=Dream & memory, memory & dream...

Each beyond truth, yet not what they seem.

A red crow for Rosalind and one for Cosette,
but the soulless man has none to get.
People of Crowsea, what do you see?
Creatures of wonder, imagined by me.
Return the red crow to our memories & dreams.
Give us new life, though it's not what it seems.

Hello! My name is Eva and today I’m going to review the book Memory and dream by Charles de Lint. It’s the second book in his Newford series, published in
1994.

The setting of the book is the fictional city of Newford. The main character, Isabelle Copley- or Izzy, as she is known in her younger time, is an artist with a gift.
Mentored by a brilliant but abusive artist names Vincent Rushkin. Izzy learns how to create paintings that act as gateways, bringing across creatures called
numena from another world who manifest in the forms she paints. The whole story is complex with many surprises and twists in the plot, and right until the
end, it becomes thriller-like. Which makes the book unpredictable and exciting. However I miss some depth in the main character. To say anymore would be
giving away spoilers, so I'll just finish this part to say that Memory and Dream was a very satisfying read that I highly recommend!

The writer himself, Charles de Lint is a Canadian of Dutch origins. He writes urban fantasy which could be mistaken for literary fiction, since his stories are
rooted in reality and the magic is hidden at first. The same goes for this book, it has enabled me to get drawn into the story and experience the magic in the
same way the characters are experiencing it. The end effect is that the supernatural elements also seem believable, once you’re in the story. For example
Izzy’s ability to bring creatures across from her paintings.

gtThis book has a unique structure that I have never seen before. De Lint switches the viewpoints and perspective continuously, from first to third and back, as
well as jumping through time – sometimes in the 1970s and other times in the present day of the early 1990s. The viewpoint characters are mainly Izzy
Copely, the main character, or in the present Isabelle, and her friends named Alan Grant and Kathy. A handful of other characters gain an occasional viewpoint
chapter, but those three are the primary.
And since the structure is not chronological, I could puzzle together the present as more of the past was revealed. This is a clever mirror of what Isabelle
Copley is attempting to do. .. piece together her life from her traumatized memory. That she is trying to understand the great power of her art makes it all the
more tragic. This is a great storytelling technique I love. I like his simple, but graceful writing style as well, sometimes he writes meaningful sentences that
offers sentimental thoughts on life

I ll read some which I think is beautiful

“I finally figured out that I’m solitary by nature, but at the same time I know so many people; so many people think they own a piece of me. They shift and
move under my skin, like a 0parade of memories that simply won’t go away. It doesn’t matter where I am, or how alone--I always have such a crowded head.”

"'But that's what we all are - just stories. We only exist by how people remember us, by the stories we make of our lives. Without the stories, we'd just fade
away.'" ~ Cosette (204)

Memory and dream, at times heart-breaking, horrific, and other times uplifting, an amazing story for people who recognize the magic that lies around them in
their day to day lives. The magic, and the strife.