelling of North American history. Even Lucius, the Raven who created the world, makes an appearance at the height of the conflict.
But it’s not all about faeries, transforming animals, and politics. At its heart is the ongoing love story between Jilly Coppercorn and Geordie Riddell begun in The Onion Girl (2001). Jilly’s story is dark. In order to heal and release the past horrors that are stuck deep in her subconscious to become whole, Jilly must face her childhood abuser. A lengthy piece of this book takes place within Jilly’s mind or as de Lint calls it her “heart home.” Lizzie ends up in there with her, and the pedophile who abused Jilly joins them, as horrific as he was back then. When Del turns them both back into little girls and magically makes Lizzie’s mouth disappear from her face, it seems hopeless. It's also disturbing so be forewarned.
Charles de Lint pours his musician’s soul into his characters. Lizzie and her cousin Siobhan play fiddle in a Celtic band. When Siobhan is pushed down the stairs by a vengeful bogan and sprains her arm, Geordie steps in to help.
The only thing I don’t understand about this book is the cover art. A church steeple and floating women? It’s a little too Practical Magic for me. Widdershins means to travel in a counterclockwise motion. Witches dance widdershins to unravel a spell or a circle they’ve cast. I understand what this means to the story. Jilly Coppercorn travels backward to unravel the spell cast over her mind by her abusive brother. She must untangle her future from her past. But the cover art? I think the artist never actually read the manuscript, and just went with what they knew about the word.
But this book is so much more than its cover. Venture into the mythic fiction of Charles de Lint. You’ll be captured by the first chapter.
Read
February 9, 2025True love, when it is meant to be, will always unite two people, no matter how long the journey. Jilly Coppercorn and Geordie Riddell, two beloved characters from Charles de Lint’s Newford contemporary fantasy series, are the focus of this story. Their story is finally told in Widdershins, the eleventh book published in the series. According to De Lint, readers can enjoy his books in any order since each story is self-contained. For Widdershins, though, I recommend reading The Onion Girl beforehand. Those two books comprise a self-contained arc within the larger series and deserve to be read in that order.
Widdershins has a Scottish origin and means to-go counter clockwise and their nature of Jilly and Geordie’s relationship lays claim to that definition. Following her car accident, detailed in The Onion Girl, Jilly grapples with its aftermath. Since the accident, she’s lost interest in her art and withdrawn from everyone she knew. Despite a tough upbringing, Jilly’s inherent optimism and ability to connect with all types of people shines through, a warmth that touches everyone she meets. Because she hasn’t come to terms with her past, Jilly is trapped in her own head and is transported to another world to finally confront it.
Upon learning Jilly was missing, Geordie set out for the world she’d gone to, intent on returning her home. And finally, to declare his love for her. However, he becomes a pawn in a world where animal spirits and fairies are trying to settle long-time grievances. De Lint draws upon Celtic and Native American mythology to coalesce his story to a satisfying conclusion.
However, I found the novel to be about a hundred pages too long, and the pacing lagged. De Lint excels at character development, and this book boasts a memorable cast of richly-drawn and unique characters. Jilly and Geordie’s portion of the narrative, however, was the most compelling.
Widdershins is a very good novel and a must read for de Lint fans like myself. My preference was for a more concise plot, concentrating on Jilly and Geordie, to enhance my reading pleasure. Remember, as I noted in the introduction, reading “The Onion Girl” first will enrich your experience of “Widdershins” and enhance your understanding of its interwoven plot lines and characters.
I’m going to take a break from the Newford series for a while. Eleven books are enough for me. I wholeheartedly enjoyed exploring the unique fictional world presented in my favorite fantasy series. Charles de Lint, thank you for creating a contemporary fantasy world that I can connect with on such a personal level.
Widdershins has a Scottish origin and means to-go counter clockwise and their nature of Jilly and Geordie’s relationship lays claim to that definition. Following her car accident, detailed in The Onion Girl, Jilly grapples with its aftermath. Since the accident, she’s lost interest in her art and withdrawn from everyone she knew. Despite a tough upbringing, Jilly’s inherent optimism and ability to connect with all types of people shines through, a warmth that touches everyone she meets. Because she hasn’t come to terms with her past, Jilly is trapped in her own head and is transported to another world to finally confront it.
Upon learning Jilly was missing, Geordie set out for the world she’d gone to, intent on returning her home. And finally, to declare his love for her. However, he becomes a pawn in a world where animal spirits and fairies are trying to settle long-time grievances. De Lint draws upon Celtic and Native American mythology to coalesce his story to a satisfying conclusion.
However, I found the novel to be about a hundred pages too long, and the pacing lagged. De Lint excels at character development, and this book boasts a memorable cast of richly-drawn and unique characters. Jilly and Geordie’s portion of the narrative, however, was the most compelling.
Widdershins is a very good novel and a must read for de Lint fans like myself. My preference was for a more concise plot, concentrating on Jilly and Geordie, to enhance my reading pleasure. Remember, as I noted in the introduction, reading “The Onion Girl” first will enrich your experience of “Widdershins” and enhance your understanding of its interwoven plot lines and characters.
I’m going to take a break from the Newford series for a while. Eleven books are enough for me. I wholeheartedly enjoyed exploring the unique fictional world presented in my favorite fantasy series. Charles de Lint, thank you for creating a contemporary fantasy world that I can connect with on such a personal level.
October 29, 2018
This review and others posted over at
my blog.
I’m a big fan of de Lint’s work, though I haven’t read as much of it as I’d like. One of my favorite books is The Onion Girl, of which Jilly is the central character. I enjoyed reading about her magical adventures again and following some familiar and new characters.
Many of de Lint’s novels and stories take place in the fictional city of Newford and Widdershins is no exception. If you’ve read any of his Newford books, you’ll likely come across several characters you’ve met before when reading Widdershins – Jilly, Geordie and Joe foremost among them. This novel describes itself as a stand-alone and while I don’t disagree, I’d suggest you at least read The Onion Girl first. Widdershins delves into Jilly’s past as well as some of the events that happen in The Onion Girl so I think it’s helpful to have some history – plus, The Onion Girl is just a great book!
As I’ve seen in some of his other books, the story is told from the point of view of various characters and some of them are told from the first person perspective and some from the third. It takes a little getting used to, but I don’t mind it. We get a lot of viewpoints in this novel, including that of a shadow girl, a dog and a treekin.
The novel is divided into four parts and there’s a lot going on but the main plotline is that some bogans (little fairy men who tend to be rather violent) have killed one of the cerva (deer) people. The relationship between the native animal spirits and the fairies who came over with the settlers has always been a tense one. The buffalo kin are prepping for war and demanding the bogans be surrendered, while the fairy queen is trying to avoid further confrontations. Jilly and company get caught up in the goings on because fiddler Lizzie Mahone witnesses the bogans at a crossroads on their way back from hunting. Lizzie becomes a target and while she’s saved thanks to the intervention of one of the crow people, Grey, the bogans aren’t done with her.
The plot is far more complex than that, so I’m not going to go into further details or we’d be here forever. Given that the book is nearly 600 pages (with pretty small type), there were definitely times where it dragged. I certainly enjoyed the book overall, but I think it could have been shorter.
I ship Jilly and Geordie so I was invested in their subplot. A good portion of the book revolves around Jilly confronting the demons of her past and it gets pretty dark. While not overly graphic, topics like rape and child abuse are tackled. Another big chunk of the book revolves around the tensions between the fairies and native spirits. That was interesting but at times it felt repetitive as the story progressed.
While there’s a magical war brewing and humans are traveling throughout the spirit realms, the book is really about personal journeys and introspection. There’s a focus on personal beliefs and the beliefs of others and how it effects those around then. I think there’s a pretty strong message here about how everyone matters and the significance of forgiveness.
This quote is a good example:
“Why does it have to be like that? Why does wishing we could all just get along and take care of each other have to be a naive, innocent hope instead of something we could all actually work toward?”
I wouldn’t recommend you choose this as your first foray into the world of de Lint and Newford – maybe start with something a little less heavy, both physically and topically. Though, this book does have a lot of threads that feel very relevant to our current times.
This wasn’t my favorite de Lint or Newford book, but it was a solid read. The characters are definitely what made this one for me. The end was a bit too neat though – it seemed like every plotline was tied up in a neat little bow.
I recommend Widdershins if:
+ You ship Jilly and Geordie
+ You’re familiar with some of the Newford books and you want to tackle something hefty
+ You don’t care that you’ve never read anything else by de Lint; you think fairy/spirit wars, humans traveling through fairy lands, and a woman trapped in her own mind all sound interesting
I’m a big fan of de Lint’s work, though I haven’t read as much of it as I’d like. One of my favorite books is The Onion Girl, of which Jilly is the central character. I enjoyed reading about her magical adventures again and following some familiar and new characters.
Many of de Lint’s novels and stories take place in the fictional city of Newford and Widdershins is no exception. If you’ve read any of his Newford books, you’ll likely come across several characters you’ve met before when reading Widdershins – Jilly, Geordie and Joe foremost among them. This novel describes itself as a stand-alone and while I don’t disagree, I’d suggest you at least read The Onion Girl first. Widdershins delves into Jilly’s past as well as some of the events that happen in The Onion Girl so I think it’s helpful to have some history – plus, The Onion Girl is just a great book!
As I’ve seen in some of his other books, the story is told from the point of view of various characters and some of them are told from the first person perspective and some from the third. It takes a little getting used to, but I don’t mind it. We get a lot of viewpoints in this novel, including that of a shadow girl, a dog and a treekin.
The novel is divided into four parts and there’s a lot going on but the main plotline is that some bogans (little fairy men who tend to be rather violent) have killed one of the cerva (deer) people. The relationship between the native animal spirits and the fairies who came over with the settlers has always been a tense one. The buffalo kin are prepping for war and demanding the bogans be surrendered, while the fairy queen is trying to avoid further confrontations. Jilly and company get caught up in the goings on because fiddler Lizzie Mahone witnesses the bogans at a crossroads on their way back from hunting. Lizzie becomes a target and while she’s saved thanks to the intervention of one of the crow people, Grey, the bogans aren’t done with her.
The plot is far more complex than that, so I’m not going to go into further details or we’d be here forever. Given that the book is nearly 600 pages (with pretty small type), there were definitely times where it dragged. I certainly enjoyed the book overall, but I think it could have been shorter.
I ship Jilly and Geordie so I was invested in their subplot. A good portion of the book revolves around Jilly confronting the demons of her past and it gets pretty dark. While not overly graphic, topics like rape and child abuse are tackled. Another big chunk of the book revolves around the tensions between the fairies and native spirits. That was interesting but at times it felt repetitive as the story progressed.
While there’s a magical war brewing and humans are traveling throughout the spirit realms, the book is really about personal journeys and introspection. There’s a focus on personal beliefs and the beliefs of others and how it effects those around then. I think there’s a pretty strong message here about how everyone matters and the significance of forgiveness.
This quote is a good example:
“Why does it have to be like that? Why does wishing we could all just get along and take care of each other have to be a naive, innocent hope instead of something we could all actually work toward?”
I wouldn’t recommend you choose this as your first foray into the world of de Lint and Newford – maybe start with something a little less heavy, both physically and topically. Though, this book does have a lot of threads that feel very relevant to our current times.
This wasn’t my favorite de Lint or Newford book, but it was a solid read. The characters are definitely what made this one for me. The end was a bit too neat though – it seemed like every plotline was tied up in a neat little bow.
I recommend Widdershins if:
+ You ship Jilly and Geordie
+ You’re familiar with some of the Newford books and you want to tackle something hefty
+ You don’t care that you’ve never read anything else by de Lint; you think fairy/spirit wars, humans traveling through fairy lands, and a woman trapped in her own mind all sound interesting
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