I was not able to sleep at all last night. I was feeling rather odd in the later evening, and the restlessness carried on until dawn was passed by an hour. I honestly don’t know why I was unable to achieve any slumber, but it did provide me with a chance to finish reading the novel I was in the midst of.
I drew in the last words of Spiritwalk by Charles de Lint through tired eyes about an hour ago. I’ve been reading the novel for a few days short of month, between a non-fiction book and various shorter works I’ve discovered here and there. The delay was not due to any lack of quality in the story, but rather my own distractedness and stresses.
Spiritwalk is in the form of a novel, but is really a collection of three tightly connected stories, “Ascian in Rose”, “Westlin Wind” and “Ghostwood”. It is also a sequel to Moonheart, a novel I read and wrote about in December. Spiritwalk picked up the story of Tamson House and its residents and visitors several years after the events of Moonheart and continued with similar themes.
The interwoven Celtic and Native American myths continued to be a strong flavour of the stories. The presence of the mythic symbolism was always used in ways that enhanced the story rather than for mere show. The development of the very human characters was only enhanced by the presence of Coyote, Grandmother Toad, and others. While valid and facinating characters in their own rights, these mythic figures served to highlight the internal struggles of the characters they interacted with.
The human cast of Spiritwalk was a mix of familiar characters from Moonheart and Mr. de Lint’s other books, and new characters unique to this story. Emma and Esmeralda were certainly the highlights for me. They spoke of wonder lost and held dear respectively, and best embodied the spirit and conflict of the story for me. The struggle to discover one’s self, one’s strengths and one’s place in a community and individual relationships seemed to me very well demonstrated through those two dear friends.
What I come away with most importanly from this novel and all of Charles de Lint’s works is a strong sense of the need for real community. I can’t help but long for the sorts of relationships he is consistantly able to depict in his writings. There is something at once wholly magical and real in the sense of rewarding community that Mr. de Lint brings forth. There in no greater goal to have in our own circles than to create such communities of compassion, selflessness and openness.
Page by page, Spiritwalk reveals characters and stories that are endearing, intriguing and memorable. Like each other book Charles de Lint has published, this is a novel that will not leave you unchanged, and will undoubtably awaken a greater sense of unity with those around you. This is a book for lonely bus rides, long night reads, lost times and evenings by the fire. In other words, it’s a book I highly recommend you seek out and read.
I drew in the last words of Spiritwalk by Charles de Lint through tired eyes about an hour ago. I’ve been reading the novel for a few days short of month, between a non-fiction book and various shorter works I’ve discovered here and there. The delay was not due to any lack of quality in the story, but rather my own distractedness and stresses.
Spiritwalk is in the form of a novel, but is really a collection of three tightly connected stories, “Ascian in Rose”, “Westlin Wind” and “Ghostwood”. It is also a sequel to Moonheart, a novel I read and wrote about in December. Spiritwalk picked up the story of Tamson House and its residents and visitors several years after the events of Moonheart and continued with similar themes.
The interwoven Celtic and Native American myths continued to be a strong flavour of the stories. The presence of the mythic symbolism was always used in ways that enhanced the story rather than for mere show. The development of the very human characters was only enhanced by the presence of Coyote, Grandmother Toad, and others. While valid and facinating characters in their own rights, these mythic figures served to highlight the internal struggles of the characters they interacted with.
The human cast of Spiritwalk was a mix of familiar characters from Moonheart and Mr. de Lint’s other books, and new characters unique to this story. Emma and Esmeralda were certainly the highlights for me. They spoke of wonder lost and held dear respectively, and best embodied the spirit and conflict of the story for me. The struggle to discover one’s self, one’s strengths and one’s place in a community and individual relationships seemed to me very well demonstrated through those two dear friends.
What I come away with most importanly from this novel and all of Charles de Lint’s works is a strong sense of the need for real community. I can’t help but long for the sorts of relationships he is consistantly able to depict in his writings. There is something at once wholly magical and real in the sense of rewarding community that Mr. de Lint brings forth. There in no greater goal to have in our own circles than to create such communities of compassion, selflessness and openness.
Page by page, Spiritwalk reveals characters and stories that are endearing, intriguing and memorable. Like each other book Charles de Lint has published, this is a novel that will not leave you unchanged, and will undoubtably awaken a greater sense of unity with those around you. This is a book for lonely bus rides, long night reads, lost times and evenings by the fire. In other words, it’s a book I highly recommend you seek out and read.