Folk fantasy. (The Little Country - Charles de Lint)

Member Name: Bryn Pearson

Product:	The Little Country - Charles de Lint
Date:	06/01/03 (28 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good story

Disadvantages: not as rich as some of his books

For those of you who have not yet encountered him, Charles De Lint is a Canadian Author whose fiction draws heavily on folklore. Normally he sets his fabulous tales in Canada, but 'The Little Country' has a Cornish setting....

Janey Little is a folk musician, a renowned piper who lives in Mousehole. Her life is turend upside down when she encounters a book called "The Little Country", a seemingly innocent enough little fantasy by one William Dunthorn. However, the book is important enough that some people will go to terrible lengths in order to get their hands on it. Janey has to unravel the mystery of the book and protect those she cares for from those who will go to any lengths to achieve their ends. Threaded through this is the tale of a girl called Jodi Shepherd, her adventures are in many ways niave and unlikely, but they are all part of a bigger tale. The story is quite striking and keeps you guessing, it twists about all over the place and has a fair amount of pace on it.

Alongside the tale of adventure and fantasy, there's an equally appealing story about a young folk musician going to sessions, trying to make her way in the world and trying to sort out the shambles that is her love life. De Lint has a real understanding of creative types, esecially musicians and artists. He also knows a huge amount about music and his portrayal of the life of a mucisian largely rings true for me - and I have a little insight into the world of folk.

Imagine a book that is totally different for everyone who reads it. Imagine a book so powerful and important that people will kill to get their hands on the one existing copy of it. Imagine a Cornwall peopled by piskies and spirits, with magic hiding around ever corner. Welcome to the world of Charels De Lint.

This is quite a sweet and pleasing story about a struggle between magic and greed. However, at times it can seem a bit patronizing towards the history and natives
of Cornwall, which is something of a weakness. The characters are endearing, but most of them are never fully realised. This is not one of e Lint's better books - it lacks the depth and richness of his more inspired peices, and you can tell that he isn't as imersed in the culture and landscape as he is when writing about his homeland. He hasn't really gone into the fantasy realms that he takes his readers to in most works, which is a shame in many ways. There are some clever things in the structure and the way in which stories within stories relate to one another though.

While this is primarily fantasy, it isn't suitable for most children - over twelves should enjoy it though. It is ideal for teenage readers - the children who enjoyed Phillip Pullman or J K Rowling and are looking for something to move onto. That said, it is also entirely suitable for adult readers as well. If you like folklore, or are of a folky or pagan persuasion, there will be a lot in this book for you. It's a very good peice of folklore based fantasy, with plenty of action and energy, as well as lots of more philisophical elements.

If you already like De Lint, this is well worth a read, but it isn't as good as some. If you haven't read any, I would be cautious about suggesting this one as it won't give an accurate impression fo the author - try "Moonheart" or "Greenmantle" first.

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