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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. 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. Always uplifting, often whimsical, Forests of the Heart is a delightful read I will likely return to again and again. (  ) fiverivers | Aug 21, 2009 |  'So these wolves that come to our yard,' Bettina tried. 'En otros palabras - in other words. They are evil?' Nuala shook her head. 'Not as you're using the word. Long ago, they followed the Irish emigrants to the New World, but this land already had its own guardian spirits. So there was no place for them. But here they remain all the same. They are homeless, unbound, and they neither feel nor think the way we do. When the Gentry gather in a pack they can be like a wild hunt, ravening and hungry for blood, but even on an individual basis, they're not to be trusted.' There are a couple of very stupid people in this book. For all their knowledge about the Gentry and other fairy folk, they have not grasped this one basic truth about the inhabitants of the spirit world. They are dangerous and untrustworthy and anyone who thinks that they will stick to their side of a bargain is a fool. Miki understands this and I am sure that even Chantal, whose only knowledge of such things comes from fairy tales she was told as a child, would too, so why don't they? Charles de Lint does irritate me quite a lot. In this book there is the way he has Bettina say a phrase in Spanish and immediately afterward repeat it in English, which gets tiresome quickly. And then there's the info dump about music since some of this book's characters work in a record shop. In the last book of his that I read the info dump was about guitar making since the protagonist was a luthier. But music and especially Celtic music seems to be an obsession of the author's. So your characters have great taste in music and are therefore cool and artistic and allowed to have contact with the spirit world. I get it! You can stop the constant name-dropping of musicians! But the story was good, and I did enjoy it. (  ) isabelx | Jun 3, 2009 | Good book. I like the concept of the story. (  ) gerleliz | Jun 20, 2007 | de Lint offers a contemporary fantasy story that blends European and Native American folklore. I found it hard to get into at first, it was only after the first 100 pages that the plot took over enough to keep me going. There is a lot of character development and description to his writing, which some may enjoy but which I found bogged me down as a reader. (  ) debs4jc | Mar 15, 2007 | It was beautiful, I finished reading and felt a rare charmed peace. There a mix here of myths and legend coming from Irish, Indian and Mexican traditions all blended together. Bettina is a healer who will find she is also in need of healing; Ellie a gifted sculptor with powers she has yet to unlock; Donal hoards bitterness and a terrible belief that he is owed a price for his suffering. When spirits of the land come into conflict a wise mortal steers clear - but who has the wisdom? Black_samvara | Oct 10, 2006 |  no reviews | add a review
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| Book description |
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The Gentry are ancient spirits of the land, sired in rape and born of woman in the Old Country. When the Irish immigrated to the New World, some of the Gentry came along. Generations later, having no real ties to their new home, they dream dark dreams of wresting the land surrounding Newford from the native manitou spirits. The Gentry's scheming and plotting draw some of the inhabitants of Newford into a dark and desperate fight against them and a primeval spirit, old as the earth itself but slumbering in la epoca del mito, the myth time.
Bettina, a curandera--or healer--is part Mexican and part Indian. She has recently moved to Newford from the deserts of the Southwest for reasons she can't understand. She lives in Kellygnow, an art colony perched on a hill overlooking Newford. Earning her keep as a model for the various artists who live and work there, she tries to apply her desert-learned skills and knowledge in the cold, forested surroundings.
Bettina's fellow Kellygnowians include Nuala, who seems slightly more spiritual than the average housekeeper; Ellie, a sculptor with a very special commission; and the Recluse, a mysterious figure who winters at Kellygnow in one of the outlying private cottages. Donal, an Irish-born malcontent who dreams of better times, joins them, along with Miki, his musician sister, and Tommy, a Native American accompanied by a few of his apparently innumerable aunts. The looming battle against a seemingly invincible foe draws them together and forces them to depend not only upon their skills and powers, but also on hope, trust, and love.
Blending aspects of different cultural legends and myths with his keen insight into human nature, Charles de Lint offers a truly incredible and compelling tale. His specialty is an intoxicating mix of real and fantasy worlds, and Forests of the Heart delivers a delicious punch. With his deft touch and sensitive style, de Lint's mastery of the urban fantasy tale and his ability as a great storyteller remain unchallenged. --Robert Gately
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:53 -0400)
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