Sunday, March 15, 2009

Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint



5 stars

Isabelle Copley gets the opportunity of a lifetime when she's invited to study under famed artist Vincent Rushkin. The reclusive Rushkin has never been seen in public, much less taken on a student. Isabelle soon finds out the reason Rushkin chose her. He teaches her that she has the ability to bring the characters in her paintings to life. After this life changing discovery, Isabelle finds out that there's much more to her mentor than meets the eye.

This is the first book I've read by Charles de Lint, but I can tell you it will not be the last. De Lint divulges just enough information as you go along to keep you needing to know what happens next, but not allowing you enough to be able to completely figure it out and ruin the mystery of what's to come. Once I was about a quarter of the way through the book, it became nearly impossible to put down. It's been a long time since I found a book that drew me in as completely as this one did. De Lint manages to take a purely fantastical story and make it believable. This is definitely the best book I've read so far this year and I wouldn't be surprised if it stays on my favorite list for a long time to come.

4 comments:

Penny said...

I discovered Charles de Lint last year, and I've been working my way through his books ever since. I think my favorite by him is "Jack the Giant-Killer", although I don't think I've made it through half of his yet.

Anonymous said...

I keep hearing about Charles de Lint, but haven't read his books yet. Gotta do that soon!

BioPeach said...

I haven't read this- another To Be Read pile addition.

Jennifer said...

I've heard of Jack and the Giant Killer. I'll try to pick it up soon because I definitely want to read more of his work.