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Newford #7
Forests of the Heart
In the old century, they called them the Gentry: ancient spirits of the land, magical, amoral, and dangerous. When the Irish emigrated to North America, some of the Gentry followed...only to find that the New World already had spirits of its own, called manitou and other such names by the Native tribes.
Now generations have passed, and the Irish have made homes in the new land, but the Gentry still wander homeless on the city streets. Gathering in the city shadows, they bide their time and dream of power. As their dreams grow harder, darker, fiercer, so do the Gentry themselves -- appearing, to those with the sight to see them, as hard and dangerous men, invariably dressed in black.
Bettina can see the Gentry, and knows them for what they are. Part Indian, part Mexican, she was raised by her grandmother to understand the spirit world. Now she lives in Kellygnow, a massive old house run as an arts colony on the outskirts of Newford, a world away from the Southwestern desert of her youth. Outside her nighttime window, she often spies the dark men, squatting in the snow, smoking, brooding, waiting. She calls them los lobos, the wolves, and stays clear of them -- until the night one follows her to the woods, and takes her hand....
Ellie, and independent young sculptor, is another with magic in her blood, bus she refuses to believe it, even though she, too, sees the dark men. A strange old woman has summoned Ellie to Kellygnow to create a mask for her based on an ancient Celtic artifact. It is the mask of the mythic Summer King -- another thing that Ellie does not believe in. Yet lack of belief won't dim the power of the mask, or its dreadful intent.
Once again Charles de Lint weaves the mythic traditions of many cultures into a seamless cloth, bringing folklore, music, and unforgettable characters to life on modern city streets.
Now generations have passed, and the Irish have made homes in the new land, but the Gentry still wander homeless on the city streets. Gathering in the city shadows, they bide their time and dream of power. As their dreams grow harder, darker, fiercer, so do the Gentry themselves -- appearing, to those with the sight to see them, as hard and dangerous men, invariably dressed in black.
Bettina can see the Gentry, and knows them for what they are. Part Indian, part Mexican, she was raised by her grandmother to understand the spirit world. Now she lives in Kellygnow, a massive old house run as an arts colony on the outskirts of Newford, a world away from the Southwestern desert of her youth. Outside her nighttime window, she often spies the dark men, squatting in the snow, smoking, brooding, waiting. She calls them los lobos, the wolves, and stays clear of them -- until the night one follows her to the woods, and takes her hand....
Ellie, and independent young sculptor, is another with magic in her blood, bus she refuses to believe it, even though she, too, sees the dark men. A strange old woman has summoned Ellie to Kellygnow to create a mask for her based on an ancient Celtic artifact. It is the mask of the mythic Summer King -- another thing that Ellie does not believe in. Yet lack of belief won't dim the power of the mask, or its dreadful intent.
Once again Charles de Lint weaves the mythic traditions of many cultures into a seamless cloth, bringing folklore, music, and unforgettable characters to life on modern city streets.
400 pages, Paperback
Published August 11, 2001
88 people are currently reading
2347 people want to read
About the author
Charles de Lint
446 books3,993 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 192 reviews
June 10, 2013
[7/10]
My third Newford book and probably not my last. I have not been reading them in order, but that's OK, as they can be enjoyed independently. I'm trading being more or less clueless about some of the recurring characters in order to focus on the ones particular to each novel as a stand-alone. Forests of the Heart refers to the notion of Home, the place, geographical as much as spiritual that defines and nourishes us, gives us strength and a feeling of continuity, of belonging to a history larger than our indivudual lives.
The fictional city of Newport sits on the border. On one side are the Manitou, the native spirits who are being pushed away by the destruction of the forests and the expansion of the city. On the other are the Gentry - spirits from the Old World brought across the ocean by the Irish immigrants, adapted to urban lifestyle but trying to carve a realm of their own out of the manido-aki / la epoca del mito / the spirit world. The myth of The Summer King / The Green Man / Lord of the Dance , of the period of summer and revelry being followed by winter and the need for a sacrifice that guarantees the return of spring is central to the story. Guy Gavriel Kay used a similar theme in The Fionnavar Tapestry. The meeting of these two cultures (native ans celtic) was seen in other Newford books. What I found of particular interest in this one is the introduction of a third strain : the Navajo / Mexican / Catholic heritage of the western desertlands, with its shapeshifters, herb-lore, milagros and especially the cadejos - another example of animal spirits in search of a home.
One of the theories embraced by the author is that the artists are more open to the supernatural world than the common people, more ready to accept and to explore the realm of the fantastic. The setting of the book helps, as most of the action takes place around Kellygnow, an artist colony in a suburb of Newford. Ellie Jones is a sculptor who receives a comission from a mystery woman to carve a copy of an ancient mask. Her ex-boyfriend Donal is a painter who holds a grudge against society in general, likes to drink and gets mixed up with the Gentry. Bettina is part Indian part Mexican, an artist model and a mystical healer trained in the spiritual arts by her grandmother ( abuela ). Donal's sister Miky works in a record store and in her free time she picks her accordion and plays in bars to both jazz and Irish folk music. Hunter is the owner of the record store, he gets caught in the plot almost by mistake, but rises to the occasion bravely. Tommy Raven is not an artist, but an Indian young man who provides the link to the Indian comunity through his formidable sixteen aunts. Tommy and Ellie in addition worl as volunteers in an organization that seeks to help the homeless of the big city, another nod at the central theme of the novel, of the need for a home and an identity:
They’re just people, Donal. More messed up than some of us, and certainly more unlucky. And if some of them choose to live the way they do, it’s not because they have some romantic story hidden in their past. It’s because they’re kids whose home lives were so awful they prefer to live in the different kind of hell that’s the streets. Or they’re schizophrenics who can’t get, or won’t take, their medicine. They’re alcoholics, or junkies, or on the run, or all of the above and then some. And the world they live in isn’t safe. It’s more dangerous than anything we can imagine. We go into it, but we can step back out whenever we want. They can’t.
Quite a large number of characters to follow around, but de Lint never falters in the development of the story, proving once again he is a master of the craft. I did have some issues with the author sometimes getting into lecture mode, preaching a sort of New Age gospel, and with the way things wrap up towards the end, when the feel good and think positive ethos kind of gets out of hand, but overall this is another successful treatment of the urban fantasy format. I believe Charles de Lint comes closer than any other author to Neil Gaiman when it comes to big concepts and with integrating diverse mythologies into a coherent imaginary world. But this impression may be helped along by the fact that I've also been reading The Sandman in parallel with this one.
I suggest to give a try to both of them:
“Little mysteries, they’re good for the soul.”
“How so?”
“They keep us guessing.”
“And that’s a good thing?”
“Well, sure. Mysteries break the patterns we impose upon the world — or maybe let us see them more clearly for a change.”
A final comment about music: I find myself greatly attracted to the playlist provided by the author both in the introduction and all through the text. Not only am I OK with New Age records (Enya, Yanni, Keiko Matsui, etc), but I like to mix them with folk music, jazz, classical, rock and the occassional pop chart hits. Hunter's indie music shop reminded me of the friendly banter and the oddball characters hanging around the shelves in one of my favorite feelgood movies : Empire Records - so consider this as an added attraction for checking out the book.
My third Newford book and probably not my last. I have not been reading them in order, but that's OK, as they can be enjoyed independently. I'm trading being more or less clueless about some of the recurring characters in order to focus on the ones particular to each novel as a stand-alone. Forests of the Heart refers to the notion of Home, the place, geographical as much as spiritual that defines and nourishes us, gives us strength and a feeling of continuity, of belonging to a history larger than our indivudual lives.
The fictional city of Newport sits on the border. On one side are the Manitou, the native spirits who are being pushed away by the destruction of the forests and the expansion of the city. On the other are the Gentry - spirits from the Old World brought across the ocean by the Irish immigrants, adapted to urban lifestyle but trying to carve a realm of their own out of the manido-aki / la epoca del mito / the spirit world. The myth of The Summer King / The Green Man / Lord of the Dance , of the period of summer and revelry being followed by winter and the need for a sacrifice that guarantees the return of spring is central to the story. Guy Gavriel Kay used a similar theme in The Fionnavar Tapestry. The meeting of these two cultures (native ans celtic) was seen in other Newford books. What I found of particular interest in this one is the introduction of a third strain : the Navajo / Mexican / Catholic heritage of the western desertlands, with its shapeshifters, herb-lore, milagros and especially the cadejos - another example of animal spirits in search of a home.
One of the theories embraced by the author is that the artists are more open to the supernatural world than the common people, more ready to accept and to explore the realm of the fantastic. The setting of the book helps, as most of the action takes place around Kellygnow, an artist colony in a suburb of Newford. Ellie Jones is a sculptor who receives a comission from a mystery woman to carve a copy of an ancient mask. Her ex-boyfriend Donal is a painter who holds a grudge against society in general, likes to drink and gets mixed up with the Gentry. Bettina is part Indian part Mexican, an artist model and a mystical healer trained in the spiritual arts by her grandmother ( abuela ). Donal's sister Miky works in a record store and in her free time she picks her accordion and plays in bars to both jazz and Irish folk music. Hunter is the owner of the record store, he gets caught in the plot almost by mistake, but rises to the occasion bravely. Tommy Raven is not an artist, but an Indian young man who provides the link to the Indian comunity through his formidable sixteen aunts. Tommy and Ellie in addition worl as volunteers in an organization that seeks to help the homeless of the big city, another nod at the central theme of the novel, of the need for a home and an identity:
They’re just people, Donal. More messed up than some of us, and certainly more unlucky. And if some of them choose to live the way they do, it’s not because they have some romantic story hidden in their past. It’s because they’re kids whose home lives were so awful they prefer to live in the different kind of hell that’s the streets. Or they’re schizophrenics who can’t get, or won’t take, their medicine. They’re alcoholics, or junkies, or on the run, or all of the above and then some. And the world they live in isn’t safe. It’s more dangerous than anything we can imagine. We go into it, but we can step back out whenever we want. They can’t.
Quite a large number of characters to follow around, but de Lint never falters in the development of the story, proving once again he is a master of the craft. I did have some issues with the author sometimes getting into lecture mode, preaching a sort of New Age gospel, and with the way things wrap up towards the end, when the feel good and think positive ethos kind of gets out of hand, but overall this is another successful treatment of the urban fantasy format. I believe Charles de Lint comes closer than any other author to Neil Gaiman when it comes to big concepts and with integrating diverse mythologies into a coherent imaginary world. But this impression may be helped along by the fact that I've also been reading The Sandman in parallel with this one.
I suggest to give a try to both of them:
“Little mysteries, they’re good for the soul.”
“How so?”
“They keep us guessing.”
“And that’s a good thing?”
“Well, sure. Mysteries break the patterns we impose upon the world — or maybe let us see them more clearly for a change.”
A final comment about music: I find myself greatly attracted to the playlist provided by the author both in the introduction and all through the text. Not only am I OK with New Age records (Enya, Yanni, Keiko Matsui, etc), but I like to mix them with folk music, jazz, classical, rock and the occassional pop chart hits. Hunter's indie music shop reminded me of the friendly banter and the oddball characters hanging around the shelves in one of my favorite feelgood movies : Empire Records - so consider this as an added attraction for checking out the book.
April 24, 2021
It is not a good idea to enter a fantasy series in the middle. I rarely do it, but it happened with this one. There was really no problem, as the novel is standalone; but I got a little lost in Newford, Charles de Lint's imaginary Canadian town, where the human and spirit worlds intermingle seamlessly. There was a lot of that world to absorb before I could get into the tale proper.
The premise of the story is simple. There are certain spirits called "The Gentry" who have come over from Ireland on the settlers' ships long back - they want to take over the land which is the home of the native spirits. To do this, they invoke the "Green Man" - a composite pagan vegetable deity - by getting Ellie, a sculptor with latent magic powers, to make a mask representing him. However, as is usual in such tales, things get out of hand and the monster starts to run amok. Then it is dependent upon a few hardy and brave individuals, led by the redoubtable Bettina who combines magic from both Native and European traditions, to defeat the monster and bring back normality.
The author's prose is lyrical, and his descriptions of scenes are a pleasure to read. As lover of myth, I loved reading about the magical traditions of different cultures. But that said, I have to say that the story is wafer thin, drawn out over five hundred pages with endless descriptions of places and the thoughts of the various characters. It's a good book if you take it slow, and don't mind the sedate pace. Otherwise you may get bored.
The premise of the story is simple. There are certain spirits called "The Gentry" who have come over from Ireland on the settlers' ships long back - they want to take over the land which is the home of the native spirits. To do this, they invoke the "Green Man" - a composite pagan vegetable deity - by getting Ellie, a sculptor with latent magic powers, to make a mask representing him. However, as is usual in such tales, things get out of hand and the monster starts to run amok. Then it is dependent upon a few hardy and brave individuals, led by the redoubtable Bettina who combines magic from both Native and European traditions, to defeat the monster and bring back normality.
The author's prose is lyrical, and his descriptions of scenes are a pleasure to read. As lover of myth, I loved reading about the magical traditions of different cultures. But that said, I have to say that the story is wafer thin, drawn out over five hundred pages with endless descriptions of places and the thoughts of the various characters. It's a good book if you take it slow, and don't mind the sedate pace. Otherwise you may get bored.
September 6, 2013
What happens when people come over and take over? Well, we all know the answer to that question. But what happens to beliefs, to gods, to spirits? Charles de Lint answers that question in Forests of the Heart which deals with a conflict of spirits, both in the magical sense and the sense of self, in the town of Newford. It isn’t so much a question of good and evil, but more of a question what is the best thing to do, how does one make peace, what costs should be paid.
The story takes place over a few days in the middle of a horrible winter storm. The characters are musicians, artists, and the inspiration. The conflicts are about creative energy, perhaps, but also about usage, power, and sorrow. It is a rather very moving novel.
It will also add to your music rotation. Fair warning.
The story takes place over a few days in the middle of a horrible winter storm. The characters are musicians, artists, and the inspiration. The conflicts are about creative energy, perhaps, but also about usage, power, and sorrow. It is a rather very moving novel.
It will also add to your music rotation. Fair warning.
June 12, 2023
This one was a really slow start for me and there was a time I considered giving it up. But I am glad I stayed with the book because it got much interesting later.
January 14, 2015
You know the kind of book where, even though you should be a responsible adult and put it down and go to sleep you cannot? And you stay up WAY too late just to see what happens? This book is THAT kind of book.
I popped into the Newford series with this book having not read any of the other ones in the series before it, but I didn't find it disjointed. DeLint's writing is so good you can just immerse yourself in the world he's created and get to know the characters without needing any other back story. The book is filled with contrasts - the forest of Newford/the desert area where Bettina grew up, good/evil, light/dark, spirits/reality - and I loved the fact that the lines between all those contrasts are sometimes blurred and sometimes not.
The concept of a place of the heart really spoke to me. Having moved around a lot both as a kid and in my adult life, finding that touchstone spot that feels like home is a really important thing. I fell in love with Bettina - such an old soul who has to walk thru fire in order to come to terms with who she is. She's such a strong character who ties all the contrasting parts together in a believeable way.
I plan to go back and read the other 1-9 books, and will probably wind up reading the rest of his catalog as well. (Which my dad, who knows me very well, has been after me to do for years. No idea why I have waited so long.)
I popped into the Newford series with this book having not read any of the other ones in the series before it, but I didn't find it disjointed. DeLint's writing is so good you can just immerse yourself in the world he's created and get to know the characters without needing any other back story. The book is filled with contrasts - the forest of Newford/the desert area where Bettina grew up, good/evil, light/dark, spirits/reality - and I loved the fact that the lines between all those contrasts are sometimes blurred and sometimes not.
The concept of a place of the heart really spoke to me. Having moved around a lot both as a kid and in my adult life, finding that touchstone spot that feels like home is a really important thing. I fell in love with Bettina - such an old soul who has to walk thru fire in order to come to terms with who she is. She's such a strong character who ties all the contrasting parts together in a believeable way.
I plan to go back and read the other 1-9 books, and will probably wind up reading the rest of his catalog as well. (Which my dad, who knows me very well, has been after me to do for years. No idea why I have waited so long.)
March 30, 2007
I am a fan of Charles de Lint's short fiction, and in my opinion that is what he should stick to. He is clearly more adept at that form and length than he is at stretching a story to be novel-length. He skimped too much on details that I felt needed more clarification and breadth while overly emphasizing and rehashing other elements that I understood the first time around. The relationships between the characters and some of the characters themselves weren't terribly believable and seemed contrived (Donal's morose eeyore nature/act in particular REALLY annoyed me.) Another issue was the way in which he approached Bettina's bilingual dialog. I don't know any bilingual Spanish/English speakers that say something in Spanish and then immediately repeat it in English for all their gringo friends, and as someone who speaks Spanish it felt like I was reading the same phrase or sentence two times in a row. Then there were Donal and Miki constantly saying "Jaysus," because clearly if you're Irish you say that every other word.
Regardless, the story was entertaining enough and I especially enjoyed the segments dealing with Bettina, even though Bettina repeating everything in English was annoying. I would definitely recommend one of his collections of short stories over this.
Regardless, the story was entertaining enough and I especially enjoyed the segments dealing with Bettina, even though Bettina repeating everything in English was annoying. I would definitely recommend one of his collections of short stories over this.
April 3, 2023
i am a charles de lint girl, but this was not a favourite. as always, i love newford and i love the descriptions and i love the ideas for the characters. but i struggled with the main characters in this novel. the side characters i know and love were there and amazing as always.
the main characters are difficult to root for though, which is why this was less successful for me.
the main characters are difficult to root for though, which is why this was less successful for me.
March 13, 2018
Takes a turn I did not expect.
World: I love the world this time around, this is the first book by De Lint that I have read that covers Latin American, more so Mexican beliefs, myths and lore and I find it fascinating. There are not huge info dumps here but rather storytellers who tell you their tale and that's been a staple of a De Lint book for a while. The pieces of myths we touch on from the First Nations, Irish to Mexican is really fascinating when it crash together and interact, it's mesmerizing.
Story: Well paced, beautifully written and full of magic and depth. I love De Lint books because of how nonchalant the magic is and also how real the characters are. Once again the main themes are people who fall into the cracks and the magic that we don't see if we don't stop and look. This time around there is an protagonist (well protagonists) and antagonists and it's interesting. The idea of the Gentry and how they interact with local spirits is fantastic. I didn't see the book turning the way it did, I thought this would be good versus evil with a final showdown but once again De Lint surprises me and shows that this is not always the solution. It's beautiful, it's meticulous and the interactions are quiet and lovely.
Characters: Where do I start, everyone in this book is fascinating, I won't name them all but the culture clash and the interaction and dialog was pretty fantastic. From the Mexican living away from home, to the punk rocker who works in a record shop and the artists...it's just so good. This is the best part of De Lint so I won't say anything here. As I said the found the Gentry absolutely fascinating.
I really like this book, it has what I've come to expect from De Lint and also a turn I didn't.
Onward to the next book!
World: I love the world this time around, this is the first book by De Lint that I have read that covers Latin American, more so Mexican beliefs, myths and lore and I find it fascinating. There are not huge info dumps here but rather storytellers who tell you their tale and that's been a staple of a De Lint book for a while. The pieces of myths we touch on from the First Nations, Irish to Mexican is really fascinating when it crash together and interact, it's mesmerizing.
Story: Well paced, beautifully written and full of magic and depth. I love De Lint books because of how nonchalant the magic is and also how real the characters are. Once again the main themes are people who fall into the cracks and the magic that we don't see if we don't stop and look. This time around there is an protagonist (well protagonists) and antagonists and it's interesting. The idea of the Gentry and how they interact with local spirits is fantastic. I didn't see the book turning the way it did, I thought this would be good versus evil with a final showdown but once again De Lint surprises me and shows that this is not always the solution. It's beautiful, it's meticulous and the interactions are quiet and lovely.
Characters: Where do I start, everyone in this book is fascinating, I won't name them all but the culture clash and the interaction and dialog was pretty fantastic. From the Mexican living away from home, to the punk rocker who works in a record shop and the artists...it's just so good. This is the best part of De Lint so I won't say anything here. As I said the found the Gentry absolutely fascinating.
I really like this book, it has what I've come to expect from De Lint and also a turn I didn't.
Onward to the next book!
December 9, 2007
Probably on my top 3 books list. Its the only book I've ever re-read. It mixes different folklore all together making each side fit together and be equally as likely in the realm of fantasy. loved it loved it loved it
June 3, 2024
De Lint does his take on the Jim Carrey movie, The Mask, with much better characterization, much deeper themes, and a lot less humor. The basic idea of this book is that there are a bunch of displaced spirits, who were brought over to the New World from Ireland with the Irish immigration. Here, they lack a home, and to get one, they will have to displace some Indian spirits. (So its the spiritual equivalent of our westward expansion?). To do this, their best hope is to revive the Green Man, a badass in the spiritual world and have him lead them. The mask is the key.
The people involved all revolve around the Neford artist community. A sculptor, who might be able to make the mask. An accordionist who works in a record store. Her brother. The owner of the record store. Several people who are living in an artists colony in the outskirts of Newford. As usual, de Lint excels with his characterizations. His people, and his spirits seem real.
Here, there I have one exception to that. Donal is the brother of the accordionist. The two of them were raised, sort of, by a drunken father. When he left?/died? (my memory loss here), they became homeless, but eventually raised themselves out of it. Donal harbors an extreme amount of bitterness and anger, and this part of his character is a key to what happens in the book. But it came as a bit of a surprise to me. In retrospect, it kind of makes sense, but I don't think de Lint did a great job of bringing this out towards the beginning. Instead, at the start, I was thinking of him as being kind of one dimensional. That's not always a bad thing, but in this book it struck me as a weakness.
Another issue I have with this is that the book seems to begin somewhere in the middle of act 2. And that's true for most of the character. Lots of things that are important to the story are actually part of the back story. For example, Donal's relationship with the Gentry (the Irish spirits) begins before the book, as does his failed relationship with Ellie, the sculptor. This simple struck me as being a kind of odd narrative choice, but I don't necessarily think it was bad and I'm not sure it was the wrong choice.
And then there are a few loose ends. At the beginning of the book, Hunter, who owns the record store, is in financial straits and does not know how he will keep the store afloat. That's his main issue, but the book simply drops it as we get into the fey aspects. And it never gets addressed afterwards. Here, I don't necessarily think that everything needs to be neatly wrapped, but this dangling thread was kind of glaring.
I often read people saying that they think de Lint works better in his short stories. Wth Dreams Underfoot, I can sort of see that. But the other two story collections seem inferior to me than the Newford novels. I like this one about as much as I liked Trader, which is quite a bit. Next up is The Onion Girl, which I understand strongly features Jilly Coppercorn, one of his best recurring characters. I'm looking forward to that.
The people involved all revolve around the Neford artist community. A sculptor, who might be able to make the mask. An accordionist who works in a record store. Her brother. The owner of the record store. Several people who are living in an artists colony in the outskirts of Newford. As usual, de Lint excels with his characterizations. His people, and his spirits seem real.
Here, there I have one exception to that. Donal is the brother of the accordionist. The two of them were raised, sort of, by a drunken father. When he left?/died? (my memory loss here), they became homeless, but eventually raised themselves out of it. Donal harbors an extreme amount of bitterness and anger, and this part of his character is a key to what happens in the book. But it came as a bit of a surprise to me. In retrospect, it kind of makes sense, but I don't think de Lint did a great job of bringing this out towards the beginning. Instead, at the start, I was thinking of him as being kind of one dimensional. That's not always a bad thing, but in this book it struck me as a weakness.
Another issue I have with this is that the book seems to begin somewhere in the middle of act 2. And that's true for most of the character. Lots of things that are important to the story are actually part of the back story. For example, Donal's relationship with the Gentry (the Irish spirits) begins before the book, as does his failed relationship with Ellie, the sculptor. This simple struck me as being a kind of odd narrative choice, but I don't necessarily think it was bad and I'm not sure it was the wrong choice.
And then there are a few loose ends. At the beginning of the book, Hunter, who owns the record store, is in financial straits and does not know how he will keep the store afloat. That's his main issue, but the book simply drops it as we get into the fey aspects. And it never gets addressed afterwards. Here, I don't necessarily think that everything needs to be neatly wrapped, but this dangling thread was kind of glaring.
I often read people saying that they think de Lint works better in his short stories. Wth Dreams Underfoot, I can sort of see that. But the other two story collections seem inferior to me than the Newford novels. I like this one about as much as I liked Trader, which is quite a bit. Next up is The Onion Girl, which I understand strongly features Jilly Coppercorn, one of his best recurring characters. I'm looking forward to that.
March 21, 2009
Charles de Lint is a master of urban fantasy. Combine that with his remarkable skill as a storyteller, his love of music, Celtic and Native legend and you have a tale that is enchanting, captivating, restorative.
Forests of the Heart returns to de Lint's imaginary town of Newford, and draws heavily from native desert culture pitted against uprooted Celtic culture, all of it existing on an alternate plane that truly is just one step to the left. The Gentry, portrayed as angry, black-clad, cigarette-smoking thugs, are used as dupes by a woman gifted in the ancient arts, who wants nothing more than to achieve immortality through the summoning of the Celtic green man, the Gladsuine. In turn, the Gentry dupe an angry young man into being the host for the summoning, and this, in turn, sets off a chain of events that take the reader from the deserts of Arizona to the ice-ravaged town of Newford.
Always uplifting, often whimsical, Forests of the Heart is a delightful read I will likely return to again and again.
Forests of the Heart returns to de Lint's imaginary town of Newford, and draws heavily from native desert culture pitted against uprooted Celtic culture, all of it existing on an alternate plane that truly is just one step to the left. The Gentry, portrayed as angry, black-clad, cigarette-smoking thugs, are used as dupes by a woman gifted in the ancient arts, who wants nothing more than to achieve immortality through the summoning of the Celtic green man, the Gladsuine. In turn, the Gentry dupe an angry young man into being the host for the summoning, and this, in turn, sets off a chain of events that take the reader from the deserts of Arizona to the ice-ravaged town of Newford.
Always uplifting, often whimsical, Forests of the Heart is a delightful read I will likely return to again and again.
April 2, 2015
Book #5 I've read from Charles de Lint. I wouldn't recommend this one. It felt very self-indulgent in the world-building details of Newford. Yes, I understand that he wants us to see this as a fully fleshed out, real town with many fascinating characters with the depth and complexity of real people. But do we need SO many characters in a book? Do we need to know the musical tastes of almost all of them? The book was so off-center. Starting it, I was hoping it would focus on Bettina and her desert magic. Her backstory was fascinating. Could have been a great standalone book. Instead, we have about 6 main characters with fully fleshed out stories and lives, in addition to a number of secondary characters. Way too many details make a book that takes too long to get going. By the time the action started to happen, I was so over this book.
I won't give up on reading this author but I may have to give up on Newford as this is the second Newford book I found to be too long and badly edited.
I won't give up on reading this author but I may have to give up on Newford as this is the second Newford book I found to be too long and badly edited.
August 18, 2015
I think this is one of my all time favorites of his books--Newford meets Southwestern myth, and some really satisfying characters and plotting.
March 30, 2018
This is the kind of novel for which Charles de Lint is famous, and I really enjoyed it. He masterfully draws together the mythologies of the Irish and Native Americans to create a complex tale that's sensitive to so many differing perspectives. I especially loved how the title “Forests of the Heart” took on multiple meanings as the story progressed (well, actually, it didn’t come together as a phrase/metaphor until nearer the end, but then it was clear how much of the story really had followed that theme all along).
I've never read a book that managed to be so evocative of two such disparate environments (not to mention the woo running just beneath the surface of each). On the one hand, the majesty of the Sonoran desert, home to Bettina and her Southwestern Native family, ancestors, spirits, and gods. On the other, beloved Newford, but also the dark, mysterious forests that once stood in its place and still stand in the "between" world where de Lint's Far-Northern American (Canadian) spirits often dwell. And on top of that, the displaced genius loci, spirits of place, who followed their Irish immigrants over to the New World and found themselves homeless in a land already populated by spirits of place. Neil Gaiman’s American Gods played with a similar idea of deities following immigrants across the sea, but de Lint’s version is somehow less grandiose. Maybe because he’s dealing with spirits more than gods.
The story is full of other wonderful contrasts as well. Bettina herself: Her journeys in the spirit world and the magic her Abuela has taught her live comfortably alongside her love of the Catholic church, and the saints and milagros and shapeshifters and ancient spirits and the Virgin, all of which play an equal role in shaping her life. Setting up Bettina as the primary protagonist of the story is so perfect, since identity is a major theme of the novel, with “forests of the heart” representing our heart home, or the origin point of who we are. Bettina struggles with hers, almost without realizing it. Donal certainly struggles with his as he fights to take control of his destiny and then realizes, once he's gotten his wish, that he was after the wrong thing all along. Hunter and Ellie to somewhat milder degrees also find themselves challenged to reexamine who they are and what they are capable of. Even the spirits are on uncertain footing regarding identity--los lobos, for example, who at first seem to be one thing and are ultimately proven to be something else entirely, and especially one of the "wolves" who is not like the others for reasons too good to spoil by sharing here.
With chapters from alternating points of view, reading this book creates a slow build of tension as you move inevitably toward the moment where all the characters' stories will collide. And boy, collide they do! There's magic and mystery, violence, tragedy, love, and longing all mixed up in here and it is beautiful. I didn't want the story to end. Lucky for me I'm only about halfway through de Lint's Newford cycle!
I've never read a book that managed to be so evocative of two such disparate environments (not to mention the woo running just beneath the surface of each). On the one hand, the majesty of the Sonoran desert, home to Bettina and her Southwestern Native family, ancestors, spirits, and gods. On the other, beloved Newford, but also the dark, mysterious forests that once stood in its place and still stand in the "between" world where de Lint's Far-Northern American (Canadian) spirits often dwell. And on top of that, the displaced genius loci, spirits of place, who followed their Irish immigrants over to the New World and found themselves homeless in a land already populated by spirits of place. Neil Gaiman’s American Gods played with a similar idea of deities following immigrants across the sea, but de Lint’s version is somehow less grandiose. Maybe because he’s dealing with spirits more than gods.
The story is full of other wonderful contrasts as well. Bettina herself: Her journeys in the spirit world and the magic her Abuela has taught her live comfortably alongside her love of the Catholic church, and the saints and milagros and shapeshifters and ancient spirits and the Virgin, all of which play an equal role in shaping her life. Setting up Bettina as the primary protagonist of the story is so perfect, since identity is a major theme of the novel, with “forests of the heart” representing our heart home, or the origin point of who we are. Bettina struggles with hers, almost without realizing it. Donal certainly struggles with his as he fights to take control of his destiny and then realizes, once he's gotten his wish, that he was after the wrong thing all along. Hunter and Ellie to somewhat milder degrees also find themselves challenged to reexamine who they are and what they are capable of. Even the spirits are on uncertain footing regarding identity--los lobos, for example, who at first seem to be one thing and are ultimately proven to be something else entirely, and especially one of the "wolves" who is not like the others for reasons too good to spoil by sharing here.
With chapters from alternating points of view, reading this book creates a slow build of tension as you move inevitably toward the moment where all the characters' stories will collide. And boy, collide they do! There's magic and mystery, violence, tragedy, love, and longing all mixed up in here and it is beautiful. I didn't want the story to end. Lucky for me I'm only about halfway through de Lint's Newford cycle!
January 15, 2014
I've long been a fan of Charles de Lint, ever since I first read Moon Heart in a bush camp back in the early 80s. He's a master of urban fantasy, much of it based around his imaginary city of Newford. Forests of the Heart takes us back there, this time in a story that crosses Celtic, Canadian Aboriginal and New World Spanish/SW American Native folklore.
As usual, Charles gives us a great read. Forests is well-paced, with well-drawn, interesting characters (but...and there is a but, as I'll get to in a moment) and a compelling setting. Newford is hit by a massive ice storm (life imitating art as I write this, just a couple of weeks after Toronto and area was just whacked by the very same thing). The ferocious weather complicates matters for our heroes, who must contend with the inadvertent release of a ferocious monster based around the Green Man, an ancient nature spirit of life, death and rebirth.
I have two problems with the story. First, I think Charles is trying to do too much, with too much material. He delves most deeply into the New World Spanish/SW American Native folklore, which is fascinating stuff--he brings that mythology to sparkling life. Unfortunately, his other two sources of spiritual magic, Celtic and Canadian Aboriginal, get shorted in comparison. I really like his take on the Gentry, aka the Hard Men, Celtic spirits who were dragged in chains of belief to North American by Irish immigrants and then essentially abandoned (echoes of Gaiman's American Gods). He portrays them as sullen, dangerous, cigarette-smoking men, which is a very cool take on ancient folklore. Trouble is, he doesn't do much with them, other than making them menacing and dangerous; he leaves them kinda flat. The Aboriginal Canadian folklore (a favorite of mine) gets even less attention, which is too bad; he doesn't quite evoke its nuances and textures and, again, leaves it rather superficial. I understand why--the book is long and complex enough. Still, I'd rather he'd perhaps omitted one of the mythologies and concentrated on the other two more, rather than focusing on a "three-sided" conflict.
The other issue is related to too much folklore, and that's too many characters. These belief systems all have to be served through characters (and there's a actually a fourth belief system, which is anything that isn't the other three, including skepticism about myth and magic's existence at all). I found it had to keep track of characters and, frankly, wondered why some of them had been introduced in the first place, as they didn't really add much to the story.
That said, I think Forests of the Heart is a fantastic read, and highly recommend it to anyone who loves contemporary and/or urban fantasy.
As usual, Charles gives us a great read. Forests is well-paced, with well-drawn, interesting characters (but...and there is a but, as I'll get to in a moment) and a compelling setting. Newford is hit by a massive ice storm (life imitating art as I write this, just a couple of weeks after Toronto and area was just whacked by the very same thing). The ferocious weather complicates matters for our heroes, who must contend with the inadvertent release of a ferocious monster based around the Green Man, an ancient nature spirit of life, death and rebirth.
I have two problems with the story. First, I think Charles is trying to do too much, with too much material. He delves most deeply into the New World Spanish/SW American Native folklore, which is fascinating stuff--he brings that mythology to sparkling life. Unfortunately, his other two sources of spiritual magic, Celtic and Canadian Aboriginal, get shorted in comparison. I really like his take on the Gentry, aka the Hard Men, Celtic spirits who were dragged in chains of belief to North American by Irish immigrants and then essentially abandoned (echoes of Gaiman's American Gods). He portrays them as sullen, dangerous, cigarette-smoking men, which is a very cool take on ancient folklore. Trouble is, he doesn't do much with them, other than making them menacing and dangerous; he leaves them kinda flat. The Aboriginal Canadian folklore (a favorite of mine) gets even less attention, which is too bad; he doesn't quite evoke its nuances and textures and, again, leaves it rather superficial. I understand why--the book is long and complex enough. Still, I'd rather he'd perhaps omitted one of the mythologies and concentrated on the other two more, rather than focusing on a "three-sided" conflict.
The other issue is related to too much folklore, and that's too many characters. These belief systems all have to be served through characters (and there's a actually a fourth belief system, which is anything that isn't the other three, including skepticism about myth and magic's existence at all). I found it had to keep track of characters and, frankly, wondered why some of them had been introduced in the first place, as they didn't really add much to the story.
That said, I think Forests of the Heart is a fantastic read, and highly recommend it to anyone who loves contemporary and/or urban fantasy.
August 7, 2012
I am writing this review of de Lint's novel before I go and read the reviews I have written before. I love the world that de Lint has created; I feel like I have come home when one of his recurring characters appears in a new book; I just settle into his books like I belong there. The real question is why haven't I read all of them. Part of the reason is that I need to be in the right place in my mind and I also just want the time to enjoy them. I believe this is why I read them on vacation.
This story takes place in Newford, de Lint's wonderful city, where magic and "real" life mix. If you read his books, the city will seem familiar and so will many of the characters. Even those people new to this story will obviously belong in Newford. The tale will be somewhat familiar, although for me, that is a big part of the charm. I know much of what will happen in a de Lint novel and that is why I read them. They are good, wonderful tales of what happens when Story (what some would define as magic or fairy tales) meets our reality. Given that Story is very important to me, I love every minute I am in Newford.
I don't want to give away the plot of this particular book. If you read de Lint, you should know that his power as a storyteller is very apparent in this novel. If you have never encountered de Lint's fantasies, I think you should try a short story or two. Then if you are caught, pick any novel set in Newford. I don't think you will be disappointed.
This story takes place in Newford, de Lint's wonderful city, where magic and "real" life mix. If you read his books, the city will seem familiar and so will many of the characters. Even those people new to this story will obviously belong in Newford. The tale will be somewhat familiar, although for me, that is a big part of the charm. I know much of what will happen in a de Lint novel and that is why I read them. They are good, wonderful tales of what happens when Story (what some would define as magic or fairy tales) meets our reality. Given that Story is very important to me, I love every minute I am in Newford.
I don't want to give away the plot of this particular book. If you read de Lint, you should know that his power as a storyteller is very apparent in this novel. If you have never encountered de Lint's fantasies, I think you should try a short story or two. Then if you are caught, pick any novel set in Newford. I don't think you will be disappointed.
February 16, 2023
A re-read. Beautiful and slow. And I tried to read it slowly. It did get a bit bogged done once we were not quite in our world. Which to be fair, is typically not my favorite part of the Newford stories anyway, but actually worked here fairly well. There was as always a rich set of characters, with other previously known characters just barely on and off screen. The ice storm definitely felt lived in. I've been in those in both Atlanta and Portland. And it definitely slowed down the story, but also contributed to the stakes. 4.5 of 5.
May 20, 2019
Decent mythological crossover between European Faerie, Native American Manitou and Mexican Brujeria. The Fae in this book are less traditional than in many of de Lint’s previous stories – focusing mostly on the Gentry, a group of displaced Irish Fae who’s attitudes make the IRA Provos seem easygoing and forgiving, and the Greenman. As usual, much of the story centers around the Newford arts and music community. 3.5 stars.
March 5, 2018
A smorgasbord of cultural magical traditions in this one - we've got two Native American (Southwest and Prairie), Irish/Gaelic, and English/Saxon traditions all mixed up in an ice storm in Newford. Which is the point as the novel concerns what happens when magic that is rooted to a certain place and people is uprooted. De Lint was mashing up before mashing up was a thing. The only thing missing is the Scandinavian trolls! C'mon!
October 11, 2009
The first book I ever read by Charles de Lint. I absolutely fell in love with this author after reading this book. I'm always hunting for his books to collect and have read as many as I can find. I don't like to borrow his books. If I can't buy them, I wait until I can find them because they are worthy of being added to my literature collection. I hope he writes for a very long time to come.
May 14, 2016
An AMAZING blend of various mythologies from various cultures. Truly unique and creative.
September 27, 2016
This book had a long, slow start but it really grew on me. There was a loveliness to how it blended different spiritual traditions, and I found the characters interesting and alluring.
September 30, 2017
Does magic exist in the contemporary world? Charles de Lint’s mythic fiction brings supernatural beings into the context of the everyday and Forests of the Heart explores the contact between ordinary people and what he calls Mystery.
Bettina and Adelita are sisters, both partly Mexican, partly Indios, and raised by their grandmother to see la époco del mito, the time of myth. However, as they grow older, Adelita puts the childish stories away, while Bettina becomes trained by her grandmother to become a skilled curandera, or healer. After her grandmother disappears, she comes up north to Newford, the imaginary setting of many Charles de Lint’s novels and short stories, and finds work as a model for a high-end artist’s retreat.
Meanwhile in Newford the folk/Celtic music scene that de Lint writes about so well is thriving even as an especially frigid winter threatens to upset the normalcy of the city. Miki and Donal are sister and brother, a musician and artist, who came years ago to Newford from an abusive family background in Ireland. Hunter, a man who stands out somewhat because he has no artistic leanings at all, owns Gypsy Records, a music record store that forms a hub for local musicians. De Lint provides copious details about the ins and outs of running such a store, likely because he has had experience running his own store. The author’s talent as a folk musician likewise brings an irresistible spark of life to his depictions of the musical communities of Newford.
But it is not into this community that serves as our introduction to Newford. At first we see Ellie, a sculptor, at work with the city’s Angel network, which helps out the homeless. Work is especially needed now that the weather is getting steadily worse. Our first impression of her comes from her heroic act of saving a homeless man choking to death on his own vomit, by giving him a most unpleasant mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Her companion on these outings with the Angel relief van is Tommy, a young Native American whose many aunts seem, to Ellie, to be mythical characters than real women.
When Ellie meets a mysterious man, who may also be a woman, on the streets that night who gives her a business card with the name Musgrave Wood upon it, she feels the first inkling of destiny beckoning to her. Is it a sculptor’s contract or something weirder?
Meanwhile at the Irish pub, Miki, Donal, Hunter, and Ellie grow suspicious about a group of dark strangers who sit in the back of the room to hear the Irish reels. Donal claims that they are hard men, made bitter by years of drunken Irish angst, and that it is better you don’t look at them for too long lest they try to make you their friend–an honour conferred by a punch to the guts. The weird thing is that Bettina, across town, can see them too, standing without winter clothing in the cold snow smoking just outside her window. And she grows steadily more convinced that they derive from the same magic world her grandmother showed to her.
It turns out these dark men are none other than the Gentry, exiled Irish spirits who wander homeless in the city. And they want their revenge against the native manitous, or Mysteries, the rightful spiritual guardians of North America. Their plot to assert dominance over the Mysteries will cause much destruction and draw all of de Lint’s characters into a test against the destructive potential that lies in the bitterness and darkness that all human beings carry deep inside of them.
Although this is not a new novel by Charles de Lint, it is more recent than his classic work Moonheart, a product of the 1980s. I strongly suspect the winter storm was inspired by the ’98 Ice Storm, a turn-of-the-century ordeal that blew out the power in hundreds of cities across the eastern seaboard and is still etched clearly in my memory. The conflict of the musicians/artists against the dark forces of the Gentry gains something of the air of the Fisher King myth, where the salvation of the land itself and its fertility is at stake. What’s so great about this is everyone over a certain age can remember this Ice Storm and feel that much closer to the myth. That’s part of the payoff of setting fantasy novels in the here-and-now.
Bettina and Adelita are sisters, both partly Mexican, partly Indios, and raised by their grandmother to see la époco del mito, the time of myth. However, as they grow older, Adelita puts the childish stories away, while Bettina becomes trained by her grandmother to become a skilled curandera, or healer. After her grandmother disappears, she comes up north to Newford, the imaginary setting of many Charles de Lint’s novels and short stories, and finds work as a model for a high-end artist’s retreat.
Meanwhile in Newford the folk/Celtic music scene that de Lint writes about so well is thriving even as an especially frigid winter threatens to upset the normalcy of the city. Miki and Donal are sister and brother, a musician and artist, who came years ago to Newford from an abusive family background in Ireland. Hunter, a man who stands out somewhat because he has no artistic leanings at all, owns Gypsy Records, a music record store that forms a hub for local musicians. De Lint provides copious details about the ins and outs of running such a store, likely because he has had experience running his own store. The author’s talent as a folk musician likewise brings an irresistible spark of life to his depictions of the musical communities of Newford.
But it is not into this community that serves as our introduction to Newford. At first we see Ellie, a sculptor, at work with the city’s Angel network, which helps out the homeless. Work is especially needed now that the weather is getting steadily worse. Our first impression of her comes from her heroic act of saving a homeless man choking to death on his own vomit, by giving him a most unpleasant mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Her companion on these outings with the Angel relief van is Tommy, a young Native American whose many aunts seem, to Ellie, to be mythical characters than real women.
When Ellie meets a mysterious man, who may also be a woman, on the streets that night who gives her a business card with the name Musgrave Wood upon it, she feels the first inkling of destiny beckoning to her. Is it a sculptor’s contract or something weirder?
Meanwhile at the Irish pub, Miki, Donal, Hunter, and Ellie grow suspicious about a group of dark strangers who sit in the back of the room to hear the Irish reels. Donal claims that they are hard men, made bitter by years of drunken Irish angst, and that it is better you don’t look at them for too long lest they try to make you their friend–an honour conferred by a punch to the guts. The weird thing is that Bettina, across town, can see them too, standing without winter clothing in the cold snow smoking just outside her window. And she grows steadily more convinced that they derive from the same magic world her grandmother showed to her.
It turns out these dark men are none other than the Gentry, exiled Irish spirits who wander homeless in the city. And they want their revenge against the native manitous, or Mysteries, the rightful spiritual guardians of North America. Their plot to assert dominance over the Mysteries will cause much destruction and draw all of de Lint’s characters into a test against the destructive potential that lies in the bitterness and darkness that all human beings carry deep inside of them.
Although this is not a new novel by Charles de Lint, it is more recent than his classic work Moonheart, a product of the 1980s. I strongly suspect the winter storm was inspired by the ’98 Ice Storm, a turn-of-the-century ordeal that blew out the power in hundreds of cities across the eastern seaboard and is still etched clearly in my memory. The conflict of the musicians/artists against the dark forces of the Gentry gains something of the air of the Fisher King myth, where the salvation of the land itself and its fertility is at stake. What’s so great about this is everyone over a certain age can remember this Ice Storm and feel that much closer to the myth. That’s part of the payoff of setting fantasy novels in the here-and-now.
October 20, 2023
In all my years reading (and writing), if someone asked me who is your favorite novelist, what would I write? I have to write that it is Charles de Lint. Over the past three decades, I have kept de Lint novels on my shelf more than any other author. Two of my all-time favorite novels: The Little Country & Memory and Dream, are written by him. He is the biggest influence on my own stories set in Kammbia.
I believe his brand of contemporary fantasy is unique to the genre and deserves higher recognition as one of the writers that has changed it for the better. I would urge fantasy lovers (and non-fantasy readers) to include de Lint as a must read writer.
Forests of the Heart is the seventh book chronologically in his Newford series set in the fictional city of the same name. De Lint blends urban life with magic and diverse mythology that seems realistic, which is unique in fantasy literature.
This novel tells the story of Bettina, a part Indian and Mexican woman who can see into the spirit world and has the gift of healing. However, there are a group of men called The Gentry who are determined to gain power and control the spirit world that Bettina has a connection too.
Bettina arrives in Newford and lives at the artists’ colony of Kellygnow, far away from her birthplace in Arizona. She sees The Gentry, a group of Irish spirit men who relocated to Newford, and discovers they’re linked to Nuala Fahey, the fey housekeeper of the estate.
Nuala has made a bargain with The Gentry. She wants immortality for helping them defeat the manitou, native spirits to the city. The housekeeper owns an ancient and powerful mask—but it’s broken. So Nuala commissions a woman named Ellie, a sculptor to make a copy of the mask. Ellie possesses a magic that will awaken another spirit to defeat the manitou.
The spirit called the Glasduine was summoned by an artist named Donal, who wanted access to that power in order to have a better life. The Glasduine is determined to be free from the spirit world and exert its power over the natural world. Bettina and several characters were forced into a confrontation with the spirit and caused a sacrifice in order for its defeat.
De Lint ultimately writes a story that deals with someone’s calling. Are you able to truly embrace what you are called to do in life? If not, then the consequences of that decision can cause harm to everyone around that person. However, if you embrace what you are called to do in life, then it can open up a path that’s a game changer.
Forests of the Heart is a novel with a lot of characters and not the best entry point into the Newford series. I will admit it took about a hundred pages before I could get my footing with the story. However, I have read six prior Newford books and some of the recurring characters from those previous books helped get my footing with this novel.
de Lint adds another solid novel in his Newford series and I’m looking forward to reading The Onion Girl, the next one on the docket.
I believe his brand of contemporary fantasy is unique to the genre and deserves higher recognition as one of the writers that has changed it for the better. I would urge fantasy lovers (and non-fantasy readers) to include de Lint as a must read writer.
Forests of the Heart is the seventh book chronologically in his Newford series set in the fictional city of the same name. De Lint blends urban life with magic and diverse mythology that seems realistic, which is unique in fantasy literature.
This novel tells the story of Bettina, a part Indian and Mexican woman who can see into the spirit world and has the gift of healing. However, there are a group of men called The Gentry who are determined to gain power and control the spirit world that Bettina has a connection too.
Bettina arrives in Newford and lives at the artists’ colony of Kellygnow, far away from her birthplace in Arizona. She sees The Gentry, a group of Irish spirit men who relocated to Newford, and discovers they’re linked to Nuala Fahey, the fey housekeeper of the estate.
Nuala has made a bargain with The Gentry. She wants immortality for helping them defeat the manitou, native spirits to the city. The housekeeper owns an ancient and powerful mask—but it’s broken. So Nuala commissions a woman named Ellie, a sculptor to make a copy of the mask. Ellie possesses a magic that will awaken another spirit to defeat the manitou.
The spirit called the Glasduine was summoned by an artist named Donal, who wanted access to that power in order to have a better life. The Glasduine is determined to be free from the spirit world and exert its power over the natural world. Bettina and several characters were forced into a confrontation with the spirit and caused a sacrifice in order for its defeat.
De Lint ultimately writes a story that deals with someone’s calling. Are you able to truly embrace what you are called to do in life? If not, then the consequences of that decision can cause harm to everyone around that person. However, if you embrace what you are called to do in life, then it can open up a path that’s a game changer.
Forests of the Heart is a novel with a lot of characters and not the best entry point into the Newford series. I will admit it took about a hundred pages before I could get my footing with the story. However, I have read six prior Newford books and some of the recurring characters from those previous books helped get my footing with this novel.
de Lint adds another solid novel in his Newford series and I’m looking forward to reading The Onion Girl, the next one on the docket.
June 2, 2025
Do you know how painful it was to give a Newford novel anything less than five stars? DO YOU? DO YOU KNOW HOW PAINFUL IT WAS?
But I have to balance my reviews with a degree of objectivity. And the truth is, while this does all the things I love about the Newford series, this one did fall a little short for me. It's still excellent, but now that I've read seven Newford books in total, I can start to separate the truly phenomenal ones from those that are simply "very good."
The funny thing is, perhaps it's because the town of Newford - a fictional place that feels like a vacation every time I read this wonderful series - factors in surprisingly little into this story. Sure, there's a used record store and clubs where citizens can somehow find success playing folk music, the type of places we expect from this series, but most of the action either takes place in the American Southwest in flashbacks, or at an artists' colony.
My main criticism of this book is that it bites off a little more than it can chew. It leans into the idea that wolves are spiritual creatures among cultures. Bettina is of mixed Mexican and Native American heritage, though I honestly forget if her tribe is mentioned. She has her own encounters with wolves and spiritual beings. Meanwhile, the wolves of Celtic lore have also found their way into Newford, and ultimately, the two are brought together across the planes of existence into an epic battle.
Sounds amazing, right? But the approach to Bettina's story is odd. While she is the first main (?) character we meet, and flashbacks to her childhood and adolescence are featured throughout the book, she feels very much like a tertiary character in most of the present day action. I also feel like the motivations of the Green Man and the Hard Men are a bit difficult to understand. I've come to expect that when it comes to stories about Newford, there is a recurring theme that the spirits that lie beyond our perception play by rules we may not understand, but I feel like the book didn't have as much focus as prior works.
The writing is still as good as Charles De Lint gets, and the town of Newford always leaps off the pages. Very few other settings from other stories I've read come to life nearly as well as this one does. I really thought this was going to be an easy five stars, but the more I read, the more I grew a little frustrated because I know I've enjoyed other Newford books better. Newford books are at their best when we take the time to really know and appreciate these characters. This book had an enormous cast without bringing back too many familiar faces of Newford (eternally positive Jilly Coppercorn makes an inevitable appearance but doesn't factor too heavily into the plot except to temporarily lift spirits) and it was difficult to care about so many characters, especially since many didn't seem to distinguish themselves too much from past stories.
The reason I hesitated giving this a four star review instead of the full five stars is that I know the other books that I give four star reviews to, and I usually have far more frustrations with them than I do with this one. But like Last Light of the Sun by Guy Gavriel Kay, even well-written books can fall a little short due to the enormous expectations I have from my favorite authors of all time, and that's what happened here. And while I would hesitate to recommend Last Light of the Sun, I would happily recommend this book to my friends, although I would make absolutely certain it's not your first Newford book.
But I have to balance my reviews with a degree of objectivity. And the truth is, while this does all the things I love about the Newford series, this one did fall a little short for me. It's still excellent, but now that I've read seven Newford books in total, I can start to separate the truly phenomenal ones from those that are simply "very good."
The funny thing is, perhaps it's because the town of Newford - a fictional place that feels like a vacation every time I read this wonderful series - factors in surprisingly little into this story. Sure, there's a used record store and clubs where citizens can somehow find success playing folk music, the type of places we expect from this series, but most of the action either takes place in the American Southwest in flashbacks, or at an artists' colony.
My main criticism of this book is that it bites off a little more than it can chew. It leans into the idea that wolves are spiritual creatures among cultures. Bettina is of mixed Mexican and Native American heritage, though I honestly forget if her tribe is mentioned. She has her own encounters with wolves and spiritual beings. Meanwhile, the wolves of Celtic lore have also found their way into Newford, and ultimately, the two are brought together across the planes of existence into an epic battle.
Sounds amazing, right? But the approach to Bettina's story is odd. While she is the first main (?) character we meet, and flashbacks to her childhood and adolescence are featured throughout the book, she feels very much like a tertiary character in most of the present day action. I also feel like the motivations of the Green Man and the Hard Men are a bit difficult to understand. I've come to expect that when it comes to stories about Newford, there is a recurring theme that the spirits that lie beyond our perception play by rules we may not understand, but I feel like the book didn't have as much focus as prior works.
The writing is still as good as Charles De Lint gets, and the town of Newford always leaps off the pages. Very few other settings from other stories I've read come to life nearly as well as this one does. I really thought this was going to be an easy five stars, but the more I read, the more I grew a little frustrated because I know I've enjoyed other Newford books better. Newford books are at their best when we take the time to really know and appreciate these characters. This book had an enormous cast without bringing back too many familiar faces of Newford (eternally positive Jilly Coppercorn makes an inevitable appearance but doesn't factor too heavily into the plot except to temporarily lift spirits) and it was difficult to care about so many characters, especially since many didn't seem to distinguish themselves too much from past stories.
The reason I hesitated giving this a four star review instead of the full five stars is that I know the other books that I give four star reviews to, and I usually have far more frustrations with them than I do with this one. But like Last Light of the Sun by Guy Gavriel Kay, even well-written books can fall a little short due to the enormous expectations I have from my favorite authors of all time, and that's what happened here. And while I would hesitate to recommend Last Light of the Sun, I would happily recommend this book to my friends, although I would make absolutely certain it's not your first Newford book.
August 11, 2020
Might be the best new read I've had this year. 5 stars all the way. The surface story was really intriguing.
Poised as a battle for territory between Genii Loci, the native spirits of the land, vs the Gentry, displaced spirits who followed the Irish to American during the potato famine. This story takes place in Newford in a particularly brutal winter. The Gentry are hard men, angry and violent and looking to ressurect the Green Man to help them fight the local spirits so they can take over the land. However, going deeper the human element of this story is about finding your heart, finding the place your spirit resides. Some of the characters have strong magic in them, other not so much, but they are thrown into the middle of this conflict from different perspective and all of them are looking for their hearts.
A beautiful story. excellent mingling of magic, the spirit world, and the human condition.
Poised as a battle for territory between Genii Loci, the native spirits of the land, vs the Gentry, displaced spirits who followed the Irish to American during the potato famine. This story takes place in Newford in a particularly brutal winter. The Gentry are hard men, angry and violent and looking to ressurect the Green Man to help them fight the local spirits so they can take over the land. However, going deeper the human element of this story is about finding your heart, finding the place your spirit resides. Some of the characters have strong magic in them, other not so much, but they are thrown into the middle of this conflict from different perspective and all of them are looking for their hearts.
A beautiful story. excellent mingling of magic, the spirit world, and the human condition.
December 11, 2017
Maybe I was in a weird mood when I picked up this book, but I don't remember the last time I was this excited to read a book. I had never heard of Charles de Lint before so everything about this book was a surprise. The cover looked cool and the description sounded interesting and I've always enjoyed urban fantasy along the vein of the Nightwatch series. Anyway, the story and the magic were such a welcome surprise. The combination of Native American, Irish, and Central American folklore was something I've never encountered before in fantasy and it's all so realised. The fact that these are a series but one where each book is more or less stand alone is even better. This is the kind of book I didn't realize I needed to read to fill the longing for urban fantasy and mythology that American God's by Neil Gaiman had left.
March 2, 2019
For people who are super into De Lint's stuff: This is one of his better, more grounded, full realized works. It didn't have such an intangible quality to it, mostly because the artsy leads that normally populate Newford were balanced out by characters who were less so. (Tommy, Hunter, Lobo)
For people who don't really know De Lint's stuff: This is a good one to pick up. While there are a few mentions of Jilly (a character that crosses over into plenty of De Lint's stuff), it is mostly a standalone. It combines Southwestern US myths with Irish myths, and it works surprisingly well. Bettina is a refreshing lead, and the villains are full and complex creatures.
For people who don't really know De Lint's stuff: This is a good one to pick up. While there are a few mentions of Jilly (a character that crosses over into plenty of De Lint's stuff), it is mostly a standalone. It combines Southwestern US myths with Irish myths, and it works surprisingly well. Bettina is a refreshing lead, and the villains are full and complex creatures.
August 19, 2021
This was my first Charles de Lint book, though I think I tried him many years ago but apparently wasn't impressed. I loved this book. He has a real knack for describing highly unlikely things but anchoring them to such realistic settings and people. For the past year or more I have been in such a reading slump, not only not reading much but not enjoying what I have read. This was a real surprise. I will say that I don't think I can read a lot of this author in a row. He is very sweet and my favorite reading tends to be darker. But it's wonderful to know I can turn to him in desperation and he'll be there.
October 18, 2018
I like urban fantasy, so from the start I knew I would like this book. There's a curandera of unusual and powerful heritage, a sculptor with inborn power, a record store owner, a guy who drives a homeless outreach van, a brother and sister, magical beings of European descent looking to make their home permanent, magical beings who have been here a long time, a whole host of supporting characters. In a clash for power between old spirits and the new the people pulled in have to try and give some balance.
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