Terri Windling's Introduction to Charles de Lint's Dreams Underfoot (1993) accurately describes the “urban magic” infusing the collection of nineteen short stories as using “the tools of myth, folklore and fantasy” to “record dreams,” mixing “ancient folklore motifs and contemporary urban characters.” Most of the nineteen stories in the collection are set in Newford, de Lint's fictional American city of subway and alleys, parks and rivers, cafes and clubs, university and library, cathedral and record shop, dangerous districts and upscale neighborhoods, official and unofficial histories, and so on. In his stories de Lint presents us with a series of urban protagonists (outsiders like artists, writers, or musicians) who are confronted with some disorienting fantastic thing or being and then must decide whether to reject it as only a dream or to incorporate it into their world-views. The collection begins promisingly, when in "Uncle Dobbin's Parrot Fair" (1987), a middle-aged woman takes in a beaten punk teen, and their respective fantasies (benign balloon men and demonic booger) conflict at the beach, informed by an urban fantasy short story. In the funny and scary "Stone Drum" (1989), Jilly Coppercorn has an eye-opening encounter with the goblin-like denizens of the subterranean Old City that leads her to become an artist specializing in urban faerie. "Timeskip" (1989), narrated by Jilly's friend, the street fiddler Geordie Riddell, is a romantic story about his tragic encounter with a time traveling ghost. In "Freewheeling" (1990) Jilly tries to protect a simple boy who goes around Newford at night freeing locked bicycles to ride off on their own.In "That Explains Poland" (1988) the spunky Latina narrator LaDonna recounts her hunt for Bigfoot in the derelict and slummy part of town.In "Romano Drom" (1989) punk singer-guitarist Lorio encounters a wounded hyena-wolf being who introduces her to the war raging between forces of creation and destruction on the multiple roads between the multiple worlds.In "The Sacred Fire" (1989) Nicky Straw is tired of hunting and being hunted by vampire-like monsters who pose as human beings to eat their life fire. "Winter Was Hard" (1991) is a moving story depicting the relationship between Jilly, some girlish punkish place-spirits, and a writer living in a home for the aged."Pity the Monsters" (1991) features an immigrant to Newford from England, a creepy old woman, and a scary multiple-personality "monster" called Frank. "Ghosts of Wind and Shadow" (1990) depicts the struggle of a conventional mother who has rejected faerie to understand her teenaged daughter who is drawn to it, while the Oak King's daughter and her wizard-bard husband help out. In "The Conjure Man" (1992) local poetess Wendy St. James learns about the Tree of Tales.Graveyard shift DJ Zoe Brill is approached by a spooky handsome guy with a knack for giving people bad luck in "Small Deaths" (1993)."The Moon Is Drowning While I Sleep" (1993) features Sophie Etoile telling Jilly about her vivid dreams in which she is supposed to rescue the maternal moon. "In the House of My Enemy" (1993) is the most harrowing and moving story in the collection (and is the one story that doesn't feature the fantastic), as we learn why Jilly is so keen to help waifs like this pregnant girl from the streets.In "But for the Grace Go I" (1991) Maisie Flood, a street-wise young woman taking care of a mental institution cast off and a pack of dogs while squatting in an abandoned house, tells how receiving a mysterious letter changed her life.In "Bridges" (1992) Moira Jones has moved to Newford to escape her bad high school reputation when she walks into an Escher-esque world of hope and despair. "Our Lady of the Harbour" (1991) retells the Little Mermaid story, the target of her desperate love being a genius musician who cares only for music. In "Paperjack" (1991) Geordie (with help from Jilly and a mysterious old black man who is an origami sensei) tries to come to terms with the tragic events of "Timeskip."In the last story of the collection, "Tallulah" (1991), Christy Riddell, whose stories have been popping up throughout Dreams Underfoot, explains his (and de Lint's!) themes "about love and loss, honor and the responsibilities of friendship, and wonder, always wonder" and recounts his intense relationship with a mysterious, well-read, punky woman who can only be with him at night. I liked the sense of Newford that de Lint builds more richly with each successive story. I liked the connections between music, art, writing, and magic. I enjoyed Jilly Coppercorn popping up in multiple stories. I cared about many of his characters. And I like the idea of a world into which the fantastic may intrude at any moment.However, I found that nineteen stories was about ten too many, for I became tired of their base pattern (spunky, punky, tough but tender outsider artist type protagonists, in medias res openings, explanatory flashbacks, and climactic epiphany endings). Too often de Lint signals early on that the fantastic is real, so that when his characters encounter it and try to figure out if it is real or not, the reader has no doubt. And although there are moments of wonder in many of the stories, they're usually not so sublime or enduring (unlike similar moments in, say, John Crowley's Little, Big). I might return to Newford in the future via one of de Lint’s novels set there, but not for a while.
"Every time it rains a ghost comes walking." Dreams Underfoot introduced readers to de Lint's fictional city of Newford. Magic is on the streets of Newford if you just know where to look for it. It's usually in the most unexpected places.Man, I love the Newford books. This book started my re-read of them all in order. They aren't really a series, so I've skipped around, reading them as I find them, but I'm curious to see my favorite characters grow in a more natural progression.I really don't remember what order I read these in initially, but this was definitely one of the first. There are some true gems in here.I'm going to pull most of this review straight from my status updates.Uncle Dobbin's Parrot Fair--"Jilly, Christy, Professor Dapple, Goon, and even a crow (not a Crow Girl, mind you, but a crow nevertheless)--I don't love this first story but de Lint laid one hell of a foundation for Newford here." The Stone Drum--"Liked Stone Drum, although it reminded me how curious I am about the Kelledys. I wonder if there is a book about them that I haven't read yet? Would be nice to know their backstory in full. And Goon's a skookin. I've been thinking of him as a goblin because I couldn't remember the right name." Timeskip--"Starting Timeskip! I remember it as my favorite of de Lint's stories. I hope it holds up. With an opening sentence of "Every time it rains a ghost comes walking," it is off to the perfect start....Such a perfect, bittersweet story. So important to "Geordie, me lad"'s story arc. Love. It." "Freewheeling is too sad for me. I probably shouldn't see it that way but I do." That Explains Poland--"A fun yet thoughtful story. It is better to keep the magic of some experiences to yourself." "Romano Drum--The Romany story was nothing new." "The Sacred Fire was super-creepy! I'm regretting reading it before bed! It is interesting how the idea behind this story fully manifested itself in The Onion Girl." "Winter Was Hard is another of my favorite stories. I love the gemmin. It's another bittersweet story, but when I finished, I had to just sit there for a few minutes and enjoy what it made me feel." And I stopped my updates there. I'll do what I can from memory now.Pity the Monsters--Verrry creepy. These two are definitely a pair of monsters. Yet I did pity one of them at least. The more monstrous one. Makes you wonder who the real monster is.Ghosts of Wind and Shadow--More of the Kelledys! I really had forgotten how much I like them. The dangers of putting children in convenient "boxes" and refusing to see the magic in the world. More about the magic found in music. The Conjure Man--I love the idea behind this one. A tree that grows as people share their stories with it.Small Deaths--I don't remember this one as well. It's not a standout by any means. It's something about the light inside us and how the choices we make can lead to "small deaths." You know, those choices that we all make that start us down the wrong path.The Moon is Drowning While I Sleep--Another old favorite! I love Sophie and her alternate reality. This one has a very classic fairy tale feel.In the House of My Enemy--A difficult story about child abuse. Gives some big insight into the histories of some favorite characters.But For the Grace Go I--I like Margaret and Tommy and their pack of dogs. A reminder that we can always choose to turn our life around.Bridges--I don't like this one much either. It's a little dark, but ultimately it is about hope.Our Lady of the Harbor--Basically a modern re-telling of The Little Mermaid. Paperjack--Gives some closure to "Timeskip." Paperjack himself reminds me of John Coffey from The Green Mile.Tallulah--Christy's first real story. No wonder I always think of him as being melancholy. About the way the very nature of a city can change with its people.This collection is just a fantastic introduction to Newford. It reminded me why I fell in love with these books in the first place.
What do You think about Dreams Underfoot (2003)?
3.5 stars. I liked this collection and certainly would recommend it to fans of de Lint but in all honesty I was expecting to like this collection more than I actually did. I had previously read Moonheart (which I loved) and Memory and Dream (which I thought was excellent, though not quite as good as Moonheart). First, this is not really a short story collection as much as a group of individual tales all set in Newford and involving many of the same characters (and often building on events that occurred in previous stories). The prose in each of the stories is lush and beautiful with a dream like quality that de Lint is well known for. The stories themselves are a mixed bag of excellent to merely okay. Some of my favorites were Paperjack, The Stone Drum, Pity the Monsters and Our Lady of the Harbour. Overall, a good collection with writing superior to most of the Urban Fantasy out there but sort of hit/miss on the strength of each story. One Final note: I listened to the audio version read by Kate Reading (who I think is terrific) and she did an excellent job with the book. Nominee: World Fantasy Award for Best short story (several stories nominated) Nominee: Locus Award for Best short Story (several stories nominated)
—Stephen
Book Review: 2 Treasure BoxesMagic, gemmins, mermaids and ghosts are just a few of the characters we are introduced to in Dreams Underfoot. Each story revolves around a unique and special entity from Mr. de Lint’s imagination and each story is entertaining and well told. This is a universe filled with creatures of urban fantasy.The Newford series has a different twist on contemporary fantasy. There are no vampires, werewolves, etc, but there is magic which is a melding of Native American spiritual beliefs and urban faerie. This is a collection of short stories in the Newford universe which includes many of the usual characters plus a few new ones. Charles de Lint is a prolific writer and has written 24 books in the Newford series alone, he has also written many other novels, novelettes, short stories and collections.The last half of the book was much better than the first half, perhaps because these stories focused more on people like Jilly, Jordy, Christy and Wendy. My favourite story in this book is “The Moon is Drowning While I Sleep” and it is Sophie’s story. She is telling Jilly about a dream. But in this dream she has to make a choice. She can save the moon in the water, which is really the drowned lady, or she can have her heart’s desire. The outcome of these stories depend upon the choices made by the participants, each is given the opportunity to decide how they will respond to the situations they face.Each story is standalone and separate from each other, but all the stories are within the universe that Mr. de Lint created. I recommend this book as an introduction to this universe and the people and concepts within. If you enjoy reading contemporary fantasy or are a fan of Mr. de Lint, then you should add Dreams Underfoot onto your list of books to read. Favorite quote:“Small deaths…They’re those pivotal moments in a person’s life that change it forever: a love affair gone wrong, not getting into the right post-graduate program, stealing a car on a dare and getting caught, that kind of thing. They’re the moments that some people brood on forever; right now they could have the most successful marriage or career, but they can’t stop thinking about the past, about what might have happened if things had gone differently.”For more of my reviews go to http://books-treasureortrash.com
—Books-treasureortrash
Copied from the author's website, I thought this would be a handy guide for myself (since I lost track of which ones I've read and who knows in what order). * for the ones I have/read.Q. Where do I start reading the Newford stories?A. The books have all been written in such a way that you should be able to pick up any one and get a full and complete story. However, characters do reoccur, off center stage as it were, and their stories do follow a sequence. The best place to start is the collection Dreams Underfoot. From there they go pretty much in this order:Dreams Underfoot*The Dreaming PlaceA Whisper To A Scream (originally credited to "Samuel M. Key")I'll Be Watching You (originally credited to "Samuel M. Key")Memory And DreamThe Ivory And The HornTrader*Someplace To Be FlyingMoonlight And VinesForests Of The HeartThe Onion Girl*Seven Wild Sisters (also available in Tapping the Dream Tree)Tapping the Dream TreeSpirits in the WiresMedicine RoadThe Blue GirlWiddershinsMake a Joyful Noise (chapbook)The Hour Before Dawn (collection)Old Man Crow (chapbook)Little (Grrl) Lost (novel)Promises to Keep (short novel)Dingo (short novel)Muse & Reverie (collection, forthcoming)The Dreaming Place and The Blue Girl are YA novels. A Whisper To A Scream and I'll Be Watching You are, respectively, a horror novel and a thriller; they're darker fare than the other Newford books and aren't really that integral to the underlying, ongoing backstory that takes place off center stage in so many of the books and stories.
—Irene
