Cheap Memory and Dream (Book) (Charles De Lint) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Memory and Dream

How real is art?
Charles de Lint is a popular writer in the genre known as urban fantasy -stories that place traditional magical elements into a contemporary setting. In Memory & Dream, de Lint takes a fascinating look at the creative process and explores the possibility of artists who can literally create reality. The novel jumps between the present (the early 90s) and the past twenty years leading up to it. Isabelle is an artist who falls under the spell of an enigmatic mentor named Rushkin, a famous reclusive artist. Rushkin teaches Isabelle about painting, and she learns far more from him than from the art classes she takes at college. Yet Rushkin has a very dark side as well, which turns out to be much deeper than she realizes.

Through Rushkin, Isabelle learns that she has the ability to "bring across" creatures that she paints. These entities become actual flesh and blood beings with lives of their own. She falls in love with one of her own creations, an American Indian named John. This ability poses many complications for Isabelle and the people around her. She cannot quite believe that these creatures are real in the human sense. Rushkin, meanwhile, reveals ulterior motives for teaching Isabelle and is soon creating "numena" (the name given these creatures) of his own, which turn out to be evil counterparts to the ones Isabelle creates.
I think the real theme of Memory & Dream is the relationship between art and reality. Isabelle's best friend Katherine is a troubled writer, and she plays an important role in inspiring some of Isabelle's painting. So, the question arises, if a writer puts a character in a story, and an artists paints it, who is the creator? Or, is the answer, "neither," because these creations actually have an existence of their own in a kind of Platonic universe, waiting to be brought into our world by artists?

While these are fascinating questions, I don't want to give the impression that Memory & Dream is a purely intellectual or philosophical novel. It is primarily a very suspenseful story with engaging characters who live in a magical universe. I have read several of de Lint's books (this one twice), and he is one of my favorite contemporary fantasy authors.

---

The power of art.
This is, I believe, the first full-length novel of de Lint's fictional town of Newford. It concerns a young painter named Isabelle and the magical ability she possesses, which manifests itself through her work. A series of tragic events causes her to abandon her Art, but now, nearly twenty years after her initial training, a letter from an old friend forces her to confront the past she'd buried under lies and denial.
My main problem with the story is that its premise - that Izzy can bring to life entities from her paintings - was too fantastic. Bear with me here; I know it's fantasy, and I've certainly read wilder tales. It's just that I think the Newford stories work best when grounded in the real world with just a hint of magic lurking about. Izzy's virtual Goddess condition was a little too far-fetched for the context in which these stories exist.
It's also a little longer than I felt it needed to be, but it was still enjoyable. If you're looking for an introduction to either de Lint or Newford, I recommend the collection 'Dreams Underfoot' first.

---

Haunting and Beautiful
Wow.

I've read DeLint before and liked it, but this book hit me deeply on many levels. I cant tell you how many times tears came to my eyes with the characters' heartbreaks or smiles at their triumphs, no matter how small. It's fantasy, but the characters have so many layers and complex relationships, it couldn't be more real. I found nearly every protagonist in the book mirroring my own experiences at some point.

Urban contemporary fantasy is a genre very close to my heart and so far, I haven't some across better than this.