A review by megmcardle
Widdershins by Charles de Lint

4.0

Widdershins is a work of urban fantasy by Charles DeLint. Like many of DeLint's best books, it is set in the fictional big city of Newford, where the boundaries between our world and the "underworld" (call it Faerie, Neverland, whatever) is especially thin. Many of his stories and novels have featured the main characters here, Jilly Coppercorn and Geordie Riddell. Jilly is an artist who was in a crippling accident and can no longer walk easily or paint, but who has always had a special affinity for all things otherworldly. Geordie is a fiddler who only recently has admitted that the faerie world exists. They have been friends forever, but everyone knew they were supposed to be more. In the action of this book, Jilly is forced to face up to the awful things that happened in her childhood, healing her mind in order to heal her body. In the meantime, there is a showdown occurring between the native spirits of America and the faery court that came over with European immigrants. It will mostly resonate with those who have followed these characters over DeLint's novels and stories, but I really did like it. The pacing was a little slow, but the characters are well developed and the author has a great sense of language and imagery. All of his books are full of music, which is another reason he one of my comfort authors. Read him with a great Celtic music album from Altan or Solas. My favorite DeLint is still his stand-alone book The Little Country, if someone wants a good place to start. For a taste of Newford, try his collection Memory and Dream.